A Life Less Ordinary

Monday, May 9, 2011

Beautiful Places, Beautiful Faces

Airports are magical places. People from all walks of life are coming and going to all parts of the world. When I was coming home at the end of March, the airport was hot and crowded. As soon as I got out of the car one of the workers from the airport grabbed my arm and brought me into the line, cutting about half of the people off. There was a group of 3 people who I got pushed next to and since the line was not moving we got to talking. As it turned out they had just taken over a NGO (Haiti’s Hope) and were working with The Diakonos Orphanage in Carrefour (about 25 minutes outside of Port au Prince) over here. They were looking for a place closer to the orphanage to stay when they came down so I suggested they stay with us next time they came down. I kept in contact with one of the guys, Liony, while I was home and they were planning on coming down 2 days after I got back. After discussing it with his partner in the NGO, J, they decided it would be good to stay closer to the city with us. I set my alarm for early Monday morning but before it could go off I received an email from them saying that they were now on a later flight so I actually got to sleep in a bit more. Greg and I went to go pick them up. I was hoping they would remember what I looked like and I was hoping even more that I would remember what they would look like. To my relief we all recognized each other as soon as we saw each other. Once we got to the house and they saw how much space there is they decided that they would bring the college group that is planning on coming down at the end of May to stay with us.

On Monday we visited the orphanage that they help manage. At first the children were a bit shy towards me but then as soon as one started to play with me, one by one they all joined in. I usually wear my hair down here (I’m not quite sure how I do it in this heat) and one of the girls started to play with it and soon all the girls, and one or two boys, were braiding and twirling my hair. We left around 5:30 after promising the kids we would be back the next day. The next morning we dropped J off at the orphanage and went to pick up Liony’s friend Monica from the airport. Now, even though the airport is not that far away, with all of the traffic in Port au Prince you want to try to give yourself way more time than you would think you need and you will still probably be late. While we were at the airport Liony’s brother, Jesus, was also coming to Haiti at the same time on a bus from the Dominican Republic to see the orphanage and hopefully help with some construction in the future. Unfortunately, Monica’s plane was late arriving and with all the traffic that time of day we would not have made it to pick up Jesus and get J from the orphanage. Yvon was going up to Petionville where the buses come in so he picked up Jesus and we went back to the orphanage to get J. By the time we all got back to the house we were exhausted and starving. We made plans for the next day and then we all went to sleep.

After breakfast on Wednesday we decided to hike up the mountain to Sarazin. Each of the children hikes down the mountain and bring bricks up to build their new school. The school has come a long way since I had been last up there in February. After spending some time up there, we all hike down which takes about a third less time than going up. The views you get from the mountain are unbelievable. After the hike back we all took showers and then headed off to the orphanage for the rest of the day. Monica had brought art supplies with her for the children to paint pictures that she could bring back with her and sell at a fundraiser with all of the profits going back to the children. She had help from Alex who is a young local artist in Port au Prince. He recently received a scholarship to study at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY for 6 weeks. She brought watercolor paints and shimmery pigments and the girls went crazy for the pigments. By the end of the day most of the girls were covered in it. It was amazing to see how all of their faces lit up when they were given the opportunity to express themselves in a way they have never had a chance to before. After the kids were finished painting we handed out new shoes to some of the kids that the Sisters had left when they were here back in February.

J is learning some Créole and when some of the girls asked him if they could come back to the house for the night, he said yes not fully knowing what he was agreeing to. After some back and forth from everyone we decided to take 4 of the older girls, and sisters Miciale and Fortuna. J and his wife Princess (the third person I met at the airport) are in the process of adopting Miciale and Fortuna. These normally loud, rambunctious girls were as quite as church mice the whole way to the house. All you could hear from them were whispers and fingers being pointed out the windows. Once we got into the house the girls had to take showers. Monica and I showed them how to use the showers since I doubt any of them had ever used one before. As the two little ones were showering, the four older ones were cemented into place in front of the mirror check themselves out and talking to one another looking in the mirror. After everyone was showered we went upstairs to eat dinner. We moved the TV into the room we were eating so that J could watch the Heat game. Even though the girls had no idea what was going on they were watching the game as intently as avid basketball fans. Since the two younger girls usually sleep with someone I let them sleep with me. They started to lay on me as they fell asleep so I was stuck in my position for the night with each girl on one side. It is extremely humid here this time of the year and sleeping with a sheet is sometimes too much. I didn’t mind not being able to sleep and being uncomfortable as long as the girls were able to sleep and felt safe. Everyone was up at 530 the next morning to eat breakfast and then we had to drive and drop them off at school. To get to the orphanage takes about 30 minutes without traffic. We had to get the girls back between 730 and 8 so we left at 7 thinking that would be plenty of time. It was not. We did not get back to the orphanage until after 830. Apparently there was construction going on, but no one can be certain what the problem was.

Later in the afternoon we went to do an interview at a local radio station to try and raise support for the orphanage. We were told the interview would only take about 45 minutes at the most but of course it ended up taking 2 hours. We had planned to head back to the orphanage for the rest of the afternoon but after seeing black clouds rolling in we decided it might be best if we headed home instead of sitting in traffic in the storm. Of course this being everyone’s last night we had to have a get together and invite everyone we had been working with all week. Some people couldn’t come because of the weather but overall we had a bunch of people who were able to make it and we all had a great time. We all woke up early the next morning to bring everyone to their forms of transportation. J was headed to the airport and Liony and Jesus were headed on a bus to head back to the DR for a few days.

Monica and I finished editing some pictures and video from the week and then we headed off to the orphanage one last time to do some interviews with the kids and pick up their artwork. Alex and Rama were both there to help us and as the sun began to set we headed off to see where Alex does his artwork. If you didn’t know what you were looking for you could easily miss it since it is off the road behind some stores in the industrial part of town. All of the art work is made from things that are found; wires, broken car parts, broken dolls, tires, and skulls. Some of the stuff is amazing and to think that it was all trash before it was made into works of art is remarkable. It was a nice way to end a crazy busy week. The next day we dropped Monica off at the airport with her promise to come back as soon as she can. Once people come and see the beauty of this country, they can’t seem to get out of their system.

Monica beginning the lesson

Playing around

Monica and Alex painting with the kids

Some of the kids showed real talent

J and Fortuna

Playing with the pigment

Friday, March 25, 2011

Change of Profession

For the past two weeks we have been loaning our SanteBus to J/P HRO while we still are trying to repair one of theirs. Greg has been driving and going on hospital transfers and helping out with the relocation process by bringing families to their new homes. At first I wasn’t sure what help I would be since I am not a doctor and I don’t drive. I eventually started helping at the pharmacy. At first I was just writing labels all day. I did about 400 or 500 one day. Slowly I started to help the ladies who where working in the pharmacy fill the prescriptions and by the 4^th day I was taking the prescriptions and filling them all on my own. I couldn’t explain to the patients how often to take the medication but I could write it on the bags we would hand out, so after I would fill them I would hand them over to one of the ladies who would then explain it to the patients. Finally though the head lady told me if I could write it in French I could also explain it in French. I wasn’t so confident doing it on my own so I always had one of the ladies tell it to me before I told the patients. I’m sure after a few more days I will be able to explain it to the patients on my own.

One of the first days we started to loan our SanteBus to J/P HRO they had an emergency transfer at 8pm. The truck they usually take for the transfers had an expired registration and one of the other cars had no gas in it so they called us. Greg and I went up and as we were waiting to leave there was a woman giving birth and before we left she had delivered the baby. We took 2 women down to a maternity hospital near the airport. One woman was 3 months pregnant and was bleeding and the other woman was clearly about to give birth. When we walked into the hospital with the women you could hear screams and grunts from other women giving birth. There were cries from newborns and some women were sitting outside of the delivery room waiting for an open table to give birth on. The hospital conditions are no where near ideal but they are better than giving birth on the floor of a tent with no help.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Peter

One of the nicest, funniest and most caring people I have ever met is a 13-year-old boy who lives in Nairobi. I met Peter back in 2007 when he first came to live at Cheryl’s Children’s Home. When he first arrived he couldn’t speak a word of English let alone any Swahili. When I returned in 2008 he was the comedian of the home. Everyone wanted to be around him and when you would spend time with him you knew there was something special about him. When I went back in December of 2009 I couldn’t have been more excited to see “my” kids again. As soon as I saw Peter I knew there was something wrong. He had a tumor that was getting bigger each week on his forehead. At first no one seemed to know what it was or what to do about it but when the final diagnosis came back it was non-Hodgkin lymphoma and he started chemo treatment right away. I had the privilege of living with him for 8 weeks and becoming very close to him and one of the older buys from Cheryl’s, James, who was also helping to take care of him. The two of them became like brothers to me. If they needed anything, I would have done it for them.

Two weeks ago I received devastating news. Peter’s cancer had come back and the doctors said that if they were to do another surgery there was only a 2 in 10 chance he would survive longer than 2 years. The doctors and the caregivers at Cheryl’s have decided to try to have him enjoy the time he has left with his friends and “family” from the home. I could not remember a time where I have been more upset to receive news than when I read about this. I just started crying and I was not myself throughout the day. Whenever I start to think about it I get upset and angry and start to question everything. Besides being so close to Peter and caring about him so deeply, I have never known someone young to die. I can’t imagine what he is going through. I wish so badly to go back to see him before he gets much worse but I don’t know if that will be possible because it is so expensive and I wouldn’t have nearly as much time as I would want to have with him. But seeing him before it is too late-that is what I would love more than anything. He will always have a special place in my heart long after al of this has passed. If you could meet him, you would understand why I feel this way.

To read about the time I spent with James and Peter, you can read some of my posts from last year.

Friday, March 4, 2011

More Visitors

There were only a few days between when the RWB left and when the first of the Sisters was to arrive. On the 14^th we brought one of the women, Grace, who cooks for the children up in Kenscoff for Pou Soley Leve, to the J/P HRO hospital because he thyroid was enlarged and she was having trouble breathing and could not eat. The doctors at J/P HRO did an assessment of her and realized they were not equipped to handle her case so she was referred to Medishare downtown. The hospital, along with all the other hospitals in the city and I’m sure in the country, was packed. There were people in beds next to each other with barley enough room for a doctor to squeeze in and talk to the patients. After an hour or s of waiting we finally found an ear-nose-throat doctor from NY who was down just for a few days. She was able to operate on Grace and relieve the pressure and we brought her back home a few days later. During these few days the mechanics were also working on the suburban and the mini bus. On the 18^th we got the mini bus working. We are still working on the suburban though. Every time I went to get mad at our mechanic, Pierre, for not having the cars running he would look at me and say “yes, madam?” How was I supposed to be mad after that? He is doing an amazing job and continues to use his own time to try to get the car running again.

Still on the 18^th Yvon brought be to a manifestation march for the return of former President Aristide. The middle of the day marching with a few thousand other supports dancing, singing and chanting. It was an experience. There were news crews filming the whole thing and press within the crowd taking pictures and interviewing people. When I looked online that day and the few days following, I could not find anything about it within the international press. It was relatively short and peaceful so that may be why. If and when he comes back I can’t imagine the celebrations that are going to happen. I hope I will be here to witness it. The next day we went to pick up Sister Johnice and Michael. Sister J and Sister Judi had spent some time with Yvon last summer and were coming back to see how things were progressing. We all went to church on Sunday and in the afternoon we took a drive to Sodo which is about 2 hours again. There is a waterfall there and it was just a nice relaxing afternoon. We left around 5:30 to have enough time to get back home and eat and then go out for pre-carnival celebrations at 8. Sounded like a great plan. That was until we got a flat tire coming down the mountain. Now to get to Sodo it is very easy and the road for the most part is smooth until you turn onto the road that takes you up and over the mountain. That road- not so smooth. In fact it is just rock. It was a good thing we got a flat when we were almost down the mountain and not just starting to make the climb back over. After much help from the locals we were able to finally find a tire that fit. Just as they were struggling to get off that last luge nut (which they worked on for a good 45 minutes) the power went out so all of the men were holding up their cell phones to shed light on the tire. They were also changing the tire by hand with no tools whatsoever. By the time we finally go back on the road it was 10:30. Needless to say there was no pre-carnival celebration for us that day. The next few days were filled with showing the Sisters the different things that were now happening to the programs they were working with during their last visit, which included the deaf camp, Pou Soley Leve in Kenscoff, and talking with Catholic Relief Services on what they are doing. On Tuesday the 24^th the sisters left and Alex, Dr Bonnet’s son and one of my best friends, came down for a few days. On Friday at 8am we were supposed to hike up to Sarazin where Pou Soley Leve has another school program going. Eight in the morning was Haitian time of course and we didn’t end up starting the hike until 11am which by that time was much much hotter than it was at 8am. At least I got to work on my tan some more. The hike takes about 25 minutes, but it is not just a strolling walk. The beginning is the hardest climbing just up rocks while trying not to slip and fall. We can only take the car to the base of the mountain so when we dropped of the rice we got donated from J/P HRO the week before, the children had to make the hike while carrying the boxes. They are also building a school up there since no schools exist up there and because of this, children do not start going to school until they are around 10. Since there are no bricks at the top of the mountain the children have been bringing them up brick by brick. There are a few different drop-off points for the bricks so the children don’t have to carry them up the whole way each time. The school is nothing more than a long tent you would use for parties divided into 6 sections for the different classes. By the time we got up there the children were finishing school since they only go for half a day and then return home and help their families in the fields or with whatever work they need help with. That day for lunch they were eating the rice that J/P HRO donated. Sometimes that is the only real meal a day these children get.

The next day we headed to Jacmel which is about 2 and a half hours away because that is where the big Carnival celebration was last weekend. By the time we got there is was dark so we ate on the beach went out to see one of the oldest bands in Haiti perform. Sunday morning we headed straight to the beach in the morning and it was already packed. We stayed there most of the day and ate since we knew we would not be eating anything once Carnival began. We headed out a bit before four and we were already late. There were people everywhere and the parade was already going on. The Carnival in Jacmel is more of a traditional one whereas the one in Port-Au-Prince (this coming weekend) is more like an ongoing party and dancing. In Jacmel they make paper mâché animals and all sorts of other things. They made one of the collapsed Presidential Palace and homes that were collapsed by the earth quake. There were some people carrying a young boy on a stretcher with posters saying things along the lines of cholera kills. There were also many groups playing music, singing and dancing up the streets. I didn’t think the party would ever stop. Eventually it did and we headed back to Port-Au-Prince around 1030 pm. Alex left Monday afternoon and it was back to normal life again here until Friday when Dr Bonnet (JP), John (a guy who works with us back in Jersey) and Robert (a friend of John’s and pilot who is flying them all on a 4 passenger flight from Fort Lauderdale) arrive.