Day 5 at Healing Hands- January 25
Well the morning came early for some of us today. We were out hearing RAM until 1:30 a.m., but boy was it worth it! There is so much energy in their music. We were dancing amongst a packed house of people. We were even able to meet and have our photo taken with Richard Morris (the lead singer/founder of RAM) so that was fun.
We said goodbye to Miriam, Alanzo and David this morning (the team with Wheels for Humanity). We had a great time getting to know them and hearing about the work they do throughout the world. This was Alanzo and David’s first trip to Haiti. Hopefully they walked away with some good memories and satisfaction from being here.
We were up early to get to Food for the Poor; and Mercy and Sharing orphanages this morning. We delivered a walker, several Convaid chairs and a Ti wheelchair between the orphanages. We also brought a PET (Personal Energy Transport) to both of the orphanages. We have witnessed that these are really a hit for the kids. We even saw the kids loading other children on the back for rides, creating their own Tap Tap (cab). We also brought toys, clothing and shoes to Mercy and Sharing. Richard worked his magic in making adjustments to the chairs on the fly in order to make the shares safe and comfortable for the kids.
O & P wrapped things up in the lab today. They were able six upper extremities and ten lower extremity prosthetics this week. Chef Rick also made his homemade pizza today for both the staff at the clinic and then again tonight for the staff at the guesthouse.
Tonight had a presentation on Haitian culture. This was a very thought provoking, intense conversation on the history and struggle of the Haitian people. A final thought they left us with tonight. The first time you come to Haiti it’s a doctor’s visit/examination, the second time you come back you are a friend, and the third time your return you are family.
Shaun was presented with his honorary Healing Hands for Haiti-Minnesota Team t-shirt
tonight. So he will forever be linked to the team. Tomorrow we will be bidding a farewell to Rick, Bob, Mel, Bill, Sara W., Renee, Sarah K., and Steve. Jean Pierre and Richard are heading to Jacmel for Carnival (Mardi Gras) which will sure to be a wild time. The rest of us are heading to Petit Goave to the beach for a couple days.
All in all it has been a wonderful week. It has been a memorable adventure and a successful trip for the Healing Hands for Haiti- Minnesota Team. I am sure everyone is walking away from this experience a different person. As our team t-shirt states: Men apil chay pa lou (Many hands make the load lighter). None of what was accomplished this week could have been done by a single person or without the help of our Haitian partners (staff at the clinic and our interpreters). Thanks to all for a job well done and thanks to all of you who supported us in our efforts.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Day 4 at Healing Hands
Day 4 with Healing Hands
Didn’t have great internet access yesterday, but we have done a lot in two days.
We discovered what was in the load of stuff that was dropped off on Tuesday night. It was a pile of stuff (mostly garb age). It was actually kind of heartbreaking and to the people of Haiti a bit insulting. There was a lot of stuff that wasn’t usable here in Haiti (woolen mitten, hats, ski pants, kids books in English). It is difficult because I think people want to give, but don’t realize that more garbage is not what is needed here.
On 1/23 we visited two orphanages (Food for the Poor and Institut Espoir/Rainbow of Love). They loaded all seventeen team members (which included our translators) into one van, along with our supplies and off we went. We felt like we were riding in a Haitian Tap Tap (cab). We were able to deliver two PETs (Personal Energy Transportation devices) to Rainbow of Love. It was great to see the kids growing up at both of the orphanages and they were happy to see us as well. The Fuzzy Bunz (diapers) were a great hit at Rainbow of Love. Great joy is gotten from playing with the kids and just providing them with much needed attention, holding and care.
Richard continues to work on modifying some chairs that we will take to Food for the Poor; and Mercy and Sharing later on in the week. Any type of seating devices are greatly needed and Richard is a genius at finding materials that will work.
Bill and Sara W. were able to enjoy a true Haitian shopping experience. We were in search of toaster for the guest house. Sarah K. spotted a toaster oven at one of the street vendor’s stand as we were driving back to the guest house following our trip to the orphanage. The guy wanted 15.00 for the toaster oven, but he wasn’t sure if it worked, so they didn’t buy it. We then found a strip mall (which is a rare site in Haiti, but this one is across the street from the new American Embassy). They had both a toaster and toaster oven of which they were asking 70.00 and 90.00 US dollars. This pricing was ridiculous, so they said no, but after twenty minutes of negotiating, Bill came out with the toaster for a cost of 20.00. We were delighted as we all enjoyed our toast this morning.
The O & P lab guys are busy little worker bees. They have been casting, molding and fitting a lot of people. They are really doing great things! Bob’s greatest achievement is that he actually won two cribbage games last night. We were playing in teams. His partner in cribbage, just like his partner is O & P was Rick, but we will give Bob some of the credit in helping to win the cribbage games as well.
Today we visited Food for the Poor again. In the last two days we were able to evaluate nearly 35 children. We measured the kids for wheelchairs and hopefully once the wheelchairs are released, 20 of these children will be receiving new chairs in the next month or so. We also delivered a PET to Food for the Poor, which was well received and plan on bringing two more there tomorrow.
A couple events at today’s clinic- Sarah K. taught a class to the technicians in the clinic on manual wheelchairs and seating systems. She had approximately 10 people in her class and they all appeared to be genuinely interested in her presentation. The other cool thing that happened is when Mel performed Piriformis therapy on a woman. She came to the clinic in extreme pain, not even wanting to be touched. Mel provided treatment to the muscle (this is a muscle located in the buttock, and when it is causing problems people might think it is related to back pain or sciatica problems). After he assisted her she was able to walk out of the clinic in much better shape. This is what it’s all about while we are here.
Today Rick and Bob also went out shopping for Haitian peanut butter (which has a hot pepper flavor to it) and supplies to make pizza for the staff tomorrow. Tonight we are heading to hear RAM, a local band. It will be great fun and a late night, but we will be able to carry on our mission for our final day at the clinic tomorrow. Goodnight and more tomorrow.
Didn’t have great internet access yesterday, but we have done a lot in two days.
We discovered what was in the load of stuff that was dropped off on Tuesday night. It was a pile of stuff (mostly garb age). It was actually kind of heartbreaking and to the people of Haiti a bit insulting. There was a lot of stuff that wasn’t usable here in Haiti (woolen mitten, hats, ski pants, kids books in English). It is difficult because I think people want to give, but don’t realize that more garbage is not what is needed here.
On 1/23 we visited two orphanages (Food for the Poor and Institut Espoir/Rainbow of Love). They loaded all seventeen team members (which included our translators) into one van, along with our supplies and off we went. We felt like we were riding in a Haitian Tap Tap (cab). We were able to deliver two PETs (Personal Energy Transportation devices) to Rainbow of Love. It was great to see the kids growing up at both of the orphanages and they were happy to see us as well. The Fuzzy Bunz (diapers) were a great hit at Rainbow of Love. Great joy is gotten from playing with the kids and just providing them with much needed attention, holding and care.
Richard continues to work on modifying some chairs that we will take to Food for the Poor; and Mercy and Sharing later on in the week. Any type of seating devices are greatly needed and Richard is a genius at finding materials that will work.
Bill and Sara W. were able to enjoy a true Haitian shopping experience. We were in search of toaster for the guest house. Sarah K. spotted a toaster oven at one of the street vendor’s stand as we were driving back to the guest house following our trip to the orphanage. The guy wanted 15.00 for the toaster oven, but he wasn’t sure if it worked, so they didn’t buy it. We then found a strip mall (which is a rare site in Haiti, but this one is across the street from the new American Embassy). They had both a toaster and toaster oven of which they were asking 70.00 and 90.00 US dollars. This pricing was ridiculous, so they said no, but after twenty minutes of negotiating, Bill came out with the toaster for a cost of 20.00. We were delighted as we all enjoyed our toast this morning.
The O & P lab guys are busy little worker bees. They have been casting, molding and fitting a lot of people. They are really doing great things! Bob’s greatest achievement is that he actually won two cribbage games last night. We were playing in teams. His partner in cribbage, just like his partner is O & P was Rick, but we will give Bob some of the credit in helping to win the cribbage games as well.
Today we visited Food for the Poor again. In the last two days we were able to evaluate nearly 35 children. We measured the kids for wheelchairs and hopefully once the wheelchairs are released, 20 of these children will be receiving new chairs in the next month or so. We also delivered a PET to Food for the Poor, which was well received and plan on bringing two more there tomorrow.
A couple events at today’s clinic- Sarah K. taught a class to the technicians in the clinic on manual wheelchairs and seating systems. She had approximately 10 people in her class and they all appeared to be genuinely interested in her presentation. The other cool thing that happened is when Mel performed Piriformis therapy on a woman. She came to the clinic in extreme pain, not even wanting to be touched. Mel provided treatment to the muscle (this is a muscle located in the buttock, and when it is causing problems people might think it is related to back pain or sciatica problems). After he assisted her she was able to walk out of the clinic in much better shape. This is what it’s all about while we are here.
Today Rick and Bob also went out shopping for Haitian peanut butter (which has a hot pepper flavor to it) and supplies to make pizza for the staff tomorrow. Tonight we are heading to hear RAM, a local band. It will be great fun and a late night, but we will be able to carry on our mission for our final day at the clinic tomorrow. Goodnight and more tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Day 2 at Healing Hands- January 22
Day 2- January 22, 2008
It was another good day and no I am not just saying that in order to make it sound good!
There were several team members who made it to the orphanage Mercy and Sharing today. We were able to evaluate about 20 children in need of wheelchairs so that felt like we made some progress. We also were able to show the caregivers how to use the Fuzzy Bunz diapers and they seemed really excited about being able to have the cloth diapers so that also was exciting to see. The orphanage itself was quite a sad sight, but I guess if it ever became an okay sight that would be worse. We did get to play with the kids. Blowing bubbles is a hit, along with taking photos of the kids. They love to see their picture and can really ham it up for the camera.
O & P was also busy again today! I can’t really understand all that they do, but they are building prosthetics and orthotics like mad. Unfortunately, they had to turn away five amputees today because they had more than they could already handle. The need for this type of service is on-going, so if you know of any good orthotists and/or prosthetists refer them to Healing Hands.
We did not do any moving of boxes today, we thought we would give ourselves a day to recover. Three truck loads of supplies arrived tonight. We are not sure if the items are for Healing Hands, but we will find out tomorrow morning what we will be facing. We will not be receiving the shipment of wheelchairs while we are in Haiti. The container is stuck in customs until February, but eventually they will get here.
We are having plenty of fun here too! It’s a great group of people and we have a lot of laughs throughout the day/evening. We ran out of Prestige today (beer), but we had rum punch instead. We have also started a cribbage tournament of our own. It’s called “Beat Bob” (so far Bob’s record is 0 for 9, so we are going to see what the final score is by the end of the week. Poor Bob (not really, but he is being a good sport).
More tomorrow and all is well.
It was another good day and no I am not just saying that in order to make it sound good!
There were several team members who made it to the orphanage Mercy and Sharing today. We were able to evaluate about 20 children in need of wheelchairs so that felt like we made some progress. We also were able to show the caregivers how to use the Fuzzy Bunz diapers and they seemed really excited about being able to have the cloth diapers so that also was exciting to see. The orphanage itself was quite a sad sight, but I guess if it ever became an okay sight that would be worse. We did get to play with the kids. Blowing bubbles is a hit, along with taking photos of the kids. They love to see their picture and can really ham it up for the camera.
O & P was also busy again today! I can’t really understand all that they do, but they are building prosthetics and orthotics like mad. Unfortunately, they had to turn away five amputees today because they had more than they could already handle. The need for this type of service is on-going, so if you know of any good orthotists and/or prosthetists refer them to Healing Hands.
We did not do any moving of boxes today, we thought we would give ourselves a day to recover. Three truck loads of supplies arrived tonight. We are not sure if the items are for Healing Hands, but we will find out tomorrow morning what we will be facing. We will not be receiving the shipment of wheelchairs while we are in Haiti. The container is stuck in customs until February, but eventually they will get here.
We are having plenty of fun here too! It’s a great group of people and we have a lot of laughs throughout the day/evening. We ran out of Prestige today (beer), but we had rum punch instead. We have also started a cribbage tournament of our own. It’s called “Beat Bob” (so far Bob’s record is 0 for 9, so we are going to see what the final score is by the end of the week. Poor Bob (not really, but he is being a good sport).
More tomorrow and all is well.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Day 1 for Healing Hands- January 21
It was day one on the job and what a job we had!!!
We had a brief orientation at the clinic today and met the staff who work at the Healing Hands Clinic, then we were off and running.
The therapy staff (physical and occupational) have a larger working space this year and they did some conversions at the clinic which allows for more room for treating patients which is great! The therapy staff saw several patients today (mostly stroke and some children with cerebral palsy and saw one nine-month old boy who was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome today).
Rick and Bob were extremely busy in the O & P (orthotic and prosthetic) lab. The lab was nearly spotless this morning, but the two whirling devils in O & P managed to create a little mess. Actually they were quite busy. Bob casted 5 amputees (two bi-lateral). They evaluated and fitted someone with a fracture on the ball of the foot (she needed customized shoes to relieve pressure). Quite different then coming in in her flip flop from Old Navy. They also saw stroke patient, fitted him with donated AFO (Ankle Foot Orthosis) and then sent him to therapy for his first PT session. The grand highlight was fitting a gentleman (T-8 paraplegic) for new HKAFO (see below). They took cast impressions of both legs and will do a preliminary fitting on Friday for Hip/Knee/Ankle/Foot othotic. I told you they were busy.
Unfortunately they discovered they weren't able to do any sewing (for making straps, etc.) due to not having any needles for the sewing machine. It's not like running out to the craft/fabric store here to find a needle. Jill and Sue spent nearly 1 1/2 looking for needles, a charger for the cell phone and a toaster for the guest house. All they could find was the charger for the cell. We will spend more time looking for needles as this will be essential to get some of the work done.
There was a group of us assigned to go to Food for the Poor orphanage today. After the 1/2 hour drive to get there we were told that we weren't expected there today. So we will be going there again on Wednesday to see if we can get some work done there. Events like this are not atypical of how things work in Haiti. One has to quite flexible here and go with the flow.
Since we couldn't provide any service at the orphanage, we headed back to the clinic. We realized that one container (we are expecting two) of the equipment from Wheelchairs for Humanity had arrived. The 145 boxes (each weighing approximately 110 pounds) were in the storage room. They were not supposed to have been delivered to the clinic. So we had to haul the boxes down out of the storage area (this was not an easy task to say the least and it was especially exhausting in the 80s or maybe even 90s) . I hope that we are able to move tomorrow (physically) as this was really quite the workout.
We have been eating well here in Haiti. Everyone is feeling pretty good. Erin and Steve are suffering from colds and upper respiratory issues, but we are pumping them full of medicine to make them well.
We did go to the Montana last night for dinner and rum punch. We also heard some music and caught the Packer vs. Giants game. We were all sad about the Packer loss except Rick. Rick ended up getting his shoes (sandals) shined because he won a bet that the Giants would win.
Sue is doing a great job at keeping the team together despite all the challenges she encounters on a daily basis. The best made plans often change on a dime here, but she keeps her cool and hasn't had a melt down that any of us have witnessed. Maybe she is drinking in the closet and that is how she is keeping it all together.
We are having great fun here! Hopefully we will have more productive day tomorrow (in terms of treating people and doing the physical rehab work that we are here to do). Today was productive, just in a different sense.
Just an FYI: We have four computers working at the guesthouse now- as Jill says "We are roughing it here. We used to have only one computer and now we have four" Ah, the age of technology. Thanks to Jean Pierre for his work on getting the computer up and running!
We had a brief orientation at the clinic today and met the staff who work at the Healing Hands Clinic, then we were off and running.
The therapy staff (physical and occupational) have a larger working space this year and they did some conversions at the clinic which allows for more room for treating patients which is great! The therapy staff saw several patients today (mostly stroke and some children with cerebral palsy and saw one nine-month old boy who was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome today).
Rick and Bob were extremely busy in the O & P (orthotic and prosthetic) lab. The lab was nearly spotless this morning, but the two whirling devils in O & P managed to create a little mess. Actually they were quite busy. Bob casted 5 amputees (two bi-lateral). They evaluated and fitted someone with a fracture on the ball of the foot (she needed customized shoes to relieve pressure). Quite different then coming in in her flip flop from Old Navy. They also saw stroke patient, fitted him with donated AFO (Ankle Foot Orthosis) and then sent him to therapy for his first PT session. The grand highlight was fitting a gentleman (T-8 paraplegic) for new HKAFO (see below). They took cast impressions of both legs and will do a preliminary fitting on Friday for Hip/Knee/Ankle/Foot othotic. I told you they were busy.
Unfortunately they discovered they weren't able to do any sewing (for making straps, etc.) due to not having any needles for the sewing machine. It's not like running out to the craft/fabric store here to find a needle. Jill and Sue spent nearly 1 1/2 looking for needles, a charger for the cell phone and a toaster for the guest house. All they could find was the charger for the cell. We will spend more time looking for needles as this will be essential to get some of the work done.
There was a group of us assigned to go to Food for the Poor orphanage today. After the 1/2 hour drive to get there we were told that we weren't expected there today. So we will be going there again on Wednesday to see if we can get some work done there. Events like this are not atypical of how things work in Haiti. One has to quite flexible here and go with the flow.
Since we couldn't provide any service at the orphanage, we headed back to the clinic. We realized that one container (we are expecting two) of the equipment from Wheelchairs for Humanity had arrived. The 145 boxes (each weighing approximately 110 pounds) were in the storage room. They were not supposed to have been delivered to the clinic. So we had to haul the boxes down out of the storage area (this was not an easy task to say the least and it was especially exhausting in the 80s or maybe even 90s) . I hope that we are able to move tomorrow (physically) as this was really quite the workout.
We have been eating well here in Haiti. Everyone is feeling pretty good. Erin and Steve are suffering from colds and upper respiratory issues, but we are pumping them full of medicine to make them well.
We did go to the Montana last night for dinner and rum punch. We also heard some music and caught the Packer vs. Giants game. We were all sad about the Packer loss except Rick. Rick ended up getting his shoes (sandals) shined because he won a bet that the Giants would win.
Sue is doing a great job at keeping the team together despite all the challenges she encounters on a daily basis. The best made plans often change on a dime here, but she keeps her cool and hasn't had a melt down that any of us have witnessed. Maybe she is drinking in the closet and that is how she is keeping it all together.
We are having great fun here! Hopefully we will have more productive day tomorrow (in terms of treating people and doing the physical rehab work that we are here to do). Today was productive, just in a different sense.
Just an FYI: We have four computers working at the guesthouse now- as Jill says "We are roughing it here. We used to have only one computer and now we have four" Ah, the age of technology. Thanks to Jean Pierre for his work on getting the computer up and running!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A bump in the road- January 20
January 20
We hit a slight bump in the road on trip to Haiti, but we made it! Read on....
Well the adventure has proven to be eventful in just the 2 days since we departed from Minneapolis. Twenty-six hours after we left Minneapolis we arrived in Port au Prince, Haiti. Needles s to say it was a long trip.
The delay occurred in Miami. We boarded our 2:00 p.m. flight to Haiti, only to sit on the plane for two hours due to a luggage issue (luggage checked-in on the plane, but no matching passenger) and then a mechanical problem in the cockpit (lights out, which I guess would be critical). So they tried to fix the problem, but to no avail. Thus we were all taken off the plane and told they were calling for another plane. Thirty minutes later we were told no plane and that we would be staying in Miami for the night. After standing in line for two plus hours we ended getting booked for the outbound flight at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. We took our food, shuttle and hotel vouchers and off we went in the Super Shuttle to the Miccosukee Resort and Casino.
It was 9 p.m. when we got the hotel, which as someone put it…”This is like a scene from a bad movie” and “I feel like Alice in Wonderland”. We weren’t quite sure why we ended up 20 miles from the airport, in a casino, oh and by the way we were going to have to catch the 3:30 a.m. shuttle back to the airport. Most people turned in early, with the exception of Rick and Bob who enjoyed a little Cuban music and dancing (Rick wanted me to clarify, they weren't dancing with each other)
Well 3:30 came early. No one was looking bright eyed this morning, but we were off to the airport. We were so early that we couldn’t even get through security until 4:30 a.m., but we were first in line (to look on the bright side). Well we did depart from Miami as scheduled and arrived in Haiti at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.
All of our supplies arrived safely and we navigated through customs and the airport crowds without too many problems. The only issue is that we are trying to push the luggage carts stacked with three bags and/or bins across streets with numerous pot holes. We had a few mishaps during this process, but finally got there.
We made it to the guest house. Set up our rooms and had a bite to eat. We then went to do a little shopping and bartering with some local vendors. On the way back to the guest house there was complete silence in the van. I guess everyone finally hit the wall at about 4:00 p.m.
Steve, David (joining us from Wheels for Humanity/United Cerebral Palsy), Alanzo (joining us from Mexico) and Miriam (joining us from Dominican Republic) arrived Saturday afternoon as well. We had dinner and then headed to the pool (Yes, we have a pool which seems kind of crazy) for a quick dip. Most people were off to bed early.
Today we welcomed Richard and Bill and Mel are on there way too. We have unpacked and sorted through the supplies and will be doing a little more resting by the pool. Tonight we will head to the Montana for dinner. Oh, and yes we are helping Amy celebrate her birthday today as well. It’s a big birthday for her, so last night we decorated the dining room and this morning she was wearing her tiara and boa as the birthday girl. Happy Birthday Amy!!
Some things I have noted thus far, there appears to be some improvements in the landscape (not seeing as much trash/garbage or abandoned cars along the road ways, also more green vegetation). One thing that hasn’t changed… the barking dogs and crowing roosters which seems to go on all night long.
We hit a slight bump in the road on trip to Haiti, but we made it! Read on....
Well the adventure has proven to be eventful in just the 2 days since we departed from Minneapolis. Twenty-six hours after we left Minneapolis we arrived in Port au Prince, Haiti. Needles s to say it was a long trip.
The delay occurred in Miami. We boarded our 2:00 p.m. flight to Haiti, only to sit on the plane for two hours due to a luggage issue (luggage checked-in on the plane, but no matching passenger) and then a mechanical problem in the cockpit (lights out, which I guess would be critical). So they tried to fix the problem, but to no avail. Thus we were all taken off the plane and told they were calling for another plane. Thirty minutes later we were told no plane and that we would be staying in Miami for the night. After standing in line for two plus hours we ended getting booked for the outbound flight at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. We took our food, shuttle and hotel vouchers and off we went in the Super Shuttle to the Miccosukee Resort and Casino.
It was 9 p.m. when we got the hotel, which as someone put it…”This is like a scene from a bad movie” and “I feel like Alice in Wonderland”. We weren’t quite sure why we ended up 20 miles from the airport, in a casino, oh and by the way we were going to have to catch the 3:30 a.m. shuttle back to the airport. Most people turned in early, with the exception of Rick and Bob who enjoyed a little Cuban music and dancing (Rick wanted me to clarify, they weren't dancing with each other)
Well 3:30 came early. No one was looking bright eyed this morning, but we were off to the airport. We were so early that we couldn’t even get through security until 4:30 a.m., but we were first in line (to look on the bright side). Well we did depart from Miami as scheduled and arrived in Haiti at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.
All of our supplies arrived safely and we navigated through customs and the airport crowds without too many problems. The only issue is that we are trying to push the luggage carts stacked with three bags and/or bins across streets with numerous pot holes. We had a few mishaps during this process, but finally got there.
We made it to the guest house. Set up our rooms and had a bite to eat. We then went to do a little shopping and bartering with some local vendors. On the way back to the guest house there was complete silence in the van. I guess everyone finally hit the wall at about 4:00 p.m.
Steve, David (joining us from Wheels for Humanity/United Cerebral Palsy), Alanzo (joining us from Mexico) and Miriam (joining us from Dominican Republic) arrived Saturday afternoon as well. We had dinner and then headed to the pool (Yes, we have a pool which seems kind of crazy) for a quick dip. Most people were off to bed early.
Today we welcomed Richard and Bill and Mel are on there way too. We have unpacked and sorted through the supplies and will be doing a little more resting by the pool. Tonight we will head to the Montana for dinner. Oh, and yes we are helping Amy celebrate her birthday today as well. It’s a big birthday for her, so last night we decorated the dining room and this morning she was wearing her tiara and boa as the birthday girl. Happy Birthday Amy!!
Some things I have noted thus far, there appears to be some improvements in the landscape (not seeing as much trash/garbage or abandoned cars along the road ways, also more green vegetation). One thing that hasn’t changed… the barking dogs and crowing roosters which seems to go on all night long.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The "A-Team"
So what does it take to be a member of the Healing Hands for Haiti team? The desire to make a difference, compassion, the ability to be flexible and experience in working in physical rehabilitation (although it's not required).
The 2008 team members are Erin B.(nurse); Amy B. (support); Darlene C. (support), Jean Pierre D. (interpreter/support), Jody D. (support), Dr. Steve F. (doctor), Mimi F. (support), Mel H. (physical therapist), Barb H. (physical therapist), Sarah K. (doctor), Sue K. (physical therapist and our fearless team leader), Jill K. (occupational therapist), Rick M. (orthotist), Bill O. (physical therapist), Richard P. (wheelchair/seating tech.), Bob T. (prosthetist/orthotist), Sara W. (support), and Renee W. (support).
The 2008 team members are Erin B.(nurse); Amy B. (support); Darlene C. (support), Jean Pierre D. (interpreter/support), Jody D. (support), Dr. Steve F. (doctor), Mimi F. (support), Mel H. (physical therapist), Barb H. (physical therapist), Sarah K. (doctor), Sue K. (physical therapist and our fearless team leader), Jill K. (occupational therapist), Rick M. (orthotist), Bill O. (physical therapist), Richard P. (wheelchair/seating tech.), Bob T. (prosthetist/orthotist), Sara W. (support), and Renee W. (support).
The photo (above) is of the January 2007, but several of the individuals are part of the 2008 team. We will miss those members who aren't joining us this trip. Al, Deb, Patrick, Lesley, Jessica, Dr. Jim, Paul, Katie, Tim, Terry and Mark... it won't be the same without all of you:(
Today we packed the supplies. Thirty-five bins and hockey bags were filled with supplies for our trip. Some of the items we packed were: orthotic/prosthetic supplies, braces, shoes, clothing, toys, tricycles, diapers, feeding equipment, hygienc supplies, etc. We have nearly 1500 pounds of supplies we will be taking with us- I am sure they love to see us coming at the airport!! We are also expecting a shipment of 175 wheelchairs and other therapy equipment to arrive by the time we reach Haiti. If all goes as planned there will be many kids who will get their first ever wheelchair!!
Some of the team members have been to Haiti several times as part of Healing Hands. For others this will be their first trip. I believe that no matter how many times one has made this trip, the experience is always a new one.
Count down to January 18 departure
January 12, 2008
In less than a week, the Healing Hands for Haiti-Minnesota team will be in arriving in Port au Prince, Haiti for its annual mission trip to a country that is great need of support and services. Haiti is the poorest county in the Western Hemisphere; and fifth poorest in the world. Simple day-to-day live is great struggle for the Haitian people due to extreme poverty.
Healing Hands for Haiti is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to fostering the expansion and quality of rehabilitation services for physically disabled adults and children in Haiti. Its primary goal is to enable the Haitian people to help themselves This is achieved through rehabilitation education, clinical treatment, disability prevention, and increasing public awareness of disabilities and rehabilitation in Haiti. We provide services such as prosthetics and orthotics, physical and occupational therapy, and physician and nursing services at the Healing Hands for Haiti rehabilitation clinic in Port-au-Prince as well as a variety of orphanages within Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. Orphanages are overfilled, understaffed, and struggle to meet the most basic needs of the children that live there. There is an inordinate number of abandoned children, many of which are physically and/or mentally challenged and living in orphanages throughout the poverty-stricken country.
In less than a week, the Healing Hands for Haiti-Minnesota team will be in arriving in Port au Prince, Haiti for its annual mission trip to a country that is great need of support and services. Haiti is the poorest county in the Western Hemisphere; and fifth poorest in the world. Simple day-to-day live is great struggle for the Haitian people due to extreme poverty.
Healing Hands for Haiti is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to fostering the expansion and quality of rehabilitation services for physically disabled adults and children in Haiti. Its primary goal is to enable the Haitian people to help themselves This is achieved through rehabilitation education, clinical treatment, disability prevention, and increasing public awareness of disabilities and rehabilitation in Haiti. We provide services such as prosthetics and orthotics, physical and occupational therapy, and physician and nursing services at the Healing Hands for Haiti rehabilitation clinic in Port-au-Prince as well as a variety of orphanages within Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. Orphanages are overfilled, understaffed, and struggle to meet the most basic needs of the children that live there. There is an inordinate number of abandoned children, many of which are physically and/or mentally challenged and living in orphanages throughout the poverty-stricken country.
The photos below are from 2007 and show some of the work that is completed while we are in Haiti. One of my personal favorite photos from 2007 was the picture of Obin (below in the red baseball shirt), after he received his prosthetic hand. The smile on his face was absolutely priceless.
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