Today’s blog post was written by Helen Shaves (the first half)

and Ryan Fulmer (the second half).

Our day started off with a trip to Clory, a small village located 30 minutes outside of Hinche. The streets running through Hinche are mostly all dirt and are quite muddy during the rainy season. We ended up having to drive through two (small) rivers to arrive at the hill leading up to Clory. We hiked up the rest of the way, about a 20-minute climb that offered us a great glimpse into life in the countryside.

Once we finally reached the school of Clory, Theard, one of the two men who started the school, showed us around. The school had been built only a little over a year ago, making things much more convenient for the girls and boys who previously had to walk upwards of two hours to attend school. The main building contained four classrooms, each with 8 benches and its own chalkboard. The school also included an office and a storage room where the ceramics that the students had created earlier that year were being kept. It was pretty impressive as buildings go in Haiti – it looked well built and was large enough to hold plenty of classes for local students.

We waited awhile for all of the girls to show up for one of the lessons in Stuart’s (GHF ’16) women’s empowerment curriculum – a lesson on character-building and exhibiting good behavior and habits. It was very interesting to see Stuart’s lessons in action and to realize the dramatically positive effects that it could have on children’s lives, in this community and beyond.

The two women who led the lesson were students from Midwives for Haiti’s midwifery class who are fulfilling their community outreach requirements. Today they discussed both good and bad behavior, had the girls interact by providing examples of each, and finished off the lesson with a skit in which three of the girls demonstrated good and bad behavior towards someone in need. Gladias translated for us. I was extremely impressed just by the pure idea and commitment that went into creating such an improvement in the local children’s lives, both educationally and physically (in terms of walking distance).

After finishing off with a prayer sung by the beautiful voices of the Haitian women and girls and some group pictures, we continued our hike farther up the hill to a gorgeous 360˚ view of the area.

(The following was written by Ryan Fulmer.)

After our visit to Clory, we arrived back to the MFH house to find many of the midwifery students congregated outside. We headed inside for a few minutes, grabbed a quick snack, and then all of the midwifery students headed inside for case study.  We were lucky enough to get to sit in on the discussion, and even more lucky to have translators to tell us what was going on.

The main case of the day was about a baby that was only 29 weeks old when it was delivered, and there was a low likelihood it would survive.  The midwives analyzed the case and luckily, both the mother and baby survived.

After that, we had a hearty vegetable soup for lunch, and then departed for the government hospital down the road, called St. Therese, for a tour by Brittany Tusing, the In-country Coordinator for Midwives for Haiti, and Emily Dally, the Curriculum and Training Specialist for Partners in Health. I have to admit, the hospital definitely didn’t live up to its counterparts in Cange and Mirebalais, and that reality is mostly due to the lack of funding and capacity the government has to run the hospital.

The wards were cramped, and there were multiple mothers who had just gotten out of C-sections all laying in the same small, hot room. There were even chickens wandering around the outdoor hallways. With no personal space in the rooms and nonexistent privacy, this hospital was far from anything one could see in the US. A very different sight!

The saddest part of the tour was the fact that so many people die in this hospital because of easily preventable reasons. Because of low access to simple things like oxygen or pumps, an incredible number of babies die every year. In this hospital alone, at least one baby dies every week. Much of this reality stems from lack of resources.

Although I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of the care in the hospital, it made me feel better to know that programs like Midwives for Haiti exist. In the program, there would be better training for midwives, which will hopefully one day lead to less and less infant and maternal mortality over time.

Once we got back to the house after the tour, we had a very fun Creole lesson. Although we aren’t quite Creole masters yet, we did learn a lot of phrases that will quickly come into use as we travel to different places. We learned phrases like “kijan ou ye”, which means “how are you” or “kiko ou sóte”, which means “where are you from.”  I was glad to have the opportunity to learn some Creole because I can now have some degree of communication with the Haitians.

Although the day was exhausting, we went straight to playing soccer in the courtyard at the house. It was exciting because not only did the Haitians at the house enjoy watching us, but two of them ended up joining us for a small 3 on 3 game.

An hour and a half of soccer later, we finally came in the house to rest and have dinner. We talked about all of the fun and memorable experiences of the day, and as I ate I continued to think about how much better the medical care here could be. I was shocked after seeing the hospital, and hopefully everyone else in the group is just as inspired as I am to truly make a difference here one day. There is always something that can be done here, and anywhere, to improve and better the community around us. 

 We had quite a jam-packed day, however the group is more excited than ever to continue our experience and see what the global health world is all about. Tomorrow will be another exciting day!

 

Highlights of the Day:

Graham Barbour: Visiting St. Therese hospital in Hinche.

Nathalie Danso: Hiking to the school in Clory.

Ryan Fulmer: Playing soccer with the Haitians before dinner.

Justine Kaskel: Hiking up the hill to the school in Clory, despite the mud, grime, and sweat, the view was amazing.

Helen Shaves: Listening to Gladias’ translations of the midwives’ case study we attended.

This blog post was written by Justine Kaskel, GHF ’17 to recount yesterday, August 1.

Nerves were high and the excitement was evident on the faces of my fellow 17ers and mine, the nickname we were given by Ms. Massey to distinguish ourselves from the first group of Global Health Fellows.  The feelings came after, of course, we got over the sleepiness of walking up at three to get at the airport at 4 AM… Our noses touched the glass of the window as the plane prepared to land, we were all eager to see our first glimpse of Haiti, the country we have been reading about all summer long.

The first thing you notice about Haiti is the people.  The Haitian passengers we first boarded with in Miami looked foreign to our country, yet as soon as we stepped off we became the foreigners and they became the ones that looked at home.  The next things you notice were the streets, crowds, and noise. Oh the noise!  Cars honking, donkeys braying, people chattering, laughing.  You take a closer look at the streets and see malnourished dogs walking everywhere, as well as malnourished children.  The houses were ramshackled and decayed, yet oddly beautiful if that makes any sense.  The pastel colors of the houses seemed to go with the city Port Au Prince with the bustling streets and graffiti walls.   Maybe it was the energy the people gave off, so full of life with noise and all.  After noting this one beautiful thing you look away from the streets to notice mountains. Everywhere.  Some covered with houses, others rocky and bare, and yet still others, covered with lush green trees spotted with random pink houses here and there.  Though Haiti is in a state of poverty, it is truly beautiful.

The first stop of the day was the “greatest hospital in all of the Caribbean!”  in Mirebalais on the Central Plateau. This hospital is a joint venture between the government of Haiti (the Ministry of Health) and Partners in Heath.  The Ministry of Health helps with the running of this hospital as well as supplying salaries for doctors.  The hospital is not only to treat patients, but also to teach and train Haitian residents.  The hospital trains and gives jobs only to Haitians, helping build the economy and the education of the country.  When we first arrived, we were in awe.  The hospital was so advanced that it could compare to the hospitals in the United States.

We were also excited to see the hospital bustling full of patients, as the outpatient services are up and running, two of six ORs, the emergency room, and the maternity room. We also toured the pediatric ward which will open in just a few weeks and checked out the 1000+ solar panels on the roof that generate enough electricity for the hospital and some of the local community. We give a huge thanks to Annie McDonough, the External Affairs Coordinator for Partners in Health, for taking time out of her day to show us around the hospital.

Our next stop was Cange, the original hospital of Partners in Health.  We met up with Cassandre Chipps, a granddaughter of Father Fritz Lafontant who helped Dr. Paul Farmer with his original work in Cange, and she showed us around the complex.  The technology wasn’t as great nor extensive as the one found in Mirebalais, but it was still a very impressive hospital. However it was a ghost town compared to the hospital in Mirebalais! The only sounds were the tunes of a French horn, and the unearthly sounds of a church choir.  There was a 3-week junior music program being held at Cange so Haitian bands were playing as we toured.  We enjoyed a beautiful view looking out from the outpatient ward; you could see the Dominican Republic in the distance!

Our last stop for day one was the Midwives for Haiti headquarters in Hinche.  A little buggy, a little dirty, a little hot, and a whole bunch of friendly.  Nathalie and I attempted to speak with some of the locals at the house using our VERY limited knowledge of Creole, and we had a lot of fun.  Later on, all of the 17’s played soccer with a local, also a lot of fun.  Now we call the Haitians our zanmi, our friends. I want to end by saying this: Haiti is a contradiction.  Beautiful but ugly.  Lush but barren.  Friendly but harsh. Haiti, a contradiction that we are just beginning to explore.

Highlights of the Day:

Graham Barbour: Traveling through the chaotic streets of Port-Au-Prince

Nathalie Danso:  Attempting Creole with Daniel, Haitian boy at Cange.

Ryan Fulmer: Getting to see the success of the hospital in Mirebalais

Justine Kaskel: Walking up to some locals, despite not knowing a single word in Creole and having a conversation.

Helen Shaves: Getting to see Haiti’s landscape for the first time.