Today’s journey took us up and down and all through the city.
When we arrived at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies, parents were lined up outside with sick children or to visit their hospitalized children. It felt bad just passing them by as we walked in. When we got in, no one really gave specific directions. It was just “go and do!” We started by holding infants. A little while later, the parents were let in. It was obvious which babies had mothers. We could tell because the babies started crying when they saw their moms coming toward them. It was touching to see the parents with their kids.
There were quite a few very sick children. There was a little girl who was moaning the whole time. She was in so much pain. You could see it in her face.
One of the boys who was 4 or 5 went from person to person introducing his mom to people. He wanted to dance for his mom with all the new people. He was so proud. Watching the parents have to leave their children was hard when visiting hours were over. One girl wailed for 45 minutes after her mom left. They all needed comfort.
I felt sad and happy. Haiti is a place of contradictions.
Over at Gertrude’s, we felt helpless. We were there to do physical therapy with some of the most developmentally disabled children while the others were in school. Our kids were on the floor when we walked in.
There are 46 kids in the orphanage and they are under-staffed. It’s stressful. You want to hold all of the kids and not put them down. What they do, even short-staffed, is amazing. But hey don’t have enough time. The children are so neat. They can’t really get to all of them to get them all the therapy that they need. They didn’t even know what was wrong with all of the kids because they don’t have the funds to get all of them the proper testing.
The first child I connected with wasn’t moving. I massaged and stretched his arms to get him moving. It’s hard to know what to do for them. There was no emotion at all. It’s hard to take. The other boy was just rolling around from person to person. When I picked him up, I didn’t know if I was hurting him. Then he stretched out and started jumping. He actually smiled then. That was amazing.
In the afternoon, we visited General Hospital (the public hospital) to distribute care packages to the families of the hospitalized children. There were just so many babies. It’s really hard to see all of the kids in one big room. It’s so different than what we’re used to.
Looking around the waiting room, you kind of wonder how long the parents have been waiting there and if they’ve had a chance to eat. It was touching to watch them open the care packages.
At the end of the day, I was sad for the kids.
On a more inspiring note, we also visited The Apparent Project. They are doing some fantastic things by employing hundreds of Haitians. The artists there use recycled materials like cereal boxes and aluminum cans to make beautiful artwork. The artisans are supported and are true craftsmen. Great artists! They are paid a living wage and are offered day care if they are working parents.
One thing I noticed is that they were working so diligently. It was very well organized. It’s a place that you can really see Haiti shine.
Tomorrow, we will be caring for the elderly and visiting a mass grave from the 2010 earthquake.
~ Kat Hansen-Stratton, Gordy Bloom, Carol Stomberg & Team
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