Final Words and Photos.

                                         

Thanks for following our blog and to end I will add a few random pictures that speak more than words. Again, thanks to everyone who supported us in any way. May God so richly bless you all.    Sharon



View of clinic as seen from top of Technical School

    

Entrance to Medical Clinic

      

Strangers brought together to serve



Evening debriefings brought laughter and tears



Marc (founder of Haiti ARISE) and Marc Eddy, who works at Haiti ARISE

 
 

We would all learn to worship from the Haitians.



Rewarding to see improvement in this little boy's severely burned hand.

 

Dave patiently teaching the Haitians in pharmacy.



Monique working as her husband's assistant



Relaxing at the beach.



       

Elma sparked a huge interest in Makenson her translator to become a doctor!





Each clinic day began with a song and a prayer

I worked with Many, his first time in role of team leader for the Haitians and he did a fine job.

This ends our blog for 2013......... thanks to all.   Sharon





Reflections of Haiti

It’s Thursday and we are flying home.  It’s a happy sad time….happy to be heading home to my family and home but sad to be saying goodbye to our Haiti Arise family.  Going into this adventure I did not know what to expect, however, the experience has far exceeded anything I could have imagined.  It’s hard to believe it was only 11 days ago that Mike and I joined up with the rest of the team at the Miami airport.  Sitting down to dinner with everyone that evening the faces and names were a blur but now I call each one a friend, a friend that I share a unique and special bond with.  Before this trip I could count on one hand the things I knew about Haiti; poorest country in the world, the earthquake and the corruption.  Today I know so much more; Haitians are incredibly strong, the children have amazing eyes, they love Jesus, they worship with more zest than anything I have ever witnessed, mangos are delicious and super juicy, they drive like maniacs and when they drive they use all the lights the vehicle has, you have not seen a pothole until you’ve seen a Haitian pothole, and Haitians sing beautifully.

Sharon assured me I would be a viable resource to the team but I was unsure what I had to offer in skills and knowledge as it was a medical team and I have no medical background.  Coming home today I feel a great sense of satisfaction for what I was able to contribute and am so grateful to Sharon and all members of the team for their guidance and support.  The records room made sense to me; it was essentially file management which I have similar experience with and I enjoyed my first two days working with the records.   But my next role, being the first to interact with each patient by taking their weight and blood pressure, was where I really felt challenged to grow.  I was their first impression each Haitian had of the clinic and it was important to me that I make it a positive one.  How wonderful the reaction was when I would pause to look them in the eyes and sincerely say “Bonjour Mademoiselle”.  Their eyes would light up and they would greet me similarly in return.  It was super cool to learn how to use the blood pressure machine.  When taking the patients’ blood pressure I realized this was an ideal opportunity to connect with each individual by resting my hand on their arm.  It also felt right to close my eyes for a moment and pray for each person.    To take their weight I had to ask them to remove their shoes and wow, was I shocked to see the condition of some feet and shoes.  It was good to know I could write a note on their chart and it time allowed Lynnise would give foot care.  Wednesday morning Mike came to me and said, “if you see someone who could use my running shoes I would like to give them.”  Within an hour a man of about 75 years of age was into the clinic and his footwear was so old, worn out and obviously too large for him.  When he took off his shoes for the weight scale I could see how sore his feet looked.  I knew this was whom Mike’s shoes were meant for.  We learned that the gentleman lived in the mountains and walked barefoot.  The skin on his feet was peeling off.   The joy this he  expressed when Lynnise put Mike’s sock on his feet was like “over the top”!  How soft and glorious they must have felt.  The shoes fit him like perfectly and again, his joy was expressed in his eyes, his creole words spoken with such animation and his smile.  I also had the privilege of making recommendations of who we should “prescribe” chicken for.  And the children! oh what a delight from the newborn baby to those who were similar in age to my own son of 10.

The rest of my days were filled with awesome experiences.  Church Tuesday evening gave me an opportunity to share some of my story with the congregation and to witness worship through music and dance to a magnitude I never dreamed possible.  I expected the children to dance and jump, but to see the elderly come alive in praise was a sight that will warm my heart forever.    Rooftop team meetings were a time of connection and openness, I am grateful to have been a part of this special group.  Together we accomplished so much. 

My time in Haiti has left me with a valuable book of mental images, emotions and thoughts that I know I will be processing and growing through even though I am back in my “regular” world again.  My gratitude runs deep for this, thank you Sharon, fellow teammates and Haitians.  God Bless.  Teresa.

Last Evening on the Rooftop

As we met for the last time on the roof of the guest house, we had many laughs as we reflected on the previous day. We had a very hard working group of people who gave and gave from morning until night. As we wrapped up the clinic, it was hard to believe that we had treated 951 patients in a mere 6 1/2 clinic days and we will go home forever changed. Each person gave a sentence about what they had learned in Haiti.

Noreen – Haiti taught me that despite abject poverty and starvation, there is a tremendous amount of joy.

                                    

Betty – Haiti has taught me that people who have and have not have the same basic needs.

Elma – Haiti reminded me that “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”.

Rick – Haiti taught me that I don’t want to work in pharmacy!

Lynnise  – Haiti taught me that I want to work with Dr Braam forever and that with a little you can give a lot.

Monique – Haiti taught me that simple things are important.

                                        

Dave – Haiti taught me that just when you think you’ve done it all....... you dispense a chicken!

                                  

Dr. Braam –Haiti taught me - Ubuntu – “we are” because of You.

Mike – Haiti taught me that a country can heal and recover.

                                          

Martin – Haiti taught me that in traffic as long as you have an inch between vehicles, you’re good to go

Sharon  - Haiti taught me that it is a wonderful blessing to have ongoing healthcare!!

Elva –  Haiti has taught me that smiles and hugs are a universal language that validates a person’s worth and sparks a common connection.

Teresa – Haiti taught me the value of pausing a moment to truly look someone in the eye and smile when you meet them.

Power in Haiti

We would not like to leave this blog and not comment on "power in Haiti". Having a power engineer on our team made us realize all the more, the very uncoded sources of power we saw. Here is a glimpse of things we saw. The plugin on the tree was for the man's radio as he sat by, fixing people's sandals. Sharon

Our Team Import

It has been a great pleasure to join this amazing medical team. I am a fellow Canadian and former Saskatchewan girl in Haiti helping set up the medical clinic at Haiti ARISE. The goal is to have it operate and staffed by Haitians starting April 1 this year and run three days a week and eventually increase it to 6 days a week. This challenging task has been made so much more attainable by all the work and support I have received from this talented wonderful fun group.

They have accomplished so much during their stay here and have been such a blessing to me. I wish each one of the the best and hope to see them back here again soon. Thank you guys for making me feel like one of your team.   Diane Sampson (Winnipeg, Manitoba)

Dr Jacob, Dr Braam, Dr Fritz