Sunday we were given the opportunity to attend a church service. We were all eager to see what a church service would be like in Haiti. Some of us headed off to Catholic Mass, while others went to an LDS service. The churches were beautiful and the Haitian people were very kind to us.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Traveling Day --> Destination Haiti
After a very long night of traveling, we finally arrived in Port Au Prince around 2 pm Saturday. We made it with no major catastrophes and all of our bags made it safely to Haiti. We spent the remainder of our evening settling into our bunkhouse and going through our supplies. The bunkhouse definitely exceeded any of our expectations we might have had. All of you at home, we are residing in one of the safest places in Haiti, so rest assured. We also have a wonderful staff looking after us. We are equipped with 7 interpreters, 24/7 guards, personal drivers, and a wonderful support staff. The bunkhouse even has multiple showers, mosquito screens, clean water, and mattresses for us to sleep on. We all feel very fortunate to be staying in this house.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Idaho--> Haiti 2015
We are a group of individuals representing Idaho for Humanitize Expeditions. We come from various backgrounds and are coming together with the purpose of a medical mission in Haiti. We have spent the last few months collecting donations and various supplies to take with us.These supplies will allow us to be able to provide care for a number of outreach clinics and orphanages. We invite you to follow us as we take this incredible journey!
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Packing Day
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
We have seen more severely ill people on this trip than before. One woman age 55 who looks 75 has a growth the size of a cantelope hanging pendulous lay from her lower abdomen. They can't do the "free" surgery until she has 50 dollars worth of blood and urine tests. We did a couple of the tests then gave her the money for transportation to Panajachel where a private and only lab is located. We gave transportation money to a woman with a growth the size of a large grape in her mouth under her tongue, to get to the hospital about 90 minutes away. We are doing a home visit on a family that came in yesterday with the most malnourished kids I have ever seen here. They were dirty, skinny and sad. She is 20 and has four kids she obviously can't feed. We have paid for an 8 year old to have two rotten teeth pulled and I have begged the mom to go to a real dentist to find out the cost to repair the rest of his rotten teeth. His teacher initially brought him in because he was in so much tooth pain. A man came who needs a hernia repair but the "free" surgery can't be done until he comes up with $100 to pay for the mesh to use to do the repair. We have treated multiple urinary tract infections, colds, ear infections, headaches and body aches, gastritis and heartburn, done prenatal and well baby checks. One man told us about his 27 year old brother completely disabled since having meningitis at age 5 months. He sleeps in a crib so we are buying him a new bed that they can get for $150. Since we opened the clinic last week we have treated over 400 patients in our village and three others.
Katie
Katie
Friday, May 16, 2014
Middle Tennessee State University Drama Team
This afternoon they performed for the mamas and tots nutrition program here and were a huge hit. They have performed for over 600 kids and families in 5 villages so far. The cast is 6 college students from MTSU and one HS student who is the professors nephew. The show is 20 minutes with a message (anger management, dental hygiene and hand washing). They wrote it in a theater class this year in English then had it translated into Spanish and learned it even though most of them know little or no Spanish. Impressive. There is some music which their audiences really like. The drama team performed for the Los Robles school minus one class since the teacher was at Inservice and they don't use substitutes.
The food is good, homemade tortillas at every meal. The Los Robles school is using the stove we installed last year to make a nutritious drink daily supplied by the government, it is a variety of drinks including one made of rice, one of wheat and incaperina.
Thanks drama team for a great humanitarian experience!! This is a great reminder that every talent can be used to help others!
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Harley and Morgan with the kids |
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Watching the performance |
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Cathy and Catalina |
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Godinez Basico (grades 7-9) |
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The great performers! |
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Students at Godinez Primario performed for them |
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More of the show |
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The Drama Team |
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Yette mowing the lawn! |
The food is good, homemade tortillas at every meal. The Los Robles school is using the stove we installed last year to make a nutritious drink daily supplied by the government, it is a variety of drinks including one made of rice, one of wheat and incaperina.
Thanks drama team for a great humanitarian experience!! This is a great reminder that every talent can be used to help others!
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Day 7,8 & 9: Final Day's in Haiti
Guys, I know. I am a horrible blog writer and I never finished up the last days in Haiti. I had all intentions to do it on the plane heading back, in the airport, or even the first week I was back, but I didnt. BUT now, I would like to wrap up the final days in Haiti!
Everyone made it home safely and no luggage was lost! It has been an amazing trip and an even better team. There were many compliments and comments of how everyone thought this group was great and even one of the best!
On Friday, we all woke up bright and early, loaded up a bus and took off to our first stop to the new Partners in Health Hopital Universaire de Mirebalais. The trip to the hospital was quite a spectacular drive, we were able to get out of the hustle and bustle of Port Au Prince and head into the countryside. It was a long drive, but it definitely gave a different perspective on Haiti.
When we got to the hospital, it regretfully lost in communication that we were coming that day for a tour of the hospital, but luck fully we were able to tour the property anyways. We walked around the property and were able to see the two main waiting rooms, which were packed of patients waiting their turn to be seen. It was a great tour and it was amazing to be able to see what is being done in Haiti to help them out.
Next, we headed to the Hospital Albert Schweitzer Haiti. One of our team members, Aislinn, who had been
a Project Hope volunteer for 3 months during the cholera epidemic in 2010-11, was able to show us some of this facility, and introduce us to the Medical Director. We had some extra supplies and decided this would be a great place to donate the rest of them. Katie was also there for a month with Project Hope, and she was surprised by how little has changed from that time.
The next thing on our busy Friday was to do a small clinic at the Montrouis Work of Art Orphanage. We were able to see around 30 patients from the orphanage, and even had past records to use while we did the check-ups on the kids and staff. This was a quick and easy clinic, where we already had such a long day.
After much work and seeing and treating over 400 people throughout the week, everyone was in need of a break. We were able to give back to the country of Haiti and spend our money at the Indigo Resort. Indigo Resort is located on the beach and is very beautifully. It really reminds you that Haiti it is still a beautiful island, located in the Caribbean. We were all able to get checked in to our rooms (that were air conditioned, I might add) and take somewhat warm showers. Some people went immediately to the beach, while others took a nice nap in their rooms. Later that night we were treated to a Haitian buffet, where they food was very good. After eating most people headed to their rooms or stayed up and danced in the rain!
Picture credit to Jinil Harvey
The next morning we were treated to another Haitian buffet for breakfast, and then were able to do whatever we pleased until 4:00 that afternoon. The group rented a couple of kayaks and snorkel gear, and took off to explore! While exploring one of the kayaks began to sink and did sink out in the ocean. Luckily everyone was alright, and they were even able to pull the kayak partially onto the beach, and walk back to the resort.
French fries, hot dogs, and pizza were few of the amazing food we were able to indulge in for lunch. Later that afternoon everyone began to pack up and get ready to head back to the guest house, to prepare to head back to the States the next day.
This was such a great and memorable trip and it will never be something I will forget. For everyone that has been on the brink of going on a humanitarian trip, YOU NEED TO GO! It was definitely an amazing experience and I was so glad to be able to participate in such a experience.
Everyone made it home safely and no luggage was lost! It has been an amazing trip and an even better team. There were many compliments and comments of how everyone thought this group was great and even one of the best!
On Friday, we all woke up bright and early, loaded up a bus and took off to our first stop to the new Partners in Health Hopital Universaire de Mirebalais. The trip to the hospital was quite a spectacular drive, we were able to get out of the hustle and bustle of Port Au Prince and head into the countryside. It was a long drive, but it definitely gave a different perspective on Haiti.
When we got to the hospital, it regretfully lost in communication that we were coming that day for a tour of the hospital, but luck fully we were able to tour the property anyways. We walked around the property and were able to see the two main waiting rooms, which were packed of patients waiting their turn to be seen. It was a great tour and it was amazing to be able to see what is being done in Haiti to help them out.
Next, we headed to the Hospital Albert Schweitzer Haiti. One of our team members, Aislinn, who had been
a Project Hope volunteer for 3 months during the cholera epidemic in 2010-11, was able to show us some of this facility, and introduce us to the Medical Director. We had some extra supplies and decided this would be a great place to donate the rest of them. Katie was also there for a month with Project Hope, and she was surprised by how little has changed from that time.
The next thing on our busy Friday was to do a small clinic at the Montrouis Work of Art Orphanage. We were able to see around 30 patients from the orphanage, and even had past records to use while we did the check-ups on the kids and staff. This was a quick and easy clinic, where we already had such a long day.
After much work and seeing and treating over 400 people throughout the week, everyone was in need of a break. We were able to give back to the country of Haiti and spend our money at the Indigo Resort. Indigo Resort is located on the beach and is very beautifully. It really reminds you that Haiti it is still a beautiful island, located in the Caribbean. We were all able to get checked in to our rooms (that were air conditioned, I might add) and take somewhat warm showers. Some people went immediately to the beach, while others took a nice nap in their rooms. Later that night we were treated to a Haitian buffet, where they food was very good. After eating most people headed to their rooms or stayed up and danced in the rain!
Picture credit to Jinil Harvey
The next morning we were treated to another Haitian buffet for breakfast, and then were able to do whatever we pleased until 4:00 that afternoon. The group rented a couple of kayaks and snorkel gear, and took off to explore! While exploring one of the kayaks began to sink and did sink out in the ocean. Luckily everyone was alright, and they were even able to pull the kayak partially onto the beach, and walk back to the resort.
French fries, hot dogs, and pizza were few of the amazing food we were able to indulge in for lunch. Later that afternoon everyone began to pack up and get ready to head back to the guest house, to prepare to head back to the States the next day.
This was such a great and memorable trip and it will never be something I will forget. For everyone that has been on the brink of going on a humanitarian trip, YOU NEED TO GO! It was definitely an amazing experience and I was so glad to be able to participate in such a experience.
Bye Haiti!
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