Through the week

We spent the week between the nursing school and the orphanage.  When we went to the orphanage we spent time playing games and activities with them.  We brought them candy and treats and it was so great to see all of them again.  It was so much fun to see how far along they all have come.  They were speaking English and it was such a joy to see!  Most of the children are in the process of being adopted and it is so wonderful to see how great the orphanage is doing. 

At the nursing school we spent time with the students.  We spent time teaching them English and helping them raise funds for the school by selling food.  We also went to clinicals with the students.  We helped them with calculations and tried our best to teach them how nursing should be done.

When we went to clinicals we spent most of the time in the pediatric ward.  We played with the children, gave them candy, and had stickers and coloring activities for them.  I always thought that when people got to a hospital in Haiti, they got cared for.  After spending several days in the hospital I found that this was not true.  Every time something is done they need to have the money first.  There were several children that we just waiting for antibiotics, IV placement, or a blood test to be done.  They were laying in the beds very sick and nothing was being done until the family could pay for it.  It was very sad to see and I felt helpless there.  One kid in particular is still on my heart.  He was HIV positive and you could clearly see it.  No one was paying any attention to him.  When we picked him up many people ran to tell us not to touch him because he had AIDS.  It took a lot of time to tell the people that you can still hold and love a child with HIV.  The mom of the child was 14 years old and also had HIV.  She did not care about the child and did not seem to care about life.  There was a very bad plan in place for the child and it was very frustrating to watch.  Lisa provided the child with a bath, food, and water every day we saw him.  There were many other stories like this that just broke my heart that I still cannot wrap my head around.

First few days in Haiti!

We did many thing while we were in Haiti and it was such a great experience! 

The first weekend we were there we spent time at Shirley's home town.  We put on a health fair at Shirley's church.  Lisa and I presented an education piece which included topics such as cholera and nutrition.  Then the children that were sick were seen by Kern and the ones who were not we provided games and activities for them.  Then Shirley talked with all the people and gave them additional education on topics that they had questions about.  We provided all the people with breakfast and lunch which was such an amazing thing.  At the end of the day we took time to talk and pray with all the people that wanted it.  Their prayers and life stories were all different.  Each person had a unique journey and their own personal struggles, but they all shared one similarity and that was the prayer to survive.  All were struggling for food, shelter, money, and their health.  It was incredible to hear and so sad that so many people are having issues with basic needs. 

We spent a couple of nights with our friend Shelia in her home.  She had requested that we bring some clothes and toys for her next door neighbors children.  Lisa had meet the boys before so we had an idea of their size.  While in the United States we bought them clothes and some toys.  When we were at Shelia's house we gave the three little boys baths, dressed them and gave them some toys.  We had so much fun and the kids went crazy with the candy, toys and all the new clothes!