Since the group last week was smaller than usual, they didn't build a home but instead fixed a few. There are some homes that were fixed by BLB early on that weren't given cement floors like we do now. The then even smaller group, since our dental teem was working on the children, got down and dirty with the Haitian workers as they formed a bucket brigade to complete the task of concreting these floors for the families. While you might not think that a concrete floor is much, but it really does make a huge difference for the family that now has a floor. This means that when it rains, they don't have to worry about their home flooding which would mean all of their belongings getting covered in mud or soaked in water. Should this happen their food could be washed away and then they have to work twice as hard to get back what they had. So, Team Spice made a big difference in the lives of these families by providing them with that peace of mind to know their belongings and home won't be ruined with each storm that passes. On their last night here, the group got to see what heavy rains look like in Haiti, and the storm we had wasn't even the worst. It formed a pool at the bottom of our hill and it even washed out some of the dirt road! Great job Team Spice!
Also as part of Team Spice, we had Dr. Margarita Panajoti from New England Dental Group and her assistant Justine along with hygienist Katie Siemen, our Dental Coordinator, here to work on our children's teeth! All of our children were due for cleanings and got them! Several needed fillings. We had a few extractions and even a root canal! Most of our children went right into the clinic with great joy and couldn't wait to be seen. I had several children asking me over and over again when their turn would be! In order to optimize the work that Rita, Justine and Katie were doing, we ended up keeping some children home from school a couple of days this week so that they could get their dental work done. While we have the resource at our hands, we needed to take full advantage of them! We can now say that all of our children have beautiful teeth and even better smiles! We gave them all new toothbrushes and covers yesterday and they were so excited to receive them!
I've been used to colds and sniffly noses at this time of year as a teacher in the states during the change of season. Stuff goes around in the states where we have access to medicine and the knowledge that is needed for medical care. I can only imagine what it's like at a school in Haiti where most people don't have that access or knowledge. That being said, having 56 children in close quarters means whether we like it or not, odds are likely that if one child gets a cold or fever, the others will as well. We are constantly reiterating the importance of hand washing and making sure that the children have shoes on their feet, but children are children and they don't always follow through they way that they know they should. This week we have been battling fevers. Several children had to stay home from school with high fevers; others would be fine and then spike a fever when the afternoon rolled around. Thank goodness that Jonathan and I have created a medication log that we use to write down the time and medication that has been administered as this would certainly become confusing with the two of us and up to 10 children this week that had fevers simultaneously. There have been days that we have gone through an entire bottle of ibuprofen by lunchtime! I'm finally beginning to see the fevers start to go down, so here's to hoping that it doesn't pass to the next child so we can be done with whatever viral infirmity that is going around Be Like Brit. Even Jonathan has been down this week!
I always like to look on the bright side, and the fevers have allowed us some one-on-one time with some of the children this week. I went to check on 3 of our girls that stayed home one day this week and found Dalandya reading a book to the other two girls! It was a proud moment! Between the fevers and pain that some of our children have endured from their need for extensive dental work, it's been a crazy week for us medically!
From Jonathan:
As you know, we often invoke the expression, "It's Haiti" - because in the western hemisphere's poorest country, things can and often do change without much notice! The country of Haiti is preparing for elections which are long overdue and have been put off for various reasons more than once. As a result, the political climate is starting to get a bit more intense! We've seen where the people of Haiti are taking to the streets. While their protests are usually nonviolent, they can be disruptive. Traffic backs up and delays can be lengthy on the only road, National Route #2. We've been fortunate to avoid those issues in Grand-Goave, but to our west in the city of Petit Goave, the citizens are actively trying to get a local level government official out. This is keeping us from bringing the children to Petit Goave where they love to enjoy the public square and park there. Until things settle down, it's close to home we'll be!
With the recent death of former President Jean-Claude Duvalier and the pending, potential arrest of Jean-Bertrand Aristide (another former president!) the country is definitely abuzz with political and civil discourse. This past week, Jonathan brought 21 children to the local hospital for vaccinations, only to find that the supply had dwindled and they didn't have enough on hand to deliver the promised medicines - a result of government functions slowing down amongst the very busy political climate. After all, it's Haiti!
Our drive back with our Britsionary group to the airport yesterday morning was interesting as well! While the roads were clear and the ride was uneventful, about an hour from the airport we lost a tire. Francky, our driver extraordinaire, was able to safely get us to the shoulder where he changed the tire in record speed! Our delay was brief and we chuckled as we sat with our group and our security team while they arranged the bus and got us back up and running. Imagine how we felt when just about thirty minutes later, another flat tire would bring us to a halt! One of my favorite things about Haiti is that despite the extensive poverty and what I like to call ordered chaos, in Port-au-Prince, you literally can find just about anything you need being sold on the side of the road! It wasn't long before Francky had purchased a tire for the bus (given that we had already used our spare!) and while we knew we were in capable hands, we made a phone call and were quickly picked up by another vehicle and driver we know through contacts with our security personnel!
It was an eventful trip, to say the least, and our Britsionary group took it all in stride! They truly demonstrated what it means to embrace that phrase, "It's Haiti" and we were able to laugh about it as we delivered them, finally, safe and soundly to the airport for their return to the states!
We've had a week of ups and downs but it's always a great day in Grand Goave! Team Spice made some great memories and our kids are doing fantastic!
Thank you for your continual support of Be Like Brit and always have Hope for Haiti!
