During my internship I was extremely fortunate to have run into a set of young twins. Both were born premature and very sick, and once they were released from the hospital, they were admitted into the Malnutrition program at Partners In Development. In this program they received supplemental formula and milk, to try and ensure their growth and development. One very hot May day, these boys, their Mother, and one of their Sisters, came in for a weekly visit and to collect their supplemental formula, when they caught my eye. As soon as I saw them, I immediately had a draw to them, they were SO adorable... little did I know, they needed more help than what met the eye. That same day I made them some chicken and rice, which they thoroughly enjoyed, and as they were eating I was asking the mom questions like how old they were, how old her daughter was, and so on. When she told me that the twins were between 14-20 months, I was confused, because her toddlers seemed to be the size and development of a 9-11 month old. As I continued to spend more time with this family, me and other staff members noticed that they were not gaining weight, rather they were maintaining weight, which was concerning. We had a team of pediatric nurses visit and we had the boys checked out and the nurses agreed that the boys had to be eating more and their development was too slow for the age both boys were at. After a few weeks, the boys came in and my supervisor and I made an extremely upsetting discovery, that the boys were really sick and started to look ill. My supervisor had a connection to a free inpatient malnutrition program, once we sent photos of the boys and their weights, we waited about 25 minutes to hear back, and when we heard that they were accepted into the program and would be picked up the following day, everyone was relieved. The day the boys went to the inpatient hospital, was two days before my time in Haiti for the summer was over, but I kept in close touch with my friends in Haiti and have heard about the progress and development they have made since leaving. My heart is so warm and thankful to Middle Ground - Formerly Espwa Berlancia for saving the amount of lives they do. Malnutrition is a SERIOUS illness that many of us are so lucky to never have to experience. Of course I am always thankful for Partners in Development for everything they do and have done for so many families in the Port au Prince area. If you would like more information on either of these organizations these are there informational websites: Middle Ground: www.middlegroundhaiti.org Partners in Development: www.pidonline.org Below are the before and after pictures of the boys, showing how much they have recovered from such a cruel disease. I am so grateful to have had the experience of meeting this family and being a little cheerleader for their success and growth, without the support of so many sponsors, neither of these organizations and their success stories would be what they are today. This is the day that I met the twin boys. (The boy on the left is Eddy, the boy on the right is Kendy)This is the day they left the inpatient program, six and a half weeks later. (Left is Eddy and right is Kendy)
0 Comments
As part of my internship and my own personal goal, was to submerge myself into the culture as much as possible.
In the past six weeks, I have not lived like many Haitians do, but I also did not live like I do in the United States. Here, I have lived with limited electricity and internet connection, showered by only using the water in increments, sleeping with a mosquito net, and learning to not walk around barefoot. Learning how to be comfortable and become accustom to these changes was easy, and I feel that it could impact the way I do things when I return home. For example, not keeping the water in the shower running while I wash my hair, and to be more conservative with the what seems like endless supplies I have. While I have been here I have used many different modes of transportation, from private cars, to tap taps, to mottos, to buses. Each has its pros and cons, and having the chance to try each has been a great way to experience more of what a regular day for a Haitian looks like. Another large component to becoming accustomed is the food, the only chance to have “American” food is if I cook it myself or if I go more into the city of Port-Au-Prince and eat at a restaurant, which has resulted in me having plenty of chances to try different Haitian foods. When there is a team here, I get the opportunity to eat Haitian food since all of the cooks only cook Haitian food. The menu when teams are here for dinner consists of vegetables, rice, a protein, sauces, and sometimes noodles. I have also chosen to eat outside of the compound, so when I go to the little outside market, I can get a Patè, which is chicken, Pickli (spicy cabbage), hard-boiled egg, and seasoning all put into a dough that is then fried in butter. I have also had Haitian BBQ, which you can only buy after dark, so 8:30-ish, which is grilled spicy chicken, rice with vegetables, fried plantains, and sometimes spaghetti noodles on the side, often followed with a cold Prestige. For breakfast food here, I have enjoyed Akasan, which is a corn porridge, Madame makes it in massive quantities because it is such a desired and affordable breakfast, and is also accompanied by fresh coffee that is delicious as well. I have also had “Haitian French Toast”, that has been made with my gluten free bread, the only difference is that the French toast is also fried in butter instead of being toasted on the stove. I have also tried, what seemed impossible… carrying goods on my head. I was trusted by Saintilia to carry this massive bowl full of hot peanut butter, which was technically successful but I did not dare remove my hands from the bowl, in fear of dropping the most delicious peanut butter known to man. I tried my hand again at the construction site, carrying buckets of cement on my head, where I again did not take my hands off the bucket in fear of being covered in cement. I think it is a skill that I will continue practicing, but I do not see myself being able to carrying some of the items, that the women here carry. Overall, I have immensely enjoyed my time here, and getting to learn and experience the culture, and I look forward to taking some of these cultural habits with me to the states and applying them to my own way of living. When I return to the states I will also continue my Creole lessons to become eventually fluent and break down the language barrier between me and my Haitian friends. Since day one, I have been warmly welcomed by many of the people here, which made leaving home and temporarily living in a different country, much easier. Of course I had made friends and acquaintances during my visit last time, but I never expected these people to remember me like they do or welcome me as a part of their families.
The first week here, I had many reconnections, and I was very surprised by the number of people who remembered me. I received many hugs, and many people told me that they were so happy I returned, and were more excited after I told them I was here for a longer period of time. Over the past four weeks, friends have become Matants (aunts), Tontons (uncles), and Mommas, which is something I never expected. The amount of people I have met who have also become good friends is tremendous, it is like, they understand you have left your family and your home to come here and help their community, so they welcome you with wide open arms. The weekends are usually spent with two of the younger girls, Alexandra and Miranda. Alexandra is Madame Saintilia’s daughter, she is 13 years old, and she has taught me how to cook some Haitian dishes and laughs at me for the “American” food I eat. Miranda, is 9 years old, she is Madame Saintilia’s granddaughter, and she has the most beautiful personality. Alexandra is learning English, in school, but also by watching Netflix, so our conversations are in Kreyol and English, she corrects my Kreyol and I correct her English. Miranda knows some English, like “Hello, How are you?” and “It is nice to meet you”, but she also will correct my Kreyol when she feels it is necessary. I am truly blessed to have chosen an internship where I am working alongside people I consider family. My experience working with Madame Solange has been really great, and has given me insight on how the Haitians run the clinic here at PID. My main internship project has been to create a program to keep better track of how the prenatal program is running, how many patients Madame Solange sees, how many women go to every visit, and how many women complete the program start to finish. In order to do this project I spent several days watching Madame Solange and trying to understand the entirety of the prenatal program so I could create the best possible charting program for her.
Shadowing her and her work was really interesting, I was able to learn more about what a midwife in Haiti does, and what she does specifically here at PID. Every expecting mom gets six visits, and to be entered into the program you must come to the clinic for your first appointment before you are five months pregnant. The appointments consist of any complaints the expecting mother may have, questions she might have, listening to the baby’s heart, and making sure the baby is growing at an appropriate rate. After all of that, Madame Solange will make an appointment for them to return, order any lab work she feels necessary, prescribe any required medications, and if she feels the woman should get an ultrasound, she will refer her to an outside clinic. Madame Solange will also see a woman post-natal, so if a woman completed the six prenatal visits, she can bring her newborn baby in for a free check up with Madame Solange, as long as the baby is under one month old. Now that the online prenatal program has been completed and is being used, the data can be collected from any account the program has been shared with, which is beneficial to the medical director, Madame Carline to keep track of how many labs and medications are used for the prenatal program. Teaching Madame Solange how to use a computer has also been part of the project, and since she is such an educated woman, she picked it up very fast. When speaking about Madame Solange’s hope for the prenatal program at PID, she said that she hopes for more staff, more patients, and especially a birthing suite. Many people, who often are just learning English, love to practice with the Americans who visit the area. I find it really enjoyable to help them practice their English, because in return I can practice my Creole! The conversation will typically be them asking me how I am, how long I am here for, telling me they will pray for me and my family, and asking where I am from. As fun as it is to explain to them the concept of ‘Maine’, and the frigid temperatures I live in, it is also really awesome when they ask more questions and really try to get to know me.
My favorite question I have been asked so far, and the most frequently asked question is “Do you love Haiti?” my immediate answer is “Of course, I would not be here if I did not love Haiti and its people”, which is my truest answer to their burning question. The question that always follows, is something we, as Americans, would never ask a visitor… “If you love Haiti so much, what is your dream for Haiti?”, the first time I was asked this I was taken aback, I asked for a minute to think about the answer I would give. After a few minutes of reflecting and collecting my thoughts it was clear to me that I really do have a great dream for Haiti and big hopes for the people who live here. My answer is simple, “I want more opportunity for the people who live here, I want good, affordable education so everyone can go to school. I want people here to be able to afford healthcare and to not suffer through illness because of their income. Most importantly, I want Haiti to be seen as the beautiful country it is and to be a land of opportunity, but I hope that the people stay true to their roots, and not stray from their culture.”. The typical response to my answer is a huge smile, a hug, and them saying “that is what we want as well”, which is reassuring to know that I have opened myself up to this country so much that I am beginning to share some of the same ideas as the people who actually live here, and live in these conditions, and see a lot of things they wish they could change. I realize I cannot make my hopes and dreams come true in one trip, or in the six weeks I am here for, but hopefully the small things I do while I am here, can start a chain reaction of positive changes. The younger people of Haiti and I have similar dreams, so therefore I am hoping one day my hopes and dreams for this country become a reality. Open your heart and your mind to everything around you, because you never know what will impact you the most… |
AuthorI'm just trying to change the world, one day at a time. ArchivesCategories |