April a busy time for hospital visits

Hello Everyone,

I am at Roi Christophe to access email for the first time in a week.

I spent last night at Hospital Justinien. One of our boys, Jean Ricot, was in a motor bike accident and suffered head trauma. He really does not look good. Throughout the night, about half of our kids showed up as the news went out about Jean's accident. I asked if all Lakay Fondasyon had showed up, and they said they were changing the name to Fanmi Fondasyon (family foundation). How amazing that these young people have grown into a family.

I am going back to the hospital again and will be there much of the time, as there are no beds and each item needed (syringes, IV tubing, meds, etc.) must be purchased by us at a pharmacy and delivered to the hospital. Jean's sister, Louisens, who works for us in Sen Rafayel, arrived by bus this morning and will sleep at the hospital. The kids will take turns taking in food for her and spelling her for rest breaks.

As I am typing this, I received a call that the hospital is sending Jean Ricot home due to lack of space and that he needs to travel to Carrefourmoustique on Monday for radiogaphie (x-ray). He is in great pain and 'home' is a small shack with no toilet or water and he sleeps on the dirt floor. We do not have the facilities to care for him at the house, but will arrange transit and company for Monday.

This is similar to what happened to me when I broke my wrist -- no x-ray of the broken wrist for 2 days then I had to travel over the worst roads in the world, and sit and wait for 6-8 hours. After seeing my wrist deformity after my cast came off, and after doing physio with me every other day and seeing the pain I am in as a result of an inept doctor, Marlene is now exploring the possibility of becoming an orthopedic surgeon rather than entering nursing as she planned.

I believe anything is possible and hope that the Starthrower community will continue to help these young people as they enter post secondary careers. Haiti has such a need for doctors!

Modeline, who has been living at the house following her surgery, goes back to the hospital at Milot for her post-op check this week. Marlene will go with her. It seems we need 2 vehicles, not one, if the universe is listening. We also need student housing, beds, potable water, mosquito nets etc.

I will return to Canada on Sunday, Apr. 29 to begin intensive therapy, as my wrist was not set correctly. I will also let you know what supplies are needed for the summer, and how best to send them to Haiti. Summer is the busiest time, as we get the students ready for school in September.

Thanks to everyone who has sent supplies, sponsored students, and otherwise helped support these young people. Helping out in Haiti can seem a daunting task. So many need a helping hand. It's easy to become overwhelmed. But, we can do it! Working together, like we have been: One child at a time; One day at a time.

Pi Ta
Sharon
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Scientific calculators arrived safely in Cap-Haitien and are much apprpeciated by the students who never expected to have them at all, much less in time for their exams.

Supplies list will be updated when Sharon returns to Canada for May and June following a very busy few months of rapidly changing needs. (See Things We Need on the website for general guidelines)

Sponsorships (See Waiting List) :: Several more students were sponsored this month. Many, many thanks! With the school year coming to an end, now we start it all again. Funds are needed for the students' tuition, uniforms, supplies, etc. for September, and for food and medical help all the time.

Calculators, Malaria, and More Rain in Cap-Haitien

Hello Everyone,

I spoke with Sharon this morning. Though the signal was very poor, I was able to tell her to check with Lynx Air in a few days for the arrival of some scientific calculators. (Thanks, Jeff!)

Sharon said that the girl who was removed from an abusive situation, then placed in a safe home (see March 26 post) now has malaria. Sharon has arranged for medical treatment.

The poor phone signal is likely due to the heavy rains today in Cap-Haitien, she says, and also means that internet uplinks are likely down as well. Anyone waiting for emails from her will have to keep waiting a bit longer, as she won't even bother trying to use it today.

Karen

Modeline, Travel Notes, Supplies

(This is Karen)

I spoke to Sharon yesterday: Modeline has had her operation and seems to be doing well.

She left for her surgery at 6:30 a.m. the day before and finally went into the OR at 4:30 p.m. The doctor removed a 'bowel cycst', and sent her 'home'. One of the girls comes in during the day, and one in the night, to stay with Modeline. Sharon takes her to the clinic in a cab every two days to get her dressing changed. She will have a followup appointment with the doctor while Sharon is still there.

Other news: The intern who arrived on Easter Sunday left on Tuesday morning to go scuba diving at Cormier, so Sharon and the kids can still use help rebuilding the wall. The staff is back at the house after the Easter break.

For those of you traveling to Haiti: Sharon says she has had reports that the usually abysmal roads outside of Cap-Haitien are in even more abysmal condition following the rains and washouts.

Thanks to all who are sending or have sent supplies. Sharon will try and send an update before she leaves for Canada the end of April.

Good Friday in Cap-Haitien

Hello Everyone!

The rain has stopped after 3 weeks. Our drainage canal at the side of the house could not process the quantity so we had to empty it with buckets, wheel barrow etc as the maringwen (mosquitos) were starting to breed.

We await repairs on our roof as the patching Jack did was not sufficient, Still haven't heard fron our kids living in Petit Anse. They live in wood shacks located in the salt water swamps.

Claudy and Lousena came down from Sen Rafayel last Friday. The village is still feeling the impact of the flooding that occurred the week before Christmas. Many more are dying daily, no gardens yet so food scarce and expensive. Still no animals.

On the good news front, our tutoring program in Sen Rafayel seems to be a success. We will know when reports come out after Easter. Deles will take the month of April off, and commence tutoring again May 1st to prepare them for finals.

We are again in desperate need of 24 scientific calculators for the final trimeste.

Many thanks to those who have and continue to help. We could not do it without you.

beni tou (blessings to all)

Sharon

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From Karen: I just got off the phone with Sharon and have a bit more information: When she got back from sending the update yesterday, the supplies from Mme Cindy, family and friends had arrived. Sharon said, "Bless Cindy, she always seems to hit the nail on the head ! She knows exactly what we need, and it arrives just when we need it! And the kids really liked the picture she sent."

Sharon also said the rains had crumbled the retaining wall at the house, and they will be working to repair it next week. Aaron, a volunteer from the U.S., is arriving on Easter Sunday (she will meet you at the airport, Aaron), and she is glad of the help with the 'heavy labor'.

This morning, six girls arrived at the house. It seems they were walking the Stations of the Cross through Cap-Haitien, and stopped in for bread, cheese and water, then continued on their way.

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See news reports floods in Haiti

When Will it Stop Raining in Cap-Haiten?

Hello Everyone,

Rain, rain and more rain!

First the good news: Thanks to generous donors, we can start the food program again, and keep it going until I return the first of July. The not so good news is that we've had two solid weeks of torrential rain and everything is soaked. It's supposed to rain again tonight. It's so humid, and wet, and there's been no sun, so nothing can dry out. We've even been flooded here at the house, so today we are going to buy some Clorox and brushes and scrub down the mould and mildew growing up the walls. After we have done our house, we will start on the neighbours and the kids' homes. Of course, this means that the stores in town will have had flood damage too, and the rice will be mouldy and buggy, and the prices will be up.

Why has it been raining here for two weeks? We've never had this before. People are saying it's more like November-December weather. Some houses have two feet of water in them. One fellow said that, with the garbage and pigs (manure) outside his front door, the water just floats it all into his house. One group at [mission] said they went outside the other morning to look at the sea. There seemed to be a lot of unusual stuff floating in it, and they couldn't figure out what it was. Then they realized that the 'stuff' was houses that had floated away. We haven't heard from some of our kids in two weeks, and some of them that live in this area must have been flooded out because their houses are near the water. We will try to track them down.

Last week, I found out that [girl student] was being abused, and placed her in another home. When she first came to us, she'd been abused by her father, who had killed her mother. For the first 6 months, she only spoke in whispers. Then about 3 weeks ago (right about when I broke my arm), we noticed that she'd gone back to speaking in whispers again. So last week, I talked to her, and found out that she was again being abused, and moved her to another home. I plan to go check on her today and make sure she is safe. I feel bad -- if I hadn't had this broken arm to deal with, I'm sure I would have noticed it sooner.

Also upsetting is that I found out one of the high schools where our kids go uses a leather strap to discipline the kids, beating them on the soles of their feet. From now on, before I enroll any kids in any school, I will screen schools and find out what their policy is on discipline.

Last week, I kept my appontment with the doctor to see about removing the cast. My arm is still very painful, so I insisted on x-rays before he removed the cast. That took another day, another trip and a long wait, but showed that the one bone in my wrist that I was told is broken is mending. But when the cast came off, and I looked at my hand, I knew something was not right. The back of that hand really hurts, and I have pain on either side of my wrist. Physiotherapy is too painful to endure. I think that there is more wrong with my arm than we know. I have no plans to return to Canada earlier than the end of April -- there's just too much to do here -- but will try to get an appointment with an ortho as soon as I get back. Meanwhile, the [OTC painkiller] helps a bit with the pain.

I did try to do email but when I got there, with all the rain, the connection was down. I will try to get to it as soon as we are done cleaning up here.

Until next time, Kenbe

Sharon