Category: Uncategorized
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Returning
We’re safely back in Port au Prince, staying at the Hospice St. Joseph for one final night before returning home tomorrow.
The sounds of the city are very different from the sounds of the countryside. Roosters (which, contrary to popular myth, do not crow only at dawn) are replaced by generators, dogs, and diesel motors. From the porch, I can see the sports stadium, the tankers in the harbor, and the city stretching up the hill. We bought art that a local guy made from the lid of an oil drum. I think that’s sort of cool.
Our group has made a habit of talking about the days events each evening. Tonight, we talked over our accomplishments and impressions from the week, and it was good. A few people wept, a few others shared their visions for the future. I don’t know yet what has changed for me specifically, but I’m really glad that I came to this place, saw the situation, and met the people here. I wouldn’t describe it as “life changing,” exactly, but I can certainly see a lot of stuff more clearly from here than I could in the states.
That, all by itself, makes the trip worthwhile.
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Fondwa
Just a quick post from Fondwa, Haiti, to let everyone know that we’re doing fine here. We’re staying in the guest house built by the Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF), and we’re eating three square meals a day prepared by the nuns who serve here.
We ran a clinic on Monday, Tuesday, and Today, and say a total of about 380 patients. We saw everything from Malaria to Machete wounds, but the vast majority was skin infections, malnutrition, and infection. Jen took a 3.5 hour hike into the hills to make house calls when things got slow yesterday.
We’ve also walked down to the orphanage, which was out of this world. Maybe 60 kids in an organically expanding concrete building, attended also by the nuns. Most of the kids are not strictly orphans, per se, it’s just that their parents couldn’t feed them.
Tomorrow we’re going to socialize with the local folks, drinking coffee and locally made hot chocolate with the elders. Friday we go to the beach, and Saturday we return to Port Au Prince for one last night in the Hospice St. Joseph. Sunday we return to Providence.