November 13, 2009

Again, wearing wet pants :) But, it's better than knowing there is dried urine and sweat on them!
When we got up this morning Jasmin was looking for us because I had said I wanted to take pictures of the coconut hunt. Caryn and I went with Jasmin and Castro to the small palm grove and we took 2 coconuts back to the hotel, even though we didn’t really want them- we pretty much just wanted an excuse to give them a bit of money. After breakfast- the porridge stuff (I had every morning) we set sail for the orphanage for a half day of work and plans to hike to Anse Dufour before heading back to Cayes. We began reviewing the programs, and just making sure the therapists didn’t have any questions and I took time to take a lot of pictures of the kids. Debi spent the morning in with baby Serge because he didn’t have a good night- not taking in fluids and not expelling them. He died this morning and it was really sad…poor sister Flora really pours her heart into these kids so it is hard to see her hurt so much. Debi was pretty upset because she had spent so much time trying to help him, and this is her first trip and her first patient. I comforted her outside and then Wadson took her down to the village clinic to see the facilities and give her a chance to get away from things.
The Beacon Medical group is making great progress, the kitchen right in the front yard is coming along, they are building a playground which already has a few structures and a ramp, with plans for a large slide that all the kids will be able to use. They are going to finish the housing unit for the kids with special needs and we said it would be great if they could tile the floor so the kids could crawl around on it and be more independent and it would be an easier clean up...they said it would be done tomorrow! So we are excited about that! They are also upgrading the washrooms, moving the main office, organizing the pharmacy and paying all the bills such as teacher's salaries. They are going to be a great help. They told us to keep them healthy, and they would keep them running. A good partnership :)

When it came time to leave the orphanage today I was saying goodbye to all the kids, and when I got to Enrico he looked up at me with the same big pouty lip and grabbed out for me and pulled me into a hug with tears streaming down his face and he hugged me and sobbed for a long time. It absolutely broke my heart...I didnt think I was going to be able to leave. It was beyond sad to have him that upset, I think he really enjoyed the playtime and extra love he was getting. I think because he is not very verbal and has athetoid CP that he often gets overlooked as not being able to understand. I kept trying to tell him that he is my special little friend, and that he will be in my heart and that I will come back and see him. Then I snuck him a spider man ball because he so loves balls! It was a rough moment.

What was more frustrating was how long we had to wait down at the dock, I think we were there for an hour and a half, plus we had to wait at the school a bit while Wadson searched for his camera. So all that time while we sat out in the sun, burning and melting, we could have been up playing with the kids. Because of the long wait, we had to cut our hike to Anse Dufour and didnt have a chance to tell Adense that I wouldnt be there. Jasmin was at the resort so we were able to tell him, and say goodbye. We pretty much docked and then ran up to our rooms, changed out of the dirty clothes, grabbed our stuff and then run back to the boat...but of course we had to sit there and wait for Wadson. Hurry up and wait has become our Ile a Vache motto. The sail over to Cayes was much faster than on our way over to the island, and our driver was there waiting on the dock. We decided we would grab some munchies and cold drinks for the 4 hr drive so a guy on the boat told us a safe place to eat, and Wadson found me papitas (plantain chips) and then we had to wait at the retsaurant. Wadson had gone in to get a menu, but after we all chose what we wanted he had to come back out and tell us that they were only serving from one side- the chinese food side...so we no longer wanted anything, but he had already ordered his meal. Chinese food is a risky commodity where ever you go, but Haitian chinese food elicited a whole new level of fear. While in the van we shopped out the window because a guy kept running to his house and bringing out art! I got metal musicians.

On the ride home I typed up our report, so it is really nice to have that out of the way! Plus it ate up a good chunk of the drive. To pass the rest of the time we played 21 questions and I'm going to a party and I am bringing- with different rules for what you were allowed to bring. We got back ot the guest house at maybe 8? And they had supper waitng for us on the table: accra, piklis, goat, and I think macaroni and cheese and rice.

We had a little team meeting to discuss where we would be the next day and what we had already done. I am going to Wings of Hope after the Prestige Brewery Tour. I stayed up pretty late trying and trying to get the internet to send my message to Chris. Sultan is now sleeping in our room because Sourette has taken her room because she had knee surgery and didnt want to deal with the stairs at her house so the organization moved Sultan into a dank basement garage full of tools and we just found out where she had been staying. Sourette was only supposed to be in her room for a couple months but has been here longer. We now have a pretty full house with 26 team members.