Medical Clinic

Our school building is used for a free medical clinic. It’s run by an American Nurse Practitioner who has been in Haiti for quite some time. Today was the second day of the medical clinic since school opened. The clinic is very orderly run and only 50 patients are seen each day. Last year, the clinic was open 3 days each week but this year more funding was obtained and now it will be open 4 days, two days for medical, two days for dental (also a huge need here). I’m not really involved in the clinic but once a week we send a few students in the school who are sick. I went around to each class and asked which children were not feeling well. Pretty much every hand went up! I then narrowed it down to any kids who didn’t have a headache, didn’t have a stomach ache and didn’t have a cold. This caused most hands to go down. I then proceeded to lecture them about the importance of drinking a lot of water and why your head might hurt if you didn’t drink enough. They just smile and nod, it doesn’t matter how many times I tell Haitians this they don’t believe me. They have a very strong belief that medicine can cure all ills and nothing else will do. The stomach aches usually have to do with worms in their stomachs and we give them medicine for that several times each year. (sorry to gross you out) So I brought the kids to Dr. Ed (as we affectionately call him) and he told me what medicine to prescribe for them. I'll follow up each day to make sure they take it. I'm so thankful we are able to help out our students in this way.
On a less positive note, two people were told today that they had little time left to live because they have cancer and it can not be removed at this point. It's a harsh life in Haiti. Some people who come to the clinic have never had the opportunity to go to the doctor due to lack of money and sometimes by the time they come unfortunately it's too late. I was reflecting on the clinic today and I think it's a good reminder for me. The children I see each day are relatively healthy because we provide them with two meals each day and we take care of their medical concerns, and sometimes it's easy to forget that most Haitians do not have these access to these basic human rights. The clinic keeps me balanced and reminds me of the importance of what we do each and every day at Adoration Christian School.

Life as the "Petite Fromage"

Life as a School Administrator in Haiti is not quite as glamorous as it may appear at first. Let me walk you through a typical day. When I first arrive, I clean the office. You wouldn't believe how much dust accumulates during the rainy season, I dread the dry season, it'll be even worse then. The secondary students are supposed to clean the whole school, but one day I watched one of them clean the window in the office and was appalled by how much water she dripped all over the place and now I won't let them near the office except to mop the floor. Next I run around doing errands for the teachers, "can you photocopy this for me? can you get me some paper? do you know where I can find some glue?" After that I have a morning meeting with all the teachers, we pray together and go over any anouncements for the day. Then it's outside for the raising of the flag, singing the national anthem and school devotions. Then I'm free to do a few administrative things like write letters to parents, discipline students, and work on unending paperwork. We have two recess breaks in which I assist with supervision. I love watching the kids play together, there is a group of little boys who run around chasing each other and giggling for the entire recess break, it's quite hilarious. When recess if over, I spend some more time on administrative stuff and then it's back outside supervising the students until it's time for them to go home. After school I usually chat with the teachers one on one with whatever issues they or I would like to talk about. Then I call it a day... I've been going to a gym most days after work to walk around the track and enjoy some sunshine and "fresh" air.
P.S. I can't get spellcheck to work so please forgive me for any spelling errors.
P.S.S. To respond to earlier comments...Khandaker before you get too jealous, Garner and Bunker are referring to the postcard I gave out with my blog address on it. Don't worry I'm not leaving you out of any postcard fun.

Weekend

Ahhh... Saturday morning, I'm sitting with a cup of delicious Haitian coffee, reading some news on-line. I haven't read any news since I arrived and according to the Toronto Star I haven't missed too much:) My dear roomate is making some breakfast in the kitchen that smells great, life is good!! Before you get too jealous, I just want to say that our water pump hasn't been working which means no running water and we have to haul water from the cistern up two flights of stairs and our internet works for about 30 minutes each day. Not that I'm complaining understand, I'm just trying to draw a more accurate picture of life here as an ex-pat. And yes I know it's still a far cry from life in Haiti as a poor Haitian, something that is never far from my mind. They have limited electricity, no running water and internet is something that is not even on their wish list (food and money for their children's education would be of highest priority, I suspect)
This weekend is busy so I cannot afford to get sick once again. Today is my turn to volunteer at the organization that provides me with mail services. Then I have to run around and do some errands. Tomorrow is church of course and then we are having a bridal shower for my roomate who is getting married at the end of October. Should be fun!

School uniforms

Today we handed out the school uniform shirts. In Haiti, uniforms are a BIG deal and kids are very proud to wear their uniforms. They love to show off that they are able to go to school and sometimes they like to show off what school they go to since each school has a different uniform and they are quite distinct. In fact sometimes I wonder if there is a contest between the schools to have the most interesting uniform. Before school starts the students must go to their school and pick up a small peice of paper with a picture drawn on it and sample pieces of material attached. They then need to go to a seamstress and have the uniform made. It's sort of expensive and they can't go to school if it's not correct. I also recently discovered that many schools specify what colour shoes the students must wear as well what colour ribbons girls wear in their hair. The students at my old school would die if they heard that.
At our school we do it a bit differently. The students recieve two uniform shirts for free and they are responsible to provide their own jean pants or skirt. We chose the boring colour of grey because it doesn't fade and therefore looks nice all year long. The teachers would much prefer a brighter colour though:) We had our school crest embrodered on, it looks really good and the students proudly wear their shirts.
Tomorrow we have a meeting with all the parents to go over the school rules and have them meet their child's teacher. Hopefully we have a good turn out.

Feeling better

I can't believe I missed the first day of school! That has NEVER happened to me before. Of course I knew that Randy and Karen would be fine without me, but still, the FIRST day of school? I love the first day of school.
Monday morning I woke up and just the idea of standing up made me tired. So I spend another day in bed, alternating between reading and sleeping. I didn't know I could sleep so much and still be tired! Monday night I decided that I was going to work on Tuesday regardless of how I felt becaues I was getting so bored at home. Thankfully today I felt MUCH better and had enough energy to go to work and actually do some work. It was great to get out of the house and get some "fresh" air (not so fresh in PAP but still:). The day flew by, I went to each class and introduced myself to them and asked them a few questions about Canada. They knew very little so I guess I have my work cut out for me.
Another highlight of today was that I drove myself in my new car all the way from my house to work and back without getting lost. It can only go up from here! Right?
Tonight we had some visitors from abroad, I say abroad because they have both lived so many places and are citizens of more than one country that it's difficult to say where they are from. They are world travellers and are here working with CRWRM. It was great to sit around, eat some delicous food, and hear their many stories. Perhaps some day I can say I've seen as many countries as they have but for now I'm happy to say I live in Haiti, that's enough adventure for now.

Yeah for Cipro

I've spent the entire weekend in bed as I seem to have picked up a bug of some sort. I won't gross you out with the details but I've been spending a lot of time in the bathroom. I'm exhausted and pretty much slept and read for two days straight. I'm not crazy about taking antibiotics unless I must so I called Dr. Ed (a doctor that I know from before) and he recommended that I take Cipro (an antibiotic). Thankfully I had some from when I was in Sierra Leone, and I didn't need them there. Ah... life in Haiti, last weekend I was swimming in the ocean and hiking in the mountains, this weekend I'm lying in bed willing the time to pass quickly. I did manage to make it to church this morning, seeing as it's about a 2 minute walk from my house) and it was nice to see a lot of familiar faces. They were very welcoming and happy that I had come back to work in Haiti once again.

Hard At Work

My new car!!

Watch out streets of Port-au-Prince

To respond to all the comments on the previous post... you are welcome to come visit me anytime. I can promise tea or coffee on the balcony and I can definately promise the sounds of Port-au-Prince waking up, dogs, roosters, car alarms, you name it, you'll hear it!
Well I have some good news... I've got a car! It's a 2007 KIA sportage and it's deisel. We were told it was gas but when we picked it up today they told us that it's deisel. That's way better because deisel is considerably cheaper around here. Now here's hoping I don't get rearended or get a flat tire, well at least not for the first week.
As for the work I came here to do... today was a very productive day. In the morning we had all the students interested in the special education class come for a test. The teacher we hired for this class is excellent and knew exactly what to do. She was so kind and patient with the children that I know she'll do a great job this year. We decided which students would fit well with the class we are planning and a few more are coming tomorrow to complete the test. In the afternoon I was able to work through a lot of preparations for school beginning next week. I'm so thankful that I speak Creole already but I'm frustrated by how many words I still don't know. There are many words that I seldom use that I don't know but when I need to use them I'm frustrated that I don't know them. The teachers are very patient and don't seem to mind at all, and for that I'm thankful. The school is starting to look great and I look forward to the school being full of noise and learning first thing Monday morning.

Promised pictures of my place

First week complete

I ALMOST have a new car. Randy and I went again today to shop around. We have a few options. Tomorrow we'll go again and test drive them and make a decision. After that it should take about a week (although this is Haiti to anything could happen) to complete all the paperwork. Randy and Karen have been great about driving me everywhere but it's difficult to coordinate all our schedules and we will be able to accomplish much more when I have my own vehicle. The teachers are very busy in their classrooms and they are starting to look pretty good. I interviewed a woman today to assist in the special education class, we will most likely hire her tomorrow and then the staff will be complete. Each morning is spent answering the teacher's questions, helping them find needed supplies, finalizing the teacher's contract and organizing schedules for the year. We meet every morning for devotions, share announcements and discuss anything that needs to be discussed. The secondary students come in the afternoon to clean the school. Most of them are former students and it is wonderful to see so many familiar faces. They have grown up so much both in maturity and in size. Yesterday I was able to spend some time with Cadeau and Samuel my "little brothers", it was great to catch up with them. They are both doing very well. I've also had a little bit of time to talk to Manman Manise, my good friend from before. I'm feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed by the amount of work that must be completed before school starts. I still haven't put together all the furniture in my room that I bought and therefore my suitcases are still not completely unpacked, all in good time I suppose. I turned down an invitation to dinner this week just so that I could get a few things done around here and feel a bit more settled. Overall, I praise the Lord for a great first week in Haiti.

A taste of life outside of PAP

Yesterday was spent on the beach. It was a HOT day, the pool felt like a giant bathtub and the ocean wasn't much cooler. Despite the heat we had a great time. When we arrived I realized that I forgot to bring a book so I borrowed one from Heather and didn't open it once all day. It was great to meet the Hopp family who I had heard so much about. We had a lovely picnic by the water and just hung out all day. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures since the battery was dead on my camera.
Today (Sunday) I went with a work team (working with another organization) to Badyo which is a small region up on the mountain side. It's past Kenscoff for anyone familiar with Haiti. The roads were rough and a bit scary at times but we arrived safely. I have been in this area before but forgot how cold it could get. I was so cold all day! I never thought I'd say that in Haiti in September. We visited two church services. At the second service the group had a washing feet

ceremony. The members of the church really seemed to enjoy it and every last one of them had their feet washed. When the service ended and we were about to leave there was a massive rainstorm, we had to stay in the church for another 30 minutes while it died down. We had been invited to a Haitian home for a delicious Haitian meal consisting of rice and beans, fried plaintain, french fries, beet salad, potato salad and tomatoes, all my favourite food. The rain stopped completely and we were able to go for a quick walk in the area, we were so high up the mountain that it felt like we were in the clouds and since it was so foggy most of the time it was believable. I think the area is so incredibly beautiful. The pictures I took just don't do it justice. On the way home we stopped at a look out point to take pictures of the entire city. In the evening we were all invited to another missionary's home for dinner. Overall a great day, now I'm tired and ready to get some sleep as I have a busy week coming up!

Day 2 and 3, as requested

Well, I'm enjoying the best internet connection I've had so far and I'll try to take advantage of it. Although electricity has been good (most nights) this doesn't gaurantee that the internet works.
To quickly update you on what I've been up to days 2 and 3...
Yesterday I spent most of the day at school. We met with the teachers in the morning. We went over long range plans and scheduling. It went well. It was great to see the former teachers and meet the new teachers. It looks like a stellar staff this year. I really look forward to working with them. Their year long plans were well organized and they were eager to get to work. Next week they will come in each morning to set up their classrooms and start planning in more detail. Yesterday afternoon I did some administrative work and then we went looking for a car. Today we also spent most of the day looking for a car. We got some good leads, we're waiting for a few phone calls back with some more information and then we'll make our decision. It'll be nice to have my own vehicle. Tonight I went to the Bible Study at the school, there was a good turnout and it was interesting for me, but I need to work on my creole a bit to understand more. Tomorrow we're going to the beach... I know, rough life. We are going to be meeting with the pastor that works near Kalico beach and we're going to visit him and his family and enjoy the beach at the same time.
On a less factual note, I am really happy to be in back in Haiti. The transition has gone well so far. I feel like I've come home in many ways. I still know quite a few people here and I'm meeting new people all the time. It's good to be back. Pictures to come soon, I promise...

Day #1

Don't worry I won't number each and every day I'm here but I figured it was allowed for the first day. This morning I met with Randy and Karen at their house. Our meetings went great, they filled me in on all the goings on at the school for the last while. Next it was off to Epidor (fast food restaurant) for lunch. I drove for the FIRST time in Haiti and it went well. I don't have a car yet but I drove Randy and Karen's. I am so glad that I learned standard before coming. As well, there are some traffic lights around town that run by solar power and this really helps merging onto the main road smoothly.
After lunch we went on a major shopping spree. I bought a bedroom set, a desk and a chair, this took all afternoon if you can believe it. Tonight Jenny (my roomate) offered to help me set up one of the bedside tables. Wow, it was worse than IKEA, there was an allen key but the instructions were in Spanish! You'd think after all the IKEA furniture I've put together over the years, I would have been a bit better at it. It took us 2 hours! And we still have two more items to go. Now I understand why you can pay at the store to have it assembled for you... if I wasn't so Dutch and so cheap!!
Tomorrow will also be very busy. We are spending the day at the school meeting with the teachers, going over their long term plans and working on their daily time schedules. I look forward to reuniting with the teachers I know from before and meeting the new teachers. And tomorrow night? I think I'll put together another peice of furniture, not sure if I can convince Jenny to help me or not...

I'm here!!!!

I'm here safe and sound. Unfortunately my luggage was overweight and they are really picky now so I had to pay extra. I was mortified by how much it cost but I just couldn't decide which items to leave behind and so I caved and paid the money.
The ride home from the airport was uneventful. I stopped by the school quickly but not very many people were there for me to see.
I arrived at my new place and was able to settle in a bit. Then Randy and Karen came over for dinner. It was great to see them and meet their new daughter. I unpacked some more and now I'm trying to quickly write this post before the internet stops working again.
Tomorrow I'm meeting with Randy to get started on the mound of work waiting to get done. I'll try to post pictures of our place as well.

Brits can "come on down"!!

I just read this in the Dominican Review this morning. This is a great sign and hopefully things continue to improve in Haiti.

"Port-au-Prince.– The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has revised its travel advice for Haiti and no longer advises against all but essential travel to the Caribbean island.

Haiti has experienced a slump in visitors in recent years due to a combination of particularly violent weather conditions and political unrest. But the change in FCO advice means British travelers can now visit Haiti without having to buy special travel insurance.

However, despite the overall security situation improving, the FCO advice states that travellers should still ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ while travelling in the country."