Today Mackenzie arrived safely in Haiti. She will spend two weeks with us doing...

Today Mackenzie arrived safely in Haiti. She will spend two weeks with us doing construction.

Construction continues in the bunk house. Several more large sturdy wood bunk beds are built for our volunteers.

This afternoon Paul arrived safely in Haiti. He will be doing construction. There is a lot of...

This afternoon Paul arrived safely in Haiti. He will be doing construction. There is a lot of construction work to do, and he got started immediately.

Today we went back to Canaan to add the next 10 families into the programs. Mr. Genois presented the child sponsorship program and Jean Ones presented the small business program. After, we visited the tents of the 10 families. Everything went well.

Today we went to Damien. The same thing we are doing for the 20 families of Canaan, we are doing for...

Today we went to Damien. The same thing we are doing for the 20 families of Canaan, we are doing for Damien: we are adding 20 families into PID’s programs. We had 11 families already in our child sponsorship program, we added 9 new children today. We met with all 20 families and explained our programs to them, and inscribed each family into our small business program. One day soon, God willing, 40 families living in tents struggling to get by day to day, will be successfully providing for their children, running their own small businesses, and living in safe, dry houses.

Yesterday we went back to Canaan. We are going to add 20 families of Canaan to PID’s programs:...

Yesterday we went back to Canaan. We are going to add 20 families of Canaan to PID’s programs: we will choose a child from each family to be in our sponsorship program, give each family small business classes and a small business loan, and eventually build a house for each family. The committee of leaders of Canaan know which families have the greatest need. Yesterday they took us to the tents of 10 of the 20 families they chose. We described our programs to them, and inscribed them into our small business program, and took their children’s information for our child sponsorship program. The situation there is very sad. We are hopeful that we are able to significantly improve the lives of these families through PID’s programs. Thursday we will return to add the other 10 families.

Today is a sad day. My friend, the lady from the pig farm , who had cancer died this morning....

Today is a sad day. My friend, the lady from the pig farm who had cancer, died this morning. Hopefully we will finish her house quickly so her children will have a safe dry place to live.

Most of the team left today. They will be missed. The two of us left worked construction in the...

Most of the team left today. They will be missed. The two of us left worked construction in the morning and went to church in the evening.

Tomorrow is a holiday in Haiti. The clinic will be closed. But construction will continue. John said...

Tomorrow is a holiday in Haiti. The clinic will be closed. But construction will continue. John said ,” I can’t just sit in my house , when we are working on the house for the lady with cancer. So they will continue to work tomorrow.

Today we met with the Canaan association again. It went well and we will talk again on Tuesday. Mr...

Today we met with the Canaan association again. It went well and we will talk again on Tuesday. Mr Genois won the hearts of everyone when he described the child sponsorship program , showing pictures of kids who came in starving and now are alive, his voice cracked and tears came to his eyes. One man said, "usually you have to go to a funeral to hear nice things about a person, but Mr. Genois you are a true man of honor." Woodeman explained the small business programs, and then John explained the ongoing construction. Isabel was also there to talk about Damien.

I explained that PID is not about the organization but about people. The directors are people who care about all of Haiti not just themselves. I was so proud to sit with these people who are fighting to bring better lives to their people. I hope PID can live up to their expectations.

Today in Haiti the team continues to work hard. The doctor saw a lot of very sick babies today. The...

Today in Haiti the team continues to work hard. The doctor saw a lot of very sick babies today. The lab tech is cleaning out the lab. Kathy worked on typing a variety of important clinic documents and spreadsheets.
At the construction site the team is working on filling in the floor of one of the houses in progress, and the foundation of the other is progressing rapidly.

Today was a most interesting day. Many really sick people at the clinic. New lab tech continues to...

Today was a most interesting day. Many really sick people at the clinic. New lab tech continues to bring new skills to the clinic. Her first positive malaria. Four people sent to area hospitals.
We visited Canaan to work on housing
Merger with Damien.Didn’t go well. I wanted to cry , so did Isabel . We left the meeting . By time we got back to the clinic the President of Canaan called to ask to visit. He came, said sorry he wasn’t at the meeting. Said the “secretary was not in charge. ” he will give us space for 100 houses. Tomorrow we meet again. I won’t move on this unless all members of the committee are on board. Tomorrow will be another interesting day .

Guatemala Team

Today’s post is written by team member Emily.

This group has been in Guatemala since last Thursday and we have accomplished so much. Since that day we have finished the floor of a new house for a sweet boy named Mario. We had to wheelbarrow sand and rocks from the street to the house site. We filled the floor of the house with sand so it would be above ground level. That alone took at least two days worth of work. Today we mixed concrete and moved heavy buckets full of the stuff onto the floor to cover the sand. After covering the floor with the concrete, we worked on removing stumps from the future site of a new PID home. I played duck duck goose with the woman’s twin nieces and learned some new patty cake routines at lunch. The group (along with village kids) went to a local river and swam. By the end of the day, the floor of Mario’s house was finished. There is also a ramp into the house, which is really cool considering that most of the houses are extremely basic. I had a lot of fun today playing and working.

Photo

First Day on the work site


Family whose new home we are building

Today the construction team made a great deal of progress on the houses. They spent all day...

Today the construction team made a great deal of progress on the houses. They spent all day shoveling, moving rocks, and carrying cement. They are a very hardworking team!
The sickle cell doctor continues to see patients. The lab technician is working well with our staff here doing some teaching and organizing of the lab. Kathy is busy typing a set of lab protocols.

Last night we prayed with, sang to, and read the Bible to the lady from Damien with cancer. We took...

Last night we prayed with, sang to, and read the Bible to the lady from Damien with cancer. We took shifts staying up during the night with her to make sure she was ok. We took her home in the morning after she was able to get a good night’s rest here in the clinic emergency room and the medicine she needs to make her feel comfortable. Today the construction team was extra motivated as we dug the foundation for her house after seeing where she and her family are living now. Linnea arrived today and joined our construction team. Together we got so much done today; the whole foundation is already dug out.

Today we visited the mass graves. Later we went to a beach. At...

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Today we visited the mass graves.
Later we went to a beach.
At 5 we went to the pig farm to introduce the team building the
Family they are building the house for.
The woman’s we are building for has cancer and we had to take her back to the clinic with us. Dr new is staying up with here for the night.

 

Guatemala Team

Today was our day off from work.  We spent the day in St. Pedro horseback riding, kayaking, shopping and enjoying the beautiful scenery! Tomorrow it’s back to work in the village.

Guatemala Team

A new team member arrived yesterday - a chicken!  Tali, our field director was given a live chicken from a woman in the village as a thank you for helping to get her very sick child to the hospital.  She brought it home last night in a grocery bag and let it out during our nightly meeting and it hasn’t left us alone.  A matter of fact, it’s sitting right next to me as I’m writing this blog.  It’s a strangely social chicken!

We worked a half day today at the construction site, finishing the stucco work and hauling fill for the foundation.  Carlos said we will be ready to pour the cement floor on Monday.  Christy worked the morning in the clinic seeing the usual moms and children.  However, a man from outside the village asked some of the construction workers if he could be seen for a bad wound on his knee.  After Christy examined him, she found that he had worse problems than his knee.  His blood sugar level was so off and if untreated he was days away from being deathly ill.  They had an ambulance come to take him to the hospital.

In the afternoon, we hiked through the local coffee plantation to a beautiful waterfall.  Just about everyone took a dip under the falling water - what a great day!

Guatemala Team

As Gale wrote, the team arrived safely in Guatemala last night.  We had a great night’s sleep and went to the village to work this morning.  The construction crew is working on Norm Labbe’s sponsored child’s house - it’s great because Norm is with us!  We dumped many wheelbarrows of fill into the foundation to prepare to lay the floor.  The crew also helped to stucco the inside walls of the house.  Some of us were more skilled at it than others.  As always the children of the village wanted to help and kept us entertained and smiling all day long.  The entire construction crew is amazing, they are working so hard.  All the parents of the Kennebunk Interact Club should be very proud of their children! Norm worked at getting all the supplies and tools he will need to install the chlorine filter in the new clinic.  Once he installs it, the new clinic will have safe water to drink!  Lastly, Christy, an emergency room RN (and our only medical team member) worked at the clinic today seeing many patients.  She will return on Monday to work in the clinic, however, she did ask if she could work a morning or two with us on construction.  We plan to work Saturday morning and then take a hike through the coffee plantation and up to a waterfall. 

Many on the team who were planning to call home are unable to get cell phone reception.  So if you were expecting to get a call from your child, don’t worry, they tried but couldn’t get through.  Everyone is doing great!

For all of you who have stayed at the bunkhouse in Haiti , good news!! Two carpenters on this team...

For all of you who have stayed at the bunkhouse in Haiti , good news!! Two carpenters on this team built 4 new bunk beds that have real twin mattresses on them. They are very comfy and strong . New team begins work in the morning.

The guatemalan team arrived safely last night . They are working hard.

The guatemalan team arrived safely last night . They are working hard.

Today some of our medical team went to Canaan, the tent camp at the bottom of the mountain, for a...

Today some of our medical team went to Canaan, the tent camp at the bottom of the mountain, for a mobile clinic. They saw many sick patients there.

The construction team continues to work hard and they built another bunk bed in our bunkhouse today.

Today I took the construction people and they made the first bunkbed out of wood to replace the...

Today I took the construction people and they made the first bunkbed out of wood to replace the metal bed. They will fit a full twin mattress and a tall person can fit.
We add two new kids enter the medika mamba program today and we are happy to report new boxes of medicos mamba was delivered today. I drove around and found wood that was way less expensive. John was back to work today but a little shaky. He thinks it might have been the heat. Brooke returns tomorrow and we will go up the mountain.

Today was a very rough day. Had a cholera patient today. Haven’t had any for along time. John...

Today was a very rough day. Had a cholera patient today. Haven’t had any for along time. John our construction
Supervisor ended up in the hospital before even came to work. They think he might have a heart problem. But we are still waiting to hear.

Today we did a mobile clinic at the deaf camp. One of our volunteers for the week was able to...

Today we did a mobile clinic at the deaf camp. One of our volunteers for the week was able to translate sign language, so they were able to see many patients.

Cholera is beginning to rear its ugly head here again in Haiti. We had a cholera paitient show up at our clinic and we immediately sent them out to a nearby facility where they could get help.

This morning the construction crew continued breaking rocks and laying the foundation. This afternoon they went out for some supplies to make improvements on our bunkhouse.

This evening the volunteers are all still hard at work, the construction team is working on putting a door on the storage room of the bunkhouse, and the medical team is sorting and organizing meds, and preparing for the mobile clinic we are planning for Thursday.

Bob and Jay arrived this morning in Haiti for construction and got started right away digging,...

Bob and Jay arrived this morning in Haiti for construction and got started right away digging, sifting, breaking rocks, and carrying cement. The foundation for the new house continues. We are looking forward to a great week with the team.

The whole team is here. Many sick kids with fevers. Seems like everyone here was very sick. One 3...

The whole team is here. Many sick kids with fevers. Seems like everyone here was very sick. One 3 day old baby screamed and screamed. The poor thing had a fever and was whisked away to the closest children hospital. We are hoping the baby will make it.

Mary Ann and Tara arrived safely in Haiti today. They will be staying for a week, Mary Ann working...

Mary Ann and Tara arrived safely in Haiti today. They will be staying for a week, Mary Ann working in the pharmacy and Tara working as a nurse. Today we were stuck on the clinic grounds due to the flat tire, so we spent the day here organizing and preparing for a mobile clinic on Tuesday at the deaf camp.

Lizzy and Melissa did a clinic at Damien. We got a very flat tire and drove for 10 miles on it...

Lizzy and Melissa did a clinic at Damien. We got a very flat tire and drove for 10 miles on it because there was no place to fix it. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Melissa and I have both arrived safely. Tomorrow Melissa and Lizzy will go to Damien to do a clinic...

Melissa and I have both arrived safely. Tomorrow Melissa and Lizzy will go to Damien to do a clinic and I will meet with Brooke. It was Pouchons birthday
Today. It is warm with a gentle rain.

It is off to Haiti tomorrow for two weeks. Martha is heading to Guatemala with a team next week.

It is off to Haiti tomorrow for two weeks.
Martha is heading to Guatemala with a team next week.

Saturday morning the dentists here in Haiti finished up their last few patients. Gena taught a class...

Saturday morning the dentists here in Haiti finished up their last few patients. Gena taught a class for some of our medical staff and translators. The team left Sunday morning.

Election results were announced this evening. Everyone was listening to their radios anxiously, and were so happy when it was announced that Michel Martelly “Tet Kale”  is the winner. Cheers of joy and hope could be heard all around. Clinic will be closed tomorrow.

In other news, a bees nest was successfully extracted from the guest house today. Nobody was stung in the process, but we all were able to enjoy the sweet honey.

The Annual Celebration went well. We had a full house, many of the people who traveled to Haiti or...

The Annual Celebration went well. We had a full house, many of the people who traveled to Haiti or Guatemala came. It was like a trip reunion. So many special people in one room.

Tomorrow if the annual Celebration. Hope you can make it .

Tomorrow if the annual Celebration. Hope you can make it .

The dentists pulled another 54 teeth today. They still have a few more appointments left, so they...

The dentists pulled another 54 teeth today. They still have a few more appointments left, so they will finish tomorrow morning. After work the team boarded the Tap-Tap for a tour of the city Port-au-Prince.