Well this is it.  Today is my last day here in Haiti.  Last night the power went off a lot.  I know when it goes off because the fans go off and I start getting really hot and sweaty not to mention hear the buzzing of the mosquitoes.  I won’t miss the mosquitoes; they took a lot of my blood I think. 

We woke up around 5:30 and I was glad someone found and made coffee for us.  It’s going to be a long day.  Many of the kids are already up and want to know if we are leaving.  They want to make sure my friend Jamie isn’t leaving yet.  She’s still staying until the end of May to carry out some projects she set out to accomplish.  I can’t want to hear the progress of things we have started.  It will be a lot of work but I think it will all be good.

The kids all want to give us hugs.  Some of the older boys try not to show they are sad we are leaving but I know they will miss us.   People come and go here all the time so I think they are used to it.

We are going to take the tap tap back to the airport.  It will be dusty but it’s a fun way to just take in the views.  There is a large pig walking along side of the road.  I haven’t seen a pig this big just out walking around.  I’m glad he just stayed on the side of the street instead of the middle of the road.

When we get out to the main road, there are a ton of people out and about.  It looks like a morning commute downtown Chicago but a little more primitive.  It’s still not very light out but it’s busy that’s for sure.  I am wondering where everyone is going because very few people have jobs here.

We were very early to the airport but wanted to make sure we didn’t run into any bad traffic jams on the way out of town.  In fact we were so early nothing was open inside the airport.

My daughter wanted me to find a tee shirt but unfortunately there are no tee shirt shops, no gift shops, no Hard Rock Café’s, Rainforest Cafes or Starbucks for that matter.  There’s not much when it comes to gift shops.  I was happy with the little non descript items I found on the ground as a memory of what it is like here.

This place is not a place I will forget.  I tell people it was a scary place but at the same time exhilarating.  Among the dust and garbage there a little bit of hope.  I see signs of life here and I hope the life will continue to grow.  Haiti just can’t seem to catch a break.  People down here don’t complain about what they don’t have.  They are thankful for the little things that they do have.  I would have to say I had about 95% of a positive experience with the people that I came into contact with.  I would say the other 5% isn’t necessarily negative but maybe neutral.

Haitians are all cautiously optimistic I think.  I think they really want an identity of their own.  It is hard because a lot of different countries are here everyday putting their influence on their culture and customs.  They suffer but you don’t see them complain, they know this is their life.

It is an experience I hope I will someday have my daughter experience as well.  There were many kids from the United States, Canada and France that I ran into.  A lot of these kids have been here before and one girl wanted to come here for her graduation present.  Can you believe that?  It’s a place that draws you in, in mysterious ways. It doesn’t seem possible but now that I’ve been here, I understand it better.

I’m already thinking of other things I could do down here if I came back.  I am very grateful for all the help I received from all of you.  The people of Haiti will benefit greatly from your generosity.  I am thinking of sponsoring a child down here so they can attend school.  It’s around $350 to maybe $450 a year.  Parents in Haiti basically have to prepay for school.  It’s very hard to send their kids to school.  The nannies at the orphanage get paid about $2.00 a day can you imagine that?  Most Haitians make no more than $450 in a whole year.  It’s very sad.  You can’t buy too many things on that salary.

So thanks again for everything you have all done.  I think I will post some pictures in the next few days of some other sights of Haiti.  And on a totally different note, Scotty Pippen from the Bulls legacy was on my flight back home.  How cool is that?

Thanks for tuning in and reading about my adventures.

Bonjour,

As usual we had no power for me to send this off.  I tried sending smoke signals about my adventures for the day but I was competing will all the other smoke in Port au Prince and it didn’t work.

So in the morning we were going to take the kids for their horse therapy.  I think this is around their 4^th time or so.  They know that today will be an exciting day.  My friend Susan and I had to ride in the back of a pick up with the wheelchair and the kids rode in the truck.  They don’t use seat belts or child safety seats, they just all pile in. My friend Jamie rode up with the kids. 

Halfway to the equestrian center, Rosaline started having a seizure.  It scared the driver and he pulled over.  My friend Jamie thought for a moment that Rosaline had died.  It was very scary.  We had to turn around and go back home.

It is not practical or possible to call for an ambulance.  It could take an hour for an ambulance to just show up.  I think many people die because they cannot get to a hospital in time or get proper emergency care.

Rosaline finally came to about 15 minutes later.  She was very exhausted and weak.  We took her to lie down.  She’s paralyzed on her left side so she has a hard time walking.  The nurse there gave her some kind of medicine.  I don’t know what it was.

Every week a mission group from Helping Haiti comes in and visits with the kids.  There were quite a few people and most looked like College or high school age kids from the

U.S. mostly.  Unfortunately, sometimes when the kids schedule gets crazy, well, the kids go crazy.

It all started at lunch and it looked like a giant food fight except, the kids scramble for loose food.  They were trying to steal it by the handfuls from each other.  One kid caused such a commotion that half of another boy’s lunch ended up in my friend Susan’s hair and clothes.  The kids even tried eating the rice out of her hair!  Gross huh?  They just always think they are starving.  The kids eat three meals a day but it is mostly rice and cornmeal.  I would not like to eat the same food every day.

We took a little break after the lunch feeding and went for a walk to find some sugar cane.  We got a little lost (don’t get lost in Haiti) and a nice woman helped us find our way to the road we were looking for.  Since there are no street signs it’s hard to figure out where you are.  I just started look for familiar things.

We did eventually find the sugar cane guy selling it out of a wheelbarrow.  It tasted pretty good.  Some people kind of got mad at us because we spit the used sugar cane out.  You chew and suck the juice out of the cane and then spit out the fibers when it’s out of flavor.  Think gum.  I think they may have either thought we were littering or being unladylike.  I think it was neither. 

In the afternoon, we got some of the boys some newer clothes.  They were so excited to get them and we let them pick a few things out too.  Everything they own fits inside a dishpan.  Can you imagine having everything you own fit into a dishpan?  It’s not a lot.

The kids here are very small.  I think the biggest size we used was a size 10 or 12.  An 8 year old boy down there wears clothes at least two sizes smaller.  A three year old boy wore baby clothes.  I was just glad I wasn’t shopping for these kids because nothing would have fit.

Gus

Wolton's funny face

Jr.

Leo

The kids have to help feed the little kids

This is Maxo.  He just had eye surgery and now he can't keep his finger's out of his eyes.  We are working on helping to eat alone.

The kids are getting a little educational lesson from Gabriel. They are off school this whole week.

This was the secret passage we took when we got lost on our walk.

Sugar Cane.  You have to cut off the brown outer  stuff before you eat it.

A kitty that lives at the orphanage.

Almost every kid here has a belly button that sticks out a couple or few inches.  I don’t know why.   It reminds me of those punch balls you blow up and you roll up the end and stick it in. 

I was thinking today that I will be glad to be home when I can take a shower with real hot water.  The shower here only has cold water.  It will wake you up in the morning that’s for sure.  I have to still take pills even when I get home so I don’t get malaria from the mosquitoes.  I have a lot of mosquito bites and I swear they look for me at night.  I have to put on spray so they don’t bite me so much.  It’s kind of gross.

Rice in the hair!  Ick!

Ok,  here are some pictures of today.  Thanks for reading!

Hi everyone back in Illinois!

A rooster woke me up this morning and it wasn’t even light outside yet.  Can you believe that?  It was around 5am.  Today was a really hot and sweaty day.

After breakfast, we did some therapy sessions with some of the kids to help stretch their muscles out.  They are so tight.  We are trying to get them stronger so eventually they can stand and walk.  It was fun using all the therapy things we brought down and the things we made for them to use.  We think some of these kids may eventually walk but it will take a long time.  Winsley is the one I spoke about way back when.  She was the one the police took here and told Gertrude that she had to now take care of her.  She was very scared when she arrived but she is much better and knows that this is a safe place.

Christine

Christina 

Phonsley

Winsley

The girl below is Olge.  Do you see how her hair is kind of orange colored?  When you see kids with orange or reddish hair it means they are malnurished.  Her hair is coming back in black again which is good.

Olge

There are only two nannies for the disabled kids and two nannies for the regular kids.  Because of the number of nannies and the number of kids, it is easier for the nannies to feed the kids themselves.  So a lot of the kids get fed because they have never learned how to eat.   We have been working with a few kids to get them to eat on their own.  It’s very messy and you have to be very patient.  They are actually learning. It all in baby steps.   We are hoping that the kids will eventually eat by themselves.  They look like little baby birds waiting to be fed.  It’s kind of sad, but it’s just the way things are down here.

Jonathon

The boy above is Jonathan.  He should be in school but he does not have a sponsor yet. We are hoping next school year he will be able to go with the other kids.  He was messing around with me and this is his goofy face.

This is Kendina.  She is about 2 years old.  Hopefully she will get adopted one day. She's cute!

Shirley goofing around

After lunch, we needed a break so we went out into the neighborhood and gave out some of the hygiene kits that have soap, shampoo a toothbrush and other things to keep clean.  The people we met today were very appreciative of their gifts.

We also went back to the Church we attended on Sunday.  They were doing a lot of building on the property and today they were building a back wall.  Father Matt from St. Patricks in Yorkville gave me a bag of rosaries, some prayer cards and some other religious items.  A few of the people took some of the items but they wanted to keep the rest so that the priest could see these gifts for the church and the people.  The older women were very excited to get a few of the items. 

They were repairing the back wall.

We walked around some more and tried to find some sugar cane but we did not.  We get a lot of strange looks from the people in the neighborhood. The little kids always shout, “hey you”, I always shout it back and they laugh or I try to say it first.

Dog and Pig

One of the men here is raising a pig.  His dog guards the pig from predators or whatever else.  Well today the pig got out.  I tried to get it back to his area.  The dog was afraid of me mostly because I had a cane  I thought I could wrangle it back into it’s penned in area.  It didn’t work.  I started to have a small crowd watching me do this.  I think they thought I was nuts or “fou” which is crazy.  My friends couldn’t believe I was trying to get the pig.  He went out onto the soccer field so I figured, ok, at least they are close.  Eventually the owner got them back into the pen.  The dog and pig are good buddies and eat together. 

We call this goat alley because all the goats hang out here.

Tomorrow we take the kids to horse therapy again.  Most of them really like it.  The little girl Marice with the club feet has to get new casts on her legs tomorrow too.  Every week they have to be changed.  I would hate having a cast that covers both my entire legs because it is so hot down here.

Not too much other exciting stuff to report about.  Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

Hello everyone,

It seems like it has been some time since I have been able to add any information.  I’ve mostly been without internet as well as several things that have happened during the last two days.

Walking with the children to church

Most of the children walk to church on Sunday.  We went with them to experience what they do every Sunday.  The church has no doors or windows or walls for that matter.  Everyone here is dressed up in their Sunday best.  You would never know how poor these people are.  They dress like us minus the fashion symbols sewn on their clothing.  Brand names are not really important to them, getting food and going to school is.  The people at church were very happy that we wanted to be there.  They made us feel very very welcome. 

After church we were going to an area a several hours away.  There is an organization that is known throughout the world called, Compassion.  (www.compassion.com)  My friend Jamie is sponsoring a middle school age boy so he can attend school, have clothing and other necessities.  She is going to meet him for the first time.  He had to travel about 4 hours on the back of a motorcycle.  When I say motorcycle, it is a rickety dirt bike.  We filled a couple of backpacks with supplies for him to take back home for him and his family.  He’s really shy.

My friend Jamie and her child

Before we came to Jacmel to meet him, we had to travel about 5 ½ hours in the car.  We were stopped in a blokey (blow key) a traffic jam, for 2 hours.  Two hours to go a few miles.  It was really stressful and scary.  Everyone was stuck in traffic and were angry like we were.

Somewhere along the way, gas started leaking from out gas tank.   We still had to go though the mountains to the other side.  We didn’t know if we would make it there.  It’s actually really quiet and pretty up in the mountains.  They don’t see a lot of “blanc’s” , that’s white people.

A rural mountain home

Up in the mountains

The ocean in Jacmel

Jacmel is very pretty and we were at the ocean.  You would think you are just somewhere down in the Caribbean.   It’s really pretty here compared to down in Port au Prince. 

It's very very dusty here.

Sunset

Haitian spaghetti.  Haitian's even eat spaghetti for breakfast.  Crazy huh?

 Well that's it for now.  After the last two days, my brain is fried.  I think tomorrow maybe I'll show you some of the kids that live here.

Bonswa again,

There is no difference between afternoon and evening.  It is evening now. I thought yesterday was good, today rocked! 

Tap Taps

I took a tap tap today with the kids.  I never heard of a tap tap.  It’s basically a truck taxi that has a roof and you “tap tap” on the side of the truck when you want to alert the driver to stop.   You sit in the back of the truck.   I was a little nervous about going out but the guy who drove us works at the orphanage.  Being a retired police officer, I get a little nervous about unfamiliar things and I am skeptical of a lot of people.  The Haitian people all look the same.  They look like they don’t trust us.  At the end of the day, I was waving and say “hey you” to everyone.  All the kids here either call you “Blac” or say “hey you”.  It was a fun day.

First we went to an equestrian center to take 4 of the kids for horse therapy.  One of the girls, Christine is a hydrocephalic.  This basically means she has water in her brain.  In the U.S. they would drain in but here they haven’t or maybe won’t.  She smiles, laughs and claps but we don’t know what her other abilities are at this point.  The man who runs the center said that today he though she was using her leg muscles to hang on while she was on the horse.

Christine and Paco

Jean Daniel

A little boy named Jean Daniel loved it!  He has muscular disorders but since he is in a wheel chair so much, his leg strength is very weak.  He has great potential though.  He loved every minute of today’s therapy session.  He walked up to all the horses and started brushing them.  This mode of therapy suits him well.

Cade

Another boy, Cade (like caad-a) is very autistic. He does not like the horses and is very nervous around them.  He had the grip of death on me.  He doesn’t even want to look at them.  But this therapy is also good for him because he needs to get all the energy out of this brain to calm and relax him.  I even tried bribing him with cookies and he wasn’t going for it.  When he is stimulated he just shouts out and it scares me to death.  It comes out of no where. Once all that stuff is out of his head, he becomes very calm.

The last girl is about 15 or 16.  Her name is Rosalind. Older kids in Haiti go much unnoticed so we thought it was good for her to go.  She is paralyzed on her left side but her brain works to understand.  It’s hard to judge the age of kids here because they are about 5 years younger looking I’d say than to kids back at home.  The boy Jr. who I showed his picture when it was his birthday earlier this week, I found out he’s really 21.  What?!

Rosalind

Some of the money we raised helps pay for these kids therapy which is $35 a child.  The man who runs the program, Paco, had been in the same boat.  He was in a horse riding accident and had to have horse therapy.  Today, he is good as new.   Paco is the one in a blue shirt.

We had a little problem when we were waiting for a ride back home.  A few of the kids with learning disabilities were dropped off at school today.  A short time later the orphanage found out there was no school.  They didn’t receive a note saying that.  So the school decided as punishment that they were going to keep the kids for the day and not let the orphanage take them home.  Can you imagine your parents not being able to take you home?  Eventually Gertrude worked it out with the school and the kids came home.

Necklaces at Apparent project

After lunch time, which again everyday is easier to manage; we went to a school for artists.  You have to be good to work there.  The school will sell the things you make.  It’s called the Apparent Project. (www.apparentproject.org)  the stuff there is beautiful.  Some of the jewelry is made out of the paper boxes you collected.  It is eventually turned into jewelry.   It took over an hour to get there through downtown Port au Prince.  I found a certain amount of pride in the people who call this country home.  They are always dressed as nicely as can be expected and even though they have very little; they have a lot of pride.  Everyone is always out and about and will wave back when you wave, even though they may look at you like you’re little nuts.  White people were far and few between and it was a weird feeling to feel like a minority in an unfamiliar place.

Port au Prince from Radio Hill

Radio Hill moments later

After we bought some stuff at the shop, we went to a place called Radio Hill.  It’s only named that because of all the radio towers on top.  It was about 15 degrees cooler and I can’t believe I was complaining that I was cold since I was complaining I was hot, hours earlier.  It looked out over the City of Port au Prince.  I could see the ocean and within 5 minutes and some pictures later, serious clouds rolled in.  We could barely see anything including about 20 feet in front of our faces.  It was crazy!

When we finally arrived back at the orphanage, we found out one of the nannies did not report for her shift.  Two of the girls that live here were now responsible for the showering of all the disabled girls.  It was a very hard task.  I felt bad so I decided to pitch in.  The girls were probably middle school age.  I dressed the kids for them after their shower.  They all wear cloth diapers and I could tell they were not happy about pinning the diapers on the kids so I did it.  It all worked out in the end.

Currently, it’s raining cats and dogs…not literally but it feels good.  I hope there are not too many mosquitoes out tonight.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.  I know we have a lot of stuff to do.

Poverty in Haiti

Poverty in Haiti

Just a real quick thing that was brough to my attention, yes, you may ask questions via my email if thou wish.  Mrs. Komes and Mr. Oker have my contact info.  You may alo be able to ask questions on the main google page that will be sent to me and not on the blog.  Thanks again.

Bonswa (Good Afternoon)!  Today started off much better than yesterday.  Slept better, it definitely helped.  I spent a good chunk of the morning till lunch, with one of the sewing machines I brought down.  We spent the time making adaptive tools, for some of the kids.  A few kids here like to suck on their fingers and hands.  So much so, that their skin is a mess.  We took some hand towels, folded them in half and sewed channels into them.  Home Depot gave me some paint sticks to stick in the pockets, you then Velcro them around the area in question. They can be used to straighten out some of the arms and legs of the kids with muscular problems.  It can also be used to help them keep their fingers out of their mouths.  

Making the towel splints

We also made some adaptive eating tools because there are two nannies to take care of 20 something special needs. I used one of those draft stoppers you put under your door.  We disassembled it and cut it to the size of their hands and shoved small spoons in.  The other one is made out of a T shaped plumbing fitting.  We drilled a hole in it and put in a wing nut screw to tighten a spoon, crayon, marker, paint brush, etc. 

 Since it takes them a lot of time to feed the kids, they would prefer to just feed them.  Maybe a handful eats by unaided but the rest are fed by hand.  They look like baby birds waiting to be fed.  It’s kind of sad but it’s a reality.  We took three kids that we thought would respond to eating by themselves.  Maurice, the little girl with the casts, did very well. 

A boy named Maxo just had eye surgery to correct some blindness.  He’s also has mental retardation, and they believe some autism.  He had a hard time because now that he had his surgery, he is very over stimulated.  I want to apologize if I don’t get some terminology correct, since I do not work with special needs people, I am clueless.

The last boy’s name is Jean-Daniel, he some cerebral palsy issues and some other unidentified medical problems.  He had a hard time as well because he is so accustomed to being fed.  It was very messy but he did make some progress.  The other hard thing is the stronger kids still come take food from the slower weaker eaters.

After lunch we took some of the regular kids, finished exams this week and now are going to be off the remainder of the week.  We filled some bags with the hygiene kits and gave them out to the people out in the community.  A few things we have to remember are not bring too many, don’t linger, and do not go where it’s crowded.  Everyone here wants something.  It was interesting to see the kids hand them out.  First the kids are not used to giving stuff away.  Secondly, when they had the last thing to give out, they were not really willing to give it away.  I think this is because that is how life is down here; you just never know when you will get food or personal items again.

Ok, that’s a lot for today.  Thanks for tuning in.  Ovewa (Goodbye)

Taking the kids to school

hungry dog.  He looks like a little deer

There are a lot of goats here.