Monday... Not Exactly What We Had Planned... Yet Important And Worthwhile Nonetheless

Well, there’s a reason we always say that when we’re in Haiti we have to be absolutely flexible in every situation we are in. Today we were all ready and excited to do what we came here for: get to work with the disabled Haitian people. One group was going to be working in the Healing Hands Clinic. The other group (which is the group I am in) was going to Food for the Poor orphanage to measure the kids there for wheelchairs, teach the caregivers basic therapy skills, and distribute some Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers and toys, etc.

The clinic team is hard at work, seeing patients and teaching the Haitian staff to do what we do when we aren’t here. There were patients lined up outside the clinic patiently waiting for it to open this morning when we were getting our orientation tour from the clinic staff. Some were there for therapy, others for prosthetic limbs. It is so exciting and amazing to think about all we are able to do in the clinic. It amazes me to think about the years of work and dedication by so many determined people both from the U.S. and Haiti to make this dream a reality. The clinic provides services otherwise more or less unavailable in Haiti to a population of great need.

My team that was going to Food for the Poor departed this morning with high hopes of accomplishing great things today in terms of taking measurements for the wheelchair distribution whenever that might be. We also had high hopes of giving lots of love and attention to the many great kids at Food for the Poor. When we went inside the orphanage, however, Gladys (the lady in charge) told us very nicely that it was her cleaning day at the orphanage and that some of the kids were at “the clinic” so they would not be able to have us be there today. She told us that she had not been made aware of our plan to visit today. So we packed our stuff back into the van and headed on our way back to the clinic.

Needless to say we were very disappointed. I don’t understand why we couldn’t stay, but it’s just something we need to accept and respect. So here we are, back at the Healing Hands compound. Fortunately, there are plenty of other projects that are necessary and worthwhile, although not as rewarding. For example, we are going through the “charts” on each of the kids at Food for the Poor, looking at notes made by previous Healing Hands teams about wheelchair and other rehab equipment needs so that we can be more prepared later in the week when we return. And a couple of the team members are organizing a disastrous storage room that is in desperate need of some help. Others are shopping for an inverter for Madame Blaise’s orphanage (the one from the news article on my blog) as well as sewing needles for the sewing machine in the prosthetics/orthotic s lab, an absolutely necessary piece of equipment.

I’ve been preparing myself for our days at the orphanages, as they are always very hard emotionally. I’ve been hoping and praying for the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I look forward to tomorrow when we will hopefully get to an orphanage as planned, but as is made apparent today that could always change. God willing, we will be working with disabled children tomorrow at an orphanage – my favorite part of our work in Haiti but also the toughest.

Love,

Erin

P.S. I'm still having trouble getting my pictures uploaded... I apologize and know that I'm doing everything I can to get it to work! Hope you'll be able to see them soon.