Prayers for Merlinda

There is a little girl in Haiti who needs heart surgery. We have been working on setting it up For a year and a half. Thanks to the efforts of Dr Neeli, who found a place in the DR , she will hopefully begin her tests on Feb 4 to see if she is able to have the surgery. Please pray for an easy trip across the border and successful surgery. The Staff in Haiti has been working so hard to set this up. Pouchon will travel with the Mom, Merlinda and the twos nth old baby to Santa Domingo via bus and then teach her how to get to the hospital via public transportation .
It will be an exhausting trip. So pray, pray for fast and uncomplicated trip.

Finished Emergency House

As I did some home visits yesterday with Alejandra we passed by the property where the St. Joe's team worked on a foundation for an emergency house Marcos' family. Here are before and after shots of their house.

Before

After =)

Alison's last few days in Haiti

My last post from Haiti, as I head home tomorrow. The past 2 weeks have flown by!
 It is always really gratifying for me each time i am here to witness the progress in PID's medical clinic. Lizzy and i met Friday with the last group of midwives. It was unbelievable. The confidence and knowledge they gained fron the childbirth classes has allowed them to successfully attend so many births. One midwife went to 22 births since the class! Other students never attended births before, but now are assisting and doing births on their own with great outcomes. We were very proud!
In the afternoon we did a staff training and officially announced the hiring of Sultane, our new nurse, to everyone. We also went over the Red Card system, which is being reintroduced. This system ensures that the sickest patients are seen first and will not have to wait for many hours to see Dr Sem or a visiting practitioner. We have also assigned Sultane the important job of giving Tylenol to the patients who come with a simple headache, aches and pains, or menstrual cramps- another idea we hope will make the day in the clinic go smoother. Lastly, she will also be responsible for giving out a safebirth kit to any mother who is about due to give birth at home. It will be great to have the kits on hand at the clinic and we hope to provide even more safe, clean births.
I will be back in May. Until then, love Alison.

In the US

Today we had a volunteer appreciation luncheon. It was the first of its kind. We wanted to say thank you to the 52 volunteers that work in the US office, at the warehouse, as team leaders, on the annual fundraiser, and as medical coordinators. It is an ambitious group of people who are committed to helping the extreme poor wherever that might be.
Thank you!

Update from Haiti

Exciting news from Haiti!
Both the medical and construction teams left over the weekend and we heard everyone made it safely home. Alot of great work was accomplished here last week, a foundation made for a new house, and lots of patients seen in the clinic. The teams showed alot of great teamwork and it was a pleasure to work together.
Yesterday we hired Sultane, a bright young Haitian nurse. We are all really excited about having her on board and  I will spend the next couple days orienting her to the clinic and Guetchine, Lizzy and I will make her job description. She has spent 3 months interning here so everyone knows her well at this point and we are all confident she will be a great asset to our medical clinic team.
Tuesday Lizzy and I went to visit the midwives for follow up after the safebirth classes. We were pleased to hear their birth stories and to hear them all tell of how much the classes helped them prepare for and carry out appropriate emergency care for births. They really seemed proud of how much they now knew, and we were able to give out safebirth kits to everyone. This is all really wonderful to be part of for us, especially in light of the upcoming global health conference we are participating in this spring.
Stay warm back home- we heard it's freezing! Lots of love- Alison

Another great team returns home

The Guatemalan team leaves  for the US today. This team has accomplished so much and I am always amazed that exactly the right person seems to be on the team when we need them.

Norm, our water filter guy, was here and although we didn't produce a ton of filters , he spent most of the time teaching and training our new Guatemalan water person with the help of Ernie. Miquel will be such a good addition to our staff in Guatemala as we ramp up to do 400 water filters in the area in next year.

Amy, or Dr Amy as she is called in Guatemala got to follow up on a lot of patients that needed her special attention. Laura, with a specialty in respiratory therapy, was able to help many patients.

Lynn, did a wonderful job in the lab , she rarely makes kids cry even when drawing blood. She was so surprised as she did the stool samples. I told her , you will be able to tell what village they come from by the sample and sure enough, she could. Our village is clean, surrounding villages have the same amount of parasites as Concepcion did 3 years ago. Were excited to see this transformation.

Judy, who was fluent in Spanish and a social worker, was a wonderful translator. She was there to comfort and talk to a woman whose life is so hard that she was thinking of taking her life and hoped someone better would be there to take care of her kids. She is in the program and with the help of  Shelby, Abby and Alahandra will receive major support in the coming months.

Ray, our photographer and eye examiner, help many people to be able to see clearer, as was evident as the people left his room with huge smiles on their faces.

Cynthia, has a special place in the hearts of the young teens in the village, as they learned new knitting stitches and even made baby booties.

It was a pleasure to work with such a committed team.

Booties for Babies!

Kids learning how to knit =)

Our knitting class out back has really taken off! There are usually about 7-10 kids sitting around plastic tables on our back patio knitting with Cynthia. They have learned to make headbands, washcloths, bags and the next project - baby booties!

Katy with her little sister Carla modeling the new baby booties

This back patio has turned out to be the best thing! We use it for eating lunches, knitting classes, workshops for midwives and pregnant women, welcome and goodbye parties, and so much more!

The nurses at the clinic continue to see patients - many kids with really clogged up ears and cuts on their feet. Gale went and bought some sandals in San Antonio today to give out to kids who need them.

The water filter group installed two new filters yesterday and went to check on some that had been installed in august and were having a few problems. They will be visiting more homes today and checking on the ones that were installed yesterday.

A day at the lake

Today the team went to a local church and then took off to Santiago for a boat ride and lunch in San Pedro.Shelby( team leader in training) as well as Abby accompanied them on the trip. Upon returning the team went to dinner at a local restaurant . Everyone was anxious to get home and go to sleep as tomorrow it is back to work.

After church I came back to the house to catch up on work. I have been traveling for three weeks with only a couple days in between  trips so I end up getting so behind. I had a great day catching up on emails and receiving good news from Haiti about the good job our head of administration ( Guetchine)  is doing. It was nice to have time to work and get caught up at least a little:-).

1/2 day of work and off to the ruins

Today the Guatemalan team finished their work at 12 and then had a great lunch cooked by Marcelina on the patio in back of the clinic.

They took a tour of the village to see some of the PID houses and then went to the Mayan Ruins of Tikal ik Ab Aj. This is one of my favorite places. The plants are so beautiful and it is peaceful. You feel like you are walking through and ancient Mayan village. We took 6 of the girls from the village so they could experience some of their history. It was a fun trip.

Afterwards Abby invited the team to her house for delicious dinner. Before we had dinner two of our team members did some singing with a history of the boat songs. It was a surprise to hear this beautiful music coming from two retired electrical engineers, who believe that you need to sing for your supper.

It was a great day for all.

Last day

Today the team enjoyed their last day in Haiti at the beach. It was a nice relaxing way to end a great week of hard work. At tonight's final debrief meeting, everyone seemed to share similar sentiments: everyone saw the team as one that melded together well, and everyone appreciated getting to know each other throughout the week.

Last work days for the team

Yesterday was the final class and graduation ceremony for the midwives in Bigarade. The twelve students recieved certificates and safebirth kits. Today Alison and Lynn joined Brittany, Emi, and Melissa in the clinic. After clinic, they took a walk out to the construction site to see the progress the construction crew made on the house. They were very impressed at how hard the team has been working and how far the foundation has come in just a week.

Where is the horse?

Today I had to go to visit a lawyer in Guatemala. Sergio and I arrived at 8 to sign some papers for land that PID is buying. Afterward we were suppose to have breakfast at his farm. It is a beautiful farm and I was excited to go. As we drove off in his truck I noticed we were going to wrong way. We stopped at a gas station so I assumed we needed fuel. The conversation quickly changed to talk about a black horse. Soon I found out the dancing , black horse of the lawyer had run away and we were looking for it. After several stops the horse was located. Then we had the task of how to get the horse back to the farm. At first the plan appeared to be to tie the horse to the bumper and let it run behind the truck. Seemed good until the horse seemed to think it was in a race with the truck. Sergio had to go in the back and then held the reins and directed the horse. When we got 1/2 way to the farm Sergio decided to ride the horse. So on bareback Sergio took off for the farm with the lawyer and I falling behind in the truck . We finally caught up to Sergio to find out somewhere on the route Sergio lost his wallet, so he continued on while we turned back to find the wallet.
1 1/2 hours later we arrived for breakfast at the farm , with the runaway horse, no wallet and a very funny
story.

The team continued to work on filters, knitting and the clinic. Ray's missing suitcase arrived and we all talked about our day tomorrow. Everyone was tired from all the traveling and so everyone went to bed early.

Up and running in Guatemala

After a late (8am) breakfast the team loaded on to the chicken bus and headed to the village. A bit of traffic on the bridge delayed them a little and the new dirt got stuck to their shoes, but they made it!

Norm and his crew are working on filters. Cynthia is out back teaching girls how to knit headbands with Shelby helping to translate. It is so good to have Shelby back here with us! =)

Amy and Laura are busy seeing patients. Gale is working with Judy and Leybi on keeping up with all our sponsored kid's medical records.

We finally arrived

After a very long day of traveling and hours of waiting in the Miami airport the team has arrived in Guatemala at 1 AM. For some on the team it has been 21 hours since they left there home! But let all PID teams they will be up and ready to
Work at 8.

Wednesday in Haiti

The team is working hard in Haiti. The medical team members continue to work in the clinic, seeing sick kids, working in triage, and doing discharge. Alison and Lynn returned to Bigarade today for day 3 of the midwife class. The construction team members continued work on the house in Blanchard. They are working on the foundation with the masons, passing rocks and buckets of cement in an assembly line. They are making great progress.

Snow in Boston causes delays worldwide

So the team's flight was delayed leaving Boston and they arrived in Miami just as their other flight was taking off. They will now be arriving around 9 pm tonight in Guatemala city and then at the hotel between 11 and 12. It'll be a late night followed by an early morning.

Off to Guatemala

This morning we are at the airport with our team. Everyone has arrived inspite of the snow and the traffic. So far it looks like the plane will leave on time . We will know for sure when start boarding.
This team will work on water filters, work in the clinic and do a knitting project . We are exciting.

Team's first 2 days of work

Greetings from Haiti, our two new teams have been busily at work. Brittany, Emily and Melissa have been working in the clinic, doing triage, seeing patients and setting up a discharge station. The work has gone smoothly and they were able to see many patients. This afternoon after work we had a rooftop exercise class led by Brittany and we all worked up a sweat.
Lynn and I , with Showty as translator, finished our second day of the new Childbirth class at Bigarade. We have 12 students and as always, they are very interested and excited about all the information. This class is especially satisfying because there are several nurses in it, so they have a basic knowledge   base already. The construction team with Milo, Molly, Simon, Sean and Debbie, are steadily starting a new house in the Blanchard neighborhood. Everyone is happy and tired after 2 days of hard work.
It is always great to return and see the progress made- the bunkhouse has a facelift, the classroom almost has a new roof, the clinic has a new wheelchair ramp. The pharmacy is well stocked and we are ready for action! As always, it is great to be here at PID Haiti. More soon, Alison

Teams coming and going

Friday the St Joes team left Guatemala after a great week. Today the Gordon
Left Haiti after another great week and the
New team arrived safely. They have already taken a tour of PID houses on Blanchard and have had orientation. Looks like another great team.

Last day for the team

Today was an amazing final day in Haiti. The group split into two and half stayed here at the compound to finish the final projects. All the sifting was done and the final touches were put on the bunk house. The group says they will miss having to mix cement.  The other half of the group went out to the construction site and finished filling the foundation with rocks and dirt. The group was satisfied to look and see all the hard work they put into the new foundation. They cannot wait to come back and see the new finished house. While they were working they saw the plans being laid for the next house to be built.  They are so encouraged to see the progress happening as they thought about the families that will be blessed by this new house. The medical staff on the team had a busy day today as they saw about 45 children in the program for well child checkups.  After a busy week, the team had a relaxing second half of the day by the pool, as they took a trip to the local hotel.

The team expresses that they’ve learned so much from the people here. They have loved their stay with PID and each has encountered God in a new way here. Some things they have shared that they will miss most from the week are sitting on top of the roof of the clinic, watching the sun rise as they do devotions, all the kids and playing the hand clapping game. The memories of this trip will always stay with them, they tell me. They thank the Lord for PID and the work we are doing here. We express our sincere thanks to this team for such a wonderful week and we hope they all come back next year.

Friday Finale

The group entered Friday knowing that it was their last full day of work. With this in mind, everyone seemed to work with a renewed vigor. Having finished the available work at the work site, everyone stayed on the PID compound and worked as a group. They sifted sand, worked more on the roof of the education center, carried cement, filled in the trench, and did whatever else was needed on the compound. The group felt very together after working side by side all week and the bonds they formed will definitely extend beyond Haiti. In the clinic, Dr. Neeli and Cathy kicked it into high gear and really got after it. They treated everyone they saw with incredible competence and knowledge. These two make a great team. It has been a great week of work for the group.

Last night in Guatemala

Today the kids program had their fiesta.
They had hot dogs, a clown and face painting. The construction team finished the walls of the house they were working on and almost finished the bathroom.
The clinic continued seeing patients right up til the end.

After work the team and the leaders when on a walk to the river and then played soccer against the leaders and lost. There were a lot of sad goodbyes.

At night we had our last meeting and then five of the team members went to the English class at the clinic.

We are now packed and ready to leave for Guatemala
City at six in the morning. There is a sense
Of sadness as we leave new friends and a country of people who welcome us with open arms. We will miss Guatemala.

This was a great week.

Gordon team continues on strong

Thursday was a great day for the group. After a balanced, filling breakfast, everyone geared up and split up to their various jobs. At the PID compound, they began to stucco and is going to look great when finished. Paul kept trucking along on the roof of the education center and also finished running the conduits from the bunk house to the clinic to repair the electricity in the bunkhouse. Also, breaking news out of the housing department, I had my house fully painted and completed and now can move back in. At the worksite, the group experienced their  hardest day yet, starting the day with mixing cement and then transferring later to shoveling buckets of rocks for fill, of which they moved a grand total of 537. In the clinic today, it was pregnancy day, with pregnant mothers coming in for pre-natal exams. After the clinic ended, Dr. Neeli and nurse Cathy went for a walk to the work site tosee what the others had been doing this week. At the work site, they all enjoyed a lot of time with the local children, playing and taking pictures.

Working hard in Gautemala

Today as we went over the high and lows of the day, I was excited to see how many of the team members were really impressed by the amount of work they were able to finish in spite of the heat. The walls are almost finished on the emergency house they are building as well as the double bathroom they are working on. The clinic was packed with many patients. Delphenia is a sweet elderly woman. Her legs constantly have ulcers from her terrible varicose veins. She has come to clinic for the last six years when ever she has a leg ulcer. We treat her and get the ulcers healed and then she is back again after a short time. WE have tried wrapping them, compression socks and many other types of treatment. Today we decided that we would do surgery. So we are hoping we can find a place to do the surgery so that she will not have to have these ulcers all at the time.

The children's program had there last full day and tomorrow they will have the fiesta.

Wednesday in Haiti

Wednesday started off with a bang! Eggs for breakfast. As with previous days, a few of the group went off to the work site and the rest stayed on the PID compound. The interior of Lizzy's house was painted and now looks great.  At the work site, the team conquered six bags of cement, mixing and moving all day. While the work was exhausting, the second house is now ready to be filled so it was a very rewarding day. In the clinic, the medical crew welcomed a new member to their ranks; student nurse Allie. She shadowed her aunt Cathy and Dr. Neeli all day, getting exposed to the gamut of Haitian health care. Later in the afternoon, everyone enjoyed fresh mangos and sugar cane. Despite the mid-week fatigue, everyone found their second wind and had a terrific day.

Stitches for Marcos and Tuesday night English Classes

Yesterday the clinic went a little smoother and they were able to see more patients than on Monday. We had some difficult cases that needed higher level care than what we provide in our clinic, so we had to sent them out for other help. Today our Guatemalan doctor Angelica is here so there are many more patients waiting to come in to the clinic.

A few team members are feeling a little under the weather, but with a good day of rest and plenty of water they are ready to go the following day.

The children's program made maracas yesterday, which in hindsight might not have been the best idea because they spent the rest of the day shaking them throughout the other classes. But at least they enjoyed themselves! =)

The construction teams continue to work hard despite the extreme heat. They are learning how to lay blocks. And so far no more little children have gotten hurt. (Marcos now proudly displays his 5 stitches on his arm.)

Last night I took six of the team members to participate in the English class here at the clinic. They had some one-on-one conversation activities to complete with the students. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and it was a really great opportunity for the Guatemalan students who don't normally have interaction with native English speakers.

Tuesday in Blanchard

There were many jobs on the docket for today and the group again split up and went different directions. A few were responsible for finishing a trench for wiring, and others worked in Lizzy's house, preparing and painting the walls. Paul worked on the education center, designing the roof and laying the roof's foundation. At the worksite, they finished doing the foundation and started filling in the floors of the other side of the house. Meanwhile in the clinic, Dr. Neeli and  nurse Cathy were holding down the fort while Dr. Sem has the week off to rejuvenate. They efficiently treated their patients with compassion. But it does not end there, at the end of the day, a couple members of the group went to the special needs orphange in Blanchard to evaluate sick children and play with them as well. 

All around low point - Marcos getting hurt!

So today was the first full day of work for the team from St. Joe's in Guatemala.

The children's program went pretty well. The kids all did a craft of crumpling up tissue paper and gluing the little balls to form designs - like flowers and soccer balls and houses. The enjoyed playing soccer and learning some English phrases.

The clinic staff did some well child check-ups and had a few "emergencies" to deal with as well. One older lady had severely swollen legs and her health has been deteriorated for the past 4 months. After deciding that there really wasn't anything we could do for her, we informed the family that they really need to take her to a doctor or to the national hospital. The family needed to discuss their options. It is hard knowing that because of a lack of money some people won't take a family member to get the care that they desperately need. Another minor emergency was when Bobby came running through the village carrying Marcos - a seven year old boy who is part of the family receiving the emergency house - to the clinic. When he was helping out carrying cement blocks to the work site, one of them somehow fell on his arm and cut him pretty deep. So we cleaned him right up and sent for his mom so she could take him to get stitches. At the team meeting tonight that was the "low-point" of the day for many of the team members.

A productive Monday

The new work week started off quickly. At the work site, it was more rock carrying and cement mixing for foundation but the group had a lot of enthusiasm, especially for a Monday morning. In the afternoon, the group split up, with only a few returning to the work site while the rest remained on the PID compound and did various jobs including digging a trench to rewire the electric feed to the bunkhouse. The clinic was under siege today, processing some hundred and twenty patients! This meant the medical staff had worked overtime to ensure that everyone got attention that needed it. Specifically, Dr. Neeli used her expertise in cardiology to diagnose a case of rheumatic mitral valve disease (a leaking heart valve). Also today, building inspectors came to the work site to check on the standards of building that we use. While the houses we construct have good integrity and longevity, there are a few changes that we will adopt to stay current. Overall, today was very productive all around and everyone here feels worn out but also accomplished.

A little bit of work and a lot of fun

Because the  team arrived in Guatemala on Friday, they worked for only a 1/2 day on Saturday. Six of the people on the team met the leaders group and learned the craft for the children's program that will start on Monday. Four other worked on digging the foundation for a bathroom that will service four families that currently use the river. Seven other unpacked the bags and loaded up the pharmacy with supplies and made the gift bags for the children's program. The rest of the team started the foundation for an emergency house, the only problem was that there is a giant stump in the way.

At one o'clock on Saturday the team went to visit a Mayan ruin called  Tikal lik Ab Aj. There were a few new discoveries since the last time a team was there and it was interesting to hear about the Olmecs as well as the Mayans. I had to translate part of the time while Sergio took a break. I found out that I can actually translate a lot better than I can speak.

Today the team when to the church in San Antonio in the morning. After they took a ride to Santiago , then a boat to San Pedro. While some of the team went horse back riding other shopped. They ate at a local restaurant and then came back to the hotel.  We learned at our nightly meeting that many people loved the boat ride and one person has decided that this was his first and last time riding a horse.

After going over the schedule for tomorrow everyone went to rest. Tomorrow is the beginning of the hard work.

Team arrives safely in Guatemala

Today was a smooth travel day for St Joseph's team . They arrived on time and so did all the luggage. This is there seventh team to Guatemala. The St Joseph's team built our first house here.

Sunday in Haiti

Starting bright and early this morning, most of the group rose and went church. While the service was different from what they were accustumed to, they enjoyed seeing and experiencing the Haitian worship. After church, the group piled into the bus and went to beach. The beach is in a different part of the country and the combination of clear ocean and boats and beach life made it easy to forget temporarily where they were. Later in the afternoon, once they had returned to PID, the group enjoyed a bible study together.

Day Two

Today the group shook out the their sore muscles and went back to the work site. For today, the goal was to fill in foundation for a house. This involved lugging an assorment of rocks to ditches via passing buckets "fire lines" and filling in the space around the rocks with cement. While the work was difficult and the sun was hot, the group worked very well and was able to finish the foundation before lunch. In the clinic, today many of the sponsored children were seen for well child checkups. Since Saturdays are half days of work, after lunch the group went to take a tour of the city and to the national museum of Haitian history. The group also went to eat at a Haitian restaurant. It was a day where the group spent a lot of time together and became even closer.

A solid start

Today was the first full day for the new groups in Haiti. It was a big change for them waking up to the heat and humidity but nevertheless they woke up determined to get to work. After breakfast, the majority of the group walked to the worksite where they worked all morning filling in the foundation for a house. In the clinic, one member of the Gordan college group used her knowledge of Creole to translate for the medical staff. The clinic was very busy treating the unwell population and one of the nurses learned a useful diagonostic technique that the local doctor showed her. In the afternoon, the group toured all the houses that PID has constructed over the years. Back at the worksite, despite not having enough tools or supplies, the group found ways to be productive and really started to bond and come together. After they completed the work, a few of the members of the group took on some of the local boys in a rousing game of pickup soccer. The results were marred by some controversial calls but the athletic trainer did not need to be called in to care for injuries so the match was a success. After the work day was over, everyone retired for the first, blissful shower of the trip and then enjoyed a great meal pasta and Haitian meatballs. During the group meeting, it was clear that everyone is starting to appreciate what other members of the group have to offer.

First Team of the New Year

Today our first team of 2013 will arrive in Guatemala. It is a large group from St. Joe's College in Maine. The nursing students will be working in the clinic seeing patients and doing some well-child checkups for our sponsored kids. They will also be running a children's program for 150 kids each day at the school in the village. And a construction team will be starting an emergency house for a family of 8 and a bathroom to be shared among four families who currently use the river as their bathroom. It is going to be a busy week, but a lot will get done!

This is where the family of 8 is currently living - a small room made with plastic tarps on the side of their grandmother's house

Travel day

Yesterday Dr. Neeli arrived, and she began working in the clinic today.
Today was a big travel day. We said goodbye to the St. Joes group and said hello to the Gordan college team, who arrived with a few others. They got settled in and received a tour of the clinic, meeting the staff and getting acclamated to the conditions. The new arrivals brought a total of seventeen bags of supplies for the clinic including lightbulbs, baby formula, and various medical and lab supplies.  This afternoon the group played with local children in the yard at the clinic and returning volunteers reaquainted themselves with friends from past trips. After dinner, the group had an introductiory meeting and is now getting settled in the guesthouse after a long day of travel.

A New Year

Today I woke up and while getting ready to leave for Guatemala realized that I have a truly blessed life. Not perfect, just blessed.

One of my daughters said to me , as I babbled on about one of PID programs, " Mom, I am so happy you love your work, because that is the reason we can put up with all your travels. " I don't always appreciate all the sacrifices my family has made because of PID. They are all a huge part of the success of PID. I am so proud of all of them.

To have the work of PID, to have my family and to work with volunteers and staff in the US and abroad with a common goal of serving the poor is more than I could image having attained in my life.

Happy New Year !

Yesterday I returned to Haiti after spending some time at home for Christmas. I met the St Joseph's group who is here. They are a great group and told me about their week so far. I took them for a walk around Blanchard to see the PID houses in the area.
Today, January 1st, is a very big national holiday in Haiti, so there was no work today. So we took the team to the beach. They enjoyed a day at Wahoo bay and are ready to get back to work tomorrow.