May 17 Day 8 Clinic
I am sorry I have not been blogging like I promised. If you have had a chance go to my facebook (if you are not my friend just request me) and check out my pictures. They really tell the story. Today was I think the busiest day at the clinic. They won’t tell us how many patients we have taken care of until the end of our trip. It is not about quantity but quality. Saturday we visited the city of Jacmel. Wow…our interpreters drove us through the city. We were all piled into the back of pick up trucks. The devastation since the earthquake was very evident. People are still living in tents and there is still lots of rubble. Yesterday was our day of rest. Our interpreters took us to the beach for some rest and relaxation. There were so many children there. We played hacky sack with them, soccer and even some dancing Haitian style. Today was a big day for me as I identified a family to sponsor(this picture is of the mom and her youngest child that the spahns are sponsoring). It is a family of nine. Two of her older children are out of the house and her youngest who is 2 was with her today. She use to make her living by washing clothes but has developed an infection that won’t allow her to do that anymore. It is really hard to put into words what you see here. The weather is so hot and humid. This morning we woke up at 6 am and it was 97 degrees in our room. But as I look out the window I see such beautiful land and water. Yesterday we were welcomed into some of our helpers and interpreters homes. They were so welcoming. They were proud of what they had. Keep in mind many of them do not have running water or working toilets or even electricity. Today, a few of us went and visited an orphanage just up the lane. It has 11 children ranging from ages 3 to 17. The goal at this orphanage is to teach the children life skills so they can survive on their own at some point. They teach them math and English and eventually some type of vocation. They have a place to sleep and eat with a roof over their head. We are going to go back tomorrow just to play some games with them. I find myself wanting to help everyone. But, you can’t do that it is impossible. But, what I can do is smile and touch and speak to every person I see.
I am sorry I have not been blogging like I promised. If you have had a chance go to my facebook (if you are not my friend just request me) and check out my pictures. They really tell the story. Today was I think the busiest day at the clinic. They won’t tell us how many patients we have taken care of until the end of our trip. It is not about quantity but quality. Saturday we visited the city of Jacmel. Wow…our interpreters drove us through the city. We were all piled into the back of pick up trucks. The devastation since the earthquake was very evident. People are still living in tents and there is still lots of rubble. Yesterday was our day of rest. Our interpreters took us to the beach for some rest and relaxation. There were so many children there. We played hacky sack with them, soccer and even some dancing Haitian style. Today was a big day for me as I identified a family to sponsor(this picture is of the mom and her youngest child that the spahns are sponsoring). It is a family of nine. Two of her older children are out of the house and her youngest who is 2 was with her today. She use to make her living by washing clothes but has developed an infection that won’t allow her to do that anymore. It is really hard to put into words what you see here. The weather is so hot and humid. This morning we woke up at 6 am and it was 97 degrees in our room. But as I look out the window I see such beautiful land and water. Yesterday we were welcomed into some of our helpers and interpreters homes. They were so welcoming. They were proud of what they had. Keep in mind many of them do not have running water or working toilets or even electricity. Today, a few of us went and visited an orphanage just up the lane. It has 11 children ranging from ages 3 to 17. The goal at this orphanage is to teach the children life skills so they can survive on their own at some point. They teach them math and English and eventually some type of vocation. They have a place to sleep and eat with a roof over their head. We are going to go back tomorrow just to play some games with them. I find myself wanting to help everyone. But, you can’t do that it is impossible. But, what I can do is smile and touch and speak to every person I see.
