HAITI!

Day 1- Wow already an adventure

I left my house in Destin at 3am to head to the Pensacola airport. With my suitcases in tow the check-in process went seemingly perfect. Then came security. My backpack was as full as it could get with no room to spare and everything was packed in its place. I put my toiletries in my checked luggage so I would not have to deal with pulling anything out when I went through security. Of course my bag was pulled to be searched! Slowly and carefully the TSA agent went digging through my perfectly packed bag. Any guesses as to what flagged my bag? My quart sized baggie containing my coveted Justin’s Almond Butter packs! I begged him not to take my almond butter. Luckily because I did not have any other liquids I was able to keep all of them! So after the bag was taken apart he looked at me and said, “uhhhh, I will let you put this back together.”

After security and waiting at the gate I boarded the plane to Miami. So thankful I was able to get a little snooze in on the plane because little did I know what the rest of the day would hold. In Miami I got a breakfast sandwich and coffee from Starbucks and met up with Winter to board our connecting flight. We took off from Miami around 9am and 2 hrs and Despicable Me 3 later we arrived in Port Au Prince. Off the airplane we filed into the immigration line where we paid our $10 tourism fee and had our passports checked. We then went to baggage claim to grab our massive suitcases. I paid $2 to rent a chart to push Winter and my baggage. The Haitian people get priority so we just hung around and watched our bags go around a few times before there was an opening. After using the restroom we moved towards customs. The customs agent questioned me as to what I had in my huge bag because I did not claim anything on my form. When I said medical supplies he wanted to know if I had any brought any medications with me. I smiled and said “no” secretly hoping all the medication was in the other duffel. He said, “ok go”. Wheew thank goodness!

Ernest, met us right outside to help us through the sea of people and we made it to the Land Rover. Jessica and Megan were already there and met us with big smiles and hugs! First time we were all together but we were already fast friends! Holy hot day! The sweat was instant and profuse! This is where the day becomes a long one. The MFH staff loaded all of our bags and we were ready to start our 3 hour drive to Hinche. The four of us girls were sitting on the benches that run on either side of the Land Rover when a Haitian girl who had been hanging out with the staff jumped in to ride back. No one thought much of this and we left the airport. Our next stop was to a small compound in Port Au Prince to pick up Sarah, a midwife, who flew in earlier in the day. The MFH staff called her mom and we soon found out why. Sarah first came down to Haiti after the massive earthquake and has since devoted her life’s work to helping the Haitian women. She has helped to open several birth centers and is a wealth of information. We then stopped at the grocery store in town to grab coffee creamer for one of the other midwives back in Hinche. The parking lot was jam packed and there are no road rules. The security all around Port Au Prince casually carries around massive riffles, and the grocery store is no exception. We stayed in the car and thought we would be on our way soon. Our driver and the Haitian girl in the back with us kept making phone calls and from what Sarah could gather we were looking for other people.

We drove away from the store and again thought we were on our way. Nope. Back to the airport. Apparently a woman from Hinche was given money to go into town to buy a bunch of clothing that she would be able to sell back in Hinche. Somehow there was some confusion and she did not meet back up with the car when she was supposed to and they were trying to figure out where she was. We were finally able to locate her and her massive bags on clothes that were going in the car with us. Although she was supposed to come alone, she brought along 2 friends, including the girl that had already been riding in the back with us. What had been a fairly comfortable ride for the circumstances now became very tight!

Lets chat about the driving in Haiti for a second. There are no rules! Cars, trucks, and motorcycles came from every direction. The roads are not maintained and you were constantly hitting large potholes. Most of the drive was like playing jello from when we were younger. So there many “I’m sorry” “wow!” and belly laughs along the way. About an hour into the drive we started the climb into the mountains. We had been cruising along at 45-50 mph and then all of the sudden we were crawling. 15mph, change gears, 10mph, change gears, 5 mph, change gears. We looked behind us and there was a ton of black smoke. This was an issue. We pulled off to the side of the road and got out of the car. And the waiting began. Our driver called back to headquarters and they quickly figured out a plan to get us a new vehicle. It would be coming from Hinch- 2 hours away. Remember when I said that I ate at the Miami airport? Well that was the last time any of us had eaten and it was now close to 5 in the evening. Our water was running low and our bags were still on the top of the Land Rover. After about an hour and a half of waiting we called again for an update. We were told they had left Hinche about 30 minutes ago so it would still be a while. At this point we asked if we could get one of the suitcases with snacks down so we would be able to have a picnic. We got them down and hiked up the hill a ways to an overlook with some grass. We shared food, stories and laughs as others drove by on the road honking and waving to us. We all just kept saying “ Welcome to Haiti”.  Mario the program manager came to meet us in his personal car with his wife so that he could take the broken down car back to Port Au Prince. He brought us emergency food, pringles and a loaf of white bread J

Eventually our new van ride showed up and we all piled in and began the trek to Hinche. After the final 2 hours in the van we arrived to our new home for the next two weeks. We were greeted by the house staff and showed our room. The four of us have 2 bunk beds and a bathroom. There is running water and electricity in the house and very, very nice accommodations for us. We scarfed down some food and quickly went to sleep.

Day 2

We all slept like rocks!! The volunteer coordinator actually pushed back our schedule for the day because we were all sound asleep when everyone else was awake. Once awake, we had coffee and made our own breakfast. We have eggs, fruit, bread, and peanut butter available for us. After breakfast we had some time before we went up to our balcony and met with the clinical director about the care we will be giving here and the expectations as volunteers. We hopped on the back of the motorbike and headed to the hospital for our official tour of the facility. There are not pictures allowed with the property of the hospital so I will do my best to paint a picture of what it looks like. It is a large compound with multiple different buildings. We were told that it was originally built as a French horse stables. There are many different sections antepartum, postpartum, post op, labor and delivery, NICU, woman’s ward, men’s ward, surgical ward, an OR, and a lab. Each ward is approximately the size of a horse “stable” with beds lining either wall. There are approximately 11 beds in each ward. The labor unit has women waiting in the hall until there is room and there are 4 delivery tables. The hospital itself was very clean in appearance, although there is not always running water. They provide inpatients 2 meals a day. Families are not present while the woman are in labor and so the staff are the sole support people.  From the hospital tour we came back to the house and had lunch. Lunch is made by Haitian women that are full time cooks at the house. They start cooking lunch in the morning and as soon as lunch is over they begin making dinner. Lunch consisted of rice and beans, chicken, and a salad ( I know we aren’t supposed to eat salad and vegetables and but they prepare them so that we are able to eat them). After lunch we gathered to go back on the motos on a tour of the city with one of the translators. We saw city center, the old and new cathedrals, the market and a couple little stores. Everywhere you go people are yelling “blon, blon” which basically means white people. In the cathedral a children’s choir was practicing singing. It was the most beautiful sound. At the market we found many different things. Jessica bought honey, Haitian rum and cookies. Winter bought a couple of different items that she forgot. Megan and I didn’t need anything and figured there would be time later to get different items. When we returned were going to head back to the house it began to rain. We just decided that we would get wet and jumped on the back of the motos. Around 6 o’clock dinner was ready. It consisted of rice and beans, goat mixed with eggplant, and potato balls. I ate the eggplant but didn’t partake in the goat. We had some cokes after dinner and went for a walk to a hill that overlooks the town. It is beautiful in the evening. The guards sent security to walk with us just to make sure we would be safe. Cindy, the education director, went over with us what she wanted us to do with the students in the classroom. We are going to be teaching and testing the midwife students neonatal resuscitation. I showered in the cold water and it was so refreshing! We all went to sleep as we had to wake up early for our first day of clinical. Tomorrow I will be at the hospital. I can’t wait to see how things function in the hospital.