Help and Hope Combat Fear in Haiti

What follows is the latest news we've received from Haiti, this time from one of Bethlehem Ministry's Board members, Frank Marchman. Frank returned Sunday from a week in Haiti.

Jan 31, 2010

Dear Friends,

I have just returned from Terrier Rouge and hope that this update will help you better see what is happening in Haiti. While I was there I was able to get a good feel for how the quake has affected the minds and souls of all Haitians. This will not be a report on the school, clinic or other projects-those will come later. Instead here I will try to tell you more about the current “psyche of Haiti.”

The news coverage that you have seen of the earthquake in Haiti has been very good at showing the damage and extreme hardships caused by this tragedy. However, that news coverage has not been able to depict the resulting tension and fear that pervade the country at this moment. The physical destruction was minimal in the extreme north and other parts of the country, yet the mental impact of the quake has affected all Haitians. Everyone is coping with a fear of the unknown. It is obvious in their conversations, and some cases mannerisms.

One evening about 3:00 am I awoke to a sudden sound of wailing coming from the direction of the clinic. This chilling cry of fear rose up and down in volume as if someone was on a roller coaster. I found out later that there had been a slight aftershock and that cataract patients sleeping overnight on the floor in the clinic had felt it. The wailing I had heard was their collective cry of fear and dismay. I had not felt a single tremble in the ground yet for those Haitians sleeping on the hard floor it was all too real.

This collective fear has manifested itself in many ways throughout the country. For example, there are many people in the affected regions of the south that are not getting help from the massive aid campaign currently going on there. According to Pere Bruno and others who have been in the south there are many Haitians who stay away from the aid distribution points because they fear the fighting and violence that sometimes occur in and around those points. As a result there are Haitians falling through the cracks in terms of getting food, water, and shelter. These are the unseen citizens of Haiti that the news outlets don't really know about.

These are the people that Haitians like Pere Bruno can effectively reach with aid. His trips to the south have been to areas where he knows the ground. It is his extensive local contacts and knowledge of how to feed large numbers of people that has helped him be very successful in reaching and feeding hundreds of Haitians in and around Port Au Prince. He has targeted individuals and groups not being helped by aid groups. This has been critical for saving many lives.

Pere Bruno was due to leave again today and make the long 8-10 hour drive down to the city with another truckload of aid supplies. On the return trip he will once more bring back Haitians who are in dire need of medical care or have relatives to stay with in Terrier Rouge. He hopes to do weekly trips for as long as possible.

Terrier Rouge and the clinic are starting to see a steady influx of refugees from the quake area. I also saw an increase of injured citizens coming to the clinic for additional treatment on their injuries. There were many people on crutches or with obvious recent injuries present in the streets. Who knows how many more injured are in homes of friends and relatives in Terrier Rouge. I know that several of the staff at the clinic have dozens of people staying at their homes- homes already crowded in normal times. This influx of refugees will only grow as people in the south are able to escape the ruined capital.

The recent outpouring of aid and generosity from you have made it possible for Haitians like Pere Bruno to step up and help their fellow citizens. I can't tell you how great a medicine this is for the minds and souls of Haitians. It is very important that we continue to do all that we can for the months of repair that loom ahead. Terrier Rouge and other places of the North will come to be seen as places for safety and repair of the mind and soul. It will put an increased sense of urgency upon Pere Bruno and others as they attempt to reach out to their fellow citizens.

Pere Bruno asked me to tell everyone that every Haitian feels supported and loved by your efforts. He has insisted that we understand that Haitians know and appreciate that Americans care and are helping. Knowing that people are praying for Haitians and providing aid will help get them through the dark nights of the coming months.

Please continue with your prayers and your contributions in the months to come. All of it is vital to help Haitians like Pere Bruno and others help others in their time of need.

Sincerely,

Frank Marchman

Report from Port au Prince, Haiti

I wanted to pass on this email I just received. Before I left, I helped to pack up food to be taken to Port au Prince. Jean Monique Bruno is the person who transported the food to the capital city, and this is a report of his experience. Just thought you might like a follow-up of what he saw while he was there.

Sincerely,

Sarah


Dear friends,

I made the trip to Port-au-Prince and back to Terrier Rouge. Thank you to all of you for your prayers and generosity. Thank you for accompanying the people of Haiti in their moment of trial. We urgently need your continued help.

I left Terrier Rouge on Sunday 17th at 5.00 am with a truck loaded with food for 250 families affected by the earthquake and 10 young volunteers. After eight hours on the road we arrived at the Capital of Haiti. Immediately we started our relief work by visiting the most affected areas. I could not believe what I saw. The City where I grew up does not exist any longer. The Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Church attended by my family, the temple which witnessed my ordinations was completely destroyed. My primary and high school where I had my education was leveled. Most of the government buildings including the National Palace either were severely damaged or do not exist any longer. One cannot describe the scene. One has to be there. TV coverage shows only part of the devastated Port-au-Prince.

I went to one of the Episcopal high schools, named College St Pierre to see the Bishop and saw the damages. This school which was the pride of the Diocese for their academic performance fell down and killed lot of students. In the court yard the sisters of St Margaret, the Bishop and two other priests along with more than a thousand people took refuge there. They live under camping tents. The Bishop was not there but I visited with the two priests. One of them was the Dean of the Seminary, The very Rev. Oge Beauvois who explained to me that they do not have the means to feed the people there. I promised him that I will send food for them this coming Friday.

Everywhere in Port-au-Prince people live in the streets or they use any park or space they can find. They sleep under the stars. Their temporary shelters are made of sheets some of them have recovered from the ruins. Praise the Lord is not raining. Tears came down as I was walking between the bodies of the dead who were still laying on the pedestrian walk way waiting to be picking up by the truck to be buried in a common grave.

As I was walking I visited a community of 300 families gathered together on a small property without water, food and so on.. They were practically dying. I stopped and was watching them. One guy who happens to be their leader approached me and talked to me. He asked me for help for those people. I agreed to provide food to them. Immediately he gathered the community and we discussed how we will proceed. They formed a committee for the distribution. The next day we drove the truck there and they received the food which was going to be distributed. I gave them food for two hundred people but they told me that everybody will find something. They started reducing the packages we had prepared in Terrier Rouge so instead of 200 families, 300 may have something to eat. They show a real concern for everyone.

The remaining 50 packages were distributed in the area where my family lives to the neighbors. With the volunteers we participated in the recovery of the bodies of my cousin and her granddaughter who were under the rumblings. After we found them, we buried them not too far from their destroyed home.

The needs are countless. I felt since the moment of the tragedy that I had to intervene in a way or other to bring my support to fellow citizen. Families are living the Capital and are moving the country. I am helping also in this area. On our way back the truck was loaded with people from Terrier Rouge we brought to their families.

What we are doing is very small compared to the massive aid that the international community is pouring on Haiti. But it is very significant in the sense that in distributing our help we do not need an army to protect us. We use the channel of community leaders. We do it with discretion. Nobody has noticed that we were transporting food for the victims. There was no fight, no riot and everyone we reach had received something. Neither I nor the volunteer ever felt threatened, on the contrary we did our work with joy trusting in the Lord’s power for protection.

When I had to leave for Port-au-Prince, there was no gasoline in the whole country. I crossed the border and talked to the DR authorities in Dajabon and they allowed me to buy the quantity of diesel fuel I needed for the whole trip. The food also is bought there. So I do not have any problem to get the food to Port-au-Prince.

An idea of what I took to Port-au-Prince: rice, beans, corn, charcoal, oil, spaghetti, matches, cassava, bread, biscuits, candles, dry fish and water.

I am going back to Santo Domingo this Saturday after sending the truck again and will come back next week will make another trip to Port-au-Prince.

I urge you to be part of this relief work. You can give to any organization of your choice but believe me any penny you give our Organization “Esperance & Vie” through Bethlehem Ministry will go right away to the suffering people.

For the time being school is closed in the whole country. As I was writing this report, we have received an aftershock in Terrier Rouge and this happen from time to time. Last night, the people in Cap-Haitien experienced the same phenomenon. People are still living in a very panic situation. They do not want to take any chance to stay in their homes.

We continue to count on you prayers and generosity. Please forgive me for the length of this report.

Your servant

JMBruno+

Haiti - Last entry before returning home

This is the final entry about my actual travels. Reflections may come later, but for now I want to record some of the last interviews I had with people.

I had to scratch and claw my way onto a flight leaving Haiti. So much tumult because of the earthquake and the chaos it produced. My confirmed airplane seat vaporized, but there was still the possibility of this or that. While at the airport, I talked to a long time friend who was still in Haiti. His story is amazing.

I am on the airplane now. What an ordeal! I was on the flight. Then not. Then I am again. But now the plane is too heavy. Can only take 5 not 8. So I stay. But I wait. My friend says he has a possibility. A flight coming in with doctors might have space. So we wait. And while we wait I interview him.

He works at the local airport in a city in north Haiti. I knew that he had married an American woman. Apparently, after they married, they returned to the states and he attends college. But his heart is in Haiti, so he and his family return and build an incredible operation supporting education for Haitians. But his story doesn't start there.

He used to live in a small town in Haiti. A missionary comes and visits for a week. She sees him and likes him, but then she's gone. However, it seems she is not done with her Haitian experience. She decides later that she needs to help him. Just him. He wants to go to school. So she pays for his education. He moves to a larger town with a good high school. I meet him there. I'm there for the summer to see what I can see and do what I can do.

Soon, he is done with school. Eventually he meets someone from the States. They get married and move to the northern US. He is able to attend college because a well-known business man has bequeathed a large portion of his fortune to the college, so that 3rd world people could get an education. So he is able to afford the education! Amazing.

He graduates. I don't remember what he said he studied. Was it business administration? He loves his new life in the States, but he has a heart for Haiti. He is where he is because of generosity of others, and he can't ignore that. So he wants to give back.

Why does he stay in Haiti? What is the draw? He himself says that one must be crazy to stay in Haiti. There is nothing here. N O T H I N G. No exaggeration. But his heart is here. He and his wife build schools, and they support education for over 2000 students. Some of their success stories involve doctors who, now educated, have been able to help with the recent crisis --- traveling to PAP to provide emergency medical care. He supports students in whatever they want to do. Become teachers, doctors, nurses, construction workers, plumbers. He supports them all. And he is amazed.

It takes a special person who wants to stay in Haiti. He encourages his students to stay, but does not obligate them. No one can be forced to stay here. There's nothing to offer. How many decide to stay? About 25 or 30%. That seems low to me, until I look around. Everything is dilapidated. And not because of the earthquake. Everything is a chore -- having a car, a house with running water, lightbulbs that glow from a steady flow of electricity, a job, etc. You have to build it yourself, make it yourself, run it yourself. It gets very overwhelming after a while.

I finally get on a flight out of the country. I have to pay extra to fly on the airline whose plane has just landed. Anything. I need to leave now. I've said my goodbyes. I make it on the plane and feel as if I've just climbed a mountain, it took such effort. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my mom, or to the nice gentleman who helped me so much. I wave at them over the large iron gate as I walk out to the plane.

Many on the plane clap when it leaves the ground on take-off. They had the same experience I did -- having to pay more for a seat. It's worth it. We fly 25 minutes and land in Provo on the tiny island of Turks and Caicos. It's a world of difference, 25 minutes away. The airport is sophisticated. In a modern building equipped with running toilets, warm water to wash my hands, and air conditioning. Air conditioning! I'm shocked that I've missed it as much as I have.

From there, on to Ft Lauderdale. Then Los Angeles. Then San Jose. I'm home. The journey is so long that is helps make the break from Haiti to home. 2 different worlds. Easy to forget one while in the other. But I'm hoping that my writing will help avoid that. Time will tell.

Haiti - Day 7

It's my last day here and I'm sad to leave. There are many, many beautiful things about this place. It's a tropical island, but more than that, the people here are beautiful, interesting and varied. It helps to learn their language and their way of life, so that we can communicate and just talk with one another, sharing experiences and thoughts.

I interviewed the School Manager. He went to school in Business Administration, and worked previously in a bank, and then in the Vocational School here in town. He has been at this school for a little over a year. He is 2nd in charge after the Director of the organization. He guides the curriculum and manages the staff. There is a school Principle, who works with the parents primarily and oversees the pedagogy. At least, this is what I understand given my limited Creole and his limited English. He is shy, though, so I think he understands more than he is able to speak.

What are his dreams, his vision for this school? He has thought about this a lot. The vision is not completely formed in all aspects, but he has some ideas. First, he wants this to be the best school in all of Northern Haiti and then all of Haiti. He wants the reputation to be far-reaching. Anyone who gets a diploma from this school will know to be well-educated and well-prepared to do the next thing in their life. I think that's a good goal.

After that, he is not sure. He thinks that people need to be trained in how to use computers. Not computer science (programming, developing computer programs, hardware or software). Rather, they need to know how to use the computer in their work, no matter what they are doing. They must be able to write letters, work spreadsheets, run databases, etc. There are other work skills that are needed as well around the town.

As an educator, he believes that people must be well-educated and prepared for what they will be doing in life.

The one thing that I haven't heard much about from leaders here that I've spoken with is job creation. How to generate work for those who want it. There are good, smart people who have very little to do. They stand around, sit around. Wander around. Waiting for something to happen. Whenever there is a project -- a building needs building, or a new paint job, or a washed car, or a fixed car, they are ready and willing to help. Some of them have the skills. We have a skilled carpenter and a skilled mechanic, but very little building and very few cars. So they languish.

How can we create good, sustained jobs for them?

I spoke with a local man, who is the mechanic, handyman, yard duty manager for the school, among other things. He shows me around the Jatropha Nursery. I see plants that are 2 years old, with mature pods and seeds. I ask to see the seedlings, so they take me through the mud. As I walk along, the plants get shorter, and shorter, and shorter, til they are only little tufts of green shooting up from the dirt. These are the seedlings, 9 days old. Then 2 months old. The ones I saw when I first came through the gate are 2 years old. I take a picture of the seeds, which are picked, then crushed to create glycerine, biodiesel, etc. Even the pods are crushed and used. Nothing is wasted.

The Handyman says "This is the best project." Why? From this we can make many things. And then we can sell these things. -- He is talking about job creation. More people can grow them. Work with them, sell them, make money. Is that how it works?


How else can we create jobs? I think I need to poke around some more and figure some things out.

That's all for now. I need to eat lunch, so that I can go to the airport (and wait for 2 hours til my flight comes).

Haiti - Day 6

Today has been spectacular and busy. I thought it would be a slow day. Saturday, with school and clinic shut down, it was suggested I take a nap in the middle of the day. Little did I know what was in store for me!


We are starting our official "Disaster Relief" today. We get 1 ton of food (no joke) -- rice, beans, cooking oil, corn -- from the next town over, and we spend the afternoon divvying up the 100 lb bags into smaller rations. We must travel to The Dominican Republic in order to get diesel fuel to make the trip to PAP. How tremendous to help out with this effort, knowing that the food would be in the hands of earthquake victims in PAP in 24 hours. Plus, to see Haitians willing to help their fellow countrymen is such a great thing.

Before we were done packing the food, someone came and said we need to make a house call. Someone has returned from PAP and is injured -- could we come to her home, please? The clinic is closed. Yes, we will come.

We drive through town. Me, the clinic director, and 2 translators who know where she lives. We get there and go into her small hut. She's a girl of 13. In the earthquake, her foot was damaged. She was fixed up by the Red Cross. Afterwards, in an aftershock, a wall fell on her and she was injured some more. She is in terrible pain. Her foot hurts, she can't sit up or feel her leg, really. Her back hurts tremendously. She has a high fever and is dehydrated. She is lying down on all sorts of pillows, towels, etc. Anything to try and make her comfortable. Her back hurts, and later we find out it might be her pelvis. Either one of these is very serious.

We impress upon the family that this is a true emergency. How did she travel all the way from PAP to here in such pain? I can't imagine!

We leave her house and tell her we will return with medicine for her. We rummage through everything we have. Who has pain medication? She needs morphine, but nobody has any of that laying around. We find something for her in the clinic's pharmacy. We make a chart for her, so that she has a record should she return for a follow-up visit. We also take something special to drink for her so she can get quickly re-hydrated. It is hot in her hut, and she has a fever.

We explain very, very carefully, more than once, how to take the medicine. When, which one, how often, etc. The translator translates. We make up some of the special drink, showing her family exactly how to mix it. She must sip on it slowly. We give her a sip. Then rest. Talk with the family some more and explain what needs to happen. She takes another sip of the drink.

We say that she needs to go to the hospital as soon as possible. We need to figure out which one is open. How will she get there? There is one close, but the road is too bumpy. She will be in too much pain, so we think about the other options. We make her take another sip of the drink.

We tell the family what we think is wrong. We impress on her that it is a real emergency. The clinic director takes me aside and wonders if she will live through the night. I really hope so. I tell the girl to take another sip of the drink. We impress upon them the importance of drinking fluid. It only makes things worse if she is in pain with something broken AND she has a high fever AND is dehydrated. They can manage the dehydration.

She becomes incredibly restless, moaning from the pain. We hope she makes it through the night. And then we leave. She must rest now. And the medicine will kick in and help her sleep.

We know that we will see more cases like hers. People coming out of Port au Prince. They are distressed from the earthquake, maybe injured. We will need to treat them. We know they are coming. Thank goodness there is a clinic in the area that can provide care for them, and they know where to go.

The priest goes to visit her after dinner, later that night. Her fever has broken. Obviously the family took our advice seriously and fed her lots of fluids. And we see that they will take her in the morning to the hospital. We will hear tomorrow about her progress.

Haiti - musings of a country in crisis

More musings about the day. We had a baby emergency that took us away from the emergency of the country. I wrote about it below. I've also interviewed other Haitians around here to better understand them and what is happening in the country in general (outside of the general emergency). It's more about the mission work than the country.

There is a woman here who is concerned about educating women in the town. There must be something better than chasing after a boyfriend and having babies. Many girls don't go past grade 6 because they have a kid and have to work. She wants them to have an opportunity. Something to do.

Her first priority is a library. For the school and for the community. A place for people to come and to learn. There isn't much opportunity to learn. The library would offer resources as well as classes, a place for people to gather and to learn. Give them something to do that is constructive.

This is the countryside. There isn't much to do. No mall, no cinema, no places to go and hang out. Not everyone likes to come to the country. Especially not the young people.

A baby came today. The clinic was closed, so they came to the school. The gardener got out a cot to put the baby on. 3 women came, all concerned about the baby. The American doctor (whose speciality is neonatology) unwraps the baby. It's a preemie. Was 1 month old. Dehydrated. Crying. So cute, but so tiny! The legs were like feathers. It weighed nothing.

We send the woman home to get formula. The baby is hungry! He must eat. He cries and cries. We try to placate him, but not much works. He cries and cries. They come with the formula. The doctor wants to talk about dosage. I want to grab the formula out of his hand, mix it in water and quick! feed it to the baby. He's crying and he's hungry! The women don't know exactly how to do it. They mix the formula well, no lumps as the power dissolves into the water. But they make the formula too thin. They want it to last a long time. So the baby eats, but stays hungry. They mix the formula, but don't feed him all of it. They start to put it away. We say no! get it back out! the baby must eat it all! then eat again in 2 hours. Eat every 2 hours, add more formula to the water. He must eat eat eat! We tell them how to do this. Exactly. The mother can't do this, she died in childbirth. So the aunts have taken over and try to save the baby. They feed him with a spoon. They do well. Don't waste a drop. Feed him with love and care.


The doctor says bring him back on Friday for a checkup. We will see if he looks better. After they leave, the doctor tells us he wonders if the baby will be alive on Friday. I can't conceive of anything different. He must live! He must. There are other things wrong with him. He is anemic. He is a preemie. He might have brain damage. But right now, we want him to live til Friday.

Berry says she sees this all the time. She wants to start a birthing and midwife center in the clinic. She can't do this til the basic clinic costs are taken care of. Paying the doctors their wages, as well as the rest of the staff. Paying for medicine, for the lab to be able to do its work. When that is taken care of, she can start training midwifes. They can show new mothers how to breast feed, what to look for, make sure their babies are gaining weight.

The thought of the crisis -- the earthquake -- the massive deaths, just melt into the background. I'm not concerned about that right now. It doesn't touch us. I just want the baby to live til Friday. That's the most important thing right now.

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I spoke with an educator today. He loves education. It is the key to making his nation great. It was great once before. It was rich with resources, his people were free, the future was bright. But so much has happened. Now, the nation is poor. It must beg at the feet of other nations, feeding on scraps and beholden to the whims of its rescuer. The life here is hard. We are in the country. There is not much for young people to do. They get bored. They leave. The talent leaves the country. There are too many opportunities elsewhere, and there are none here. Why would someone want to stay when life here is hard? Not enough opportunity. Not enough to do.

I talked to someone who wanted to stay. To help his people. National pride. Heart for the poor.

The Sunday School teacher is remarkable. She loves to meet people. To work with them. Help them however she can. Her favorite thing is to work with the kids. To show them something in terms that they understand, watch when they get it, how it sticks with them, how they keep it as they move on.

For her, we each meet the people we meet, do the things we can do, try our best, move on to something greater. It's good. It's ok.

Haiti - when the dust settles

Day 3. Evidently that is the day that the dust settles and the feelings hit. Panic. Distress. Worry. Fear. Grief. Disbelief. Questioning. It's not an obvious thing. People go about their day. They get up, they get dressed, they do their job, they eat their food.

The clinic is open. People come for their various ills. A man has had a gaping wound on his leg for 3 years, oozing puss. He comes in today to get it seen with the American doctor. A child has a fever, and infant has worms.

But also, you ask how people are doing. Sad. A friend in university is dead. A relative has no home. No one can call. No one can go. The phones are down. The roads are not passable. The planes are not flying. Slowly images of devastation trickle in.

In our camp, the Americans who came down to help are not really doing that. They are scared. They talk to loved ones in the States who see awful things on the news, and fear for us who are here. They don't understand that we are safe. We have food. We have shelter. We have people to look after us and help us. But the fear has settled in, and there's no dislodging it now. "We must get out, we must get out. How can we go? When can we go?" Low grade fear, beneath every thought and every action.

Well, can I blame them? They haven't been here before. They don't know that the wheels here turn slowly. Things get done, but not like in the States. It doesn't always look like progress is getting made. One person talks to the next. The news travels. We know where to go and who to talk to in order to get the best news. The right news. Someone we know is back from the Dominican border, so he gives a report. It's someone we trust. So we know what is happening. But the Americans. They don't understand. Do they need more fanfare? Or does it just need to show up on CNN in order for it to be true?

I am safe and I am fine. Ugh. It was better before the feelings settled in.