News from the Epicenter

We’ve been busy in Haiti this week. Seven members of the Japanese Red Cross moved in. It’s a semi-permanent arrangement, as they plan to work in Haiti at least until the end of the year. It is a great move for the Japanese because they have been living in tents, and it’s really getting hot. And it’s good for Hopital Ste. Croix, because the guesthouse fees will go a long way toward paying the hospital salaries. Because the Haitian government has decreed that medical care will stay free for at least three more months, there is no other way for HSC to have income except for the guesthouse. And because the other laboratories in town have shut their doors because they cannot charge, the hospital laboratory is the only place in town to have tests done. And because we are busier than ever, and everything is free, we really need the money.

The Japanese group adds an international flavor to the guesthouse. They have a clinic running over at the nursing school across town. And they are providing x-rays for the region. (The cliché about the Japanese and their cameras is proving to be a boon for medical care in Leogane.) The x-ray machine was moved into the hospital today, and the Japanese radiologist is training 4 people to use the machine and how to take x-rays of different parts of the body. Hopefully, the hospital will have someone trained to do x-rays before this team of Japanese changes out early in June.

This afternoon, a group from Chattanooga, TN stopped in and asked if they could stay here for the night. They are on their way to Port Au Prince, where they will pick up a small container of metal studs and roof kits for transitional houses for a village in the mountains. Their church (Good Shepherd Episcopal in Lookout Mountain) has had a relationship with this village for over 20 years. They have built a school (it withstood the earthquake), a clinic (it stood), and now they are building 12 x 12’ square buildings that initially will have tarp walls, but can be finished with bricks or rocks for walls. The buildings will be hurricane and earthquake proof, and can be installed onto a concrete slab in only a few hours. This project will help 40 families of a community of about 200 families, move into dry, suitable housing before the rainy season gets too far along. If you have a spare $1000, join in and build another house.

It really is a small world. There were 10 people at dinner, 3 fellows from Chattanooga, 5 Japanese Red Cross workers, and John and me. In the conversation at the table, someone mentioned Kenya. It turns out that one of the Japanese is married to a Kenyan man, and another, an orthopedic surgeon, is getting married in Kenya in 3 months,. She went to high school in Kenya. One of the Chattanooga fellows was sitting next to her, and he also went to school in Kenya, as a missionary kid. And another of the Chattanooga fellows is married to a Kenyan woman!

A follow up to the problem of what to do with 12,000 pairs of disposable, paper surgical pants. One pastor friend shared the Junk for Jesus note with her congregation and they had a contest to see what to do with the pants. One of the good suggestions was to give them to children to make kites. Great idea, since the pants are waterproof. And there’s usually plenty of wind here. Another was to make banners with crayons. But I think we at the hospital came up with the best idea. We had another shipment from the same organization, and this time is was food. We wanted to give food to everyone who came to the clinic, but didn’t have any way to distribute the food, as most of it came in cases. So we took the XXXXXL pants, tied a knot in the waist, to make a bag, filled the bags through the legs of the pants, then tied the pant legs together, and handed out easily carried bags (pants?) of food. Now we only have about 11,500 pairs of disposable paper surgical pants left. We’re open to more suggestions. Keep those cards and letters coming, folks! And keep praying for the rebuilding of Haiti.