Our Journey to Haiti

Armed with good wishes, Heather and I departed Kansas City early Thursday morning for Miami via Atlanta. On Friday, we left Miami for Port au Prince – the AA check-in lines moved incredibly slowly due to passengers removing items and re-packing their personal belonging right at the AA counters! The panic must have shown on our faces because a kind AA employee came to our rescue and hurried with our passports to get us the boarding passes and checked our luggage. We made through the security with few minutes to spare and got on the plane. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed more than 25 minutes.

Finally, the plane took off and a huge pile of china (when did airlines start carrying china?!) dropped fairly close to Heather’s legs. Scared us. But, no one was injured and we joked that perhaps AA is starting the tradition of breaking plates for safe journey! (Betsy, is this a version of a good Greek tradition?)

For good measure, I read Agatha Christie’s “Death in the Clouds” – I feel compelled to point out that it was HEATHER’S book!!

We made it safely to PaP. The airport has added new space to the existing facility for immigration and customs. Heat was on in full force and it is almost impossible to put the misery in words, inside the tin roofed space. After what seemed like an eternity, we cleared customs, found our bags and stepped outside to look for our trusted friend and driver, Zo.

PaP Earthquake Destruction

Soon, we were traversing the sea of humanity and crazy PaP traffic to head to our meeting with Bishop Duracin, the Episcopal Bishop of Haiti.  The drive took us through vistas of destruction post earthquake, construction work in many places, and the tent cities (a large one near the International Airport). It was heartbreaking and enthralling all at the same time – to see the natural world pitted against human will. We saw signs of commerce everywhere - small stalls or a cloth on the ground with merchants (mostly women) selling mangoes, breadfruit, bananas, as well as vegetables. There were makeshift stalls with supplies of Coke, Pepsi and Sprite all over town. The roads in Haiti lose themselves in seemingly endless potholes. We actually preferred the dirt/stone roads Zo took to avoid major traffic delays.  The roads, he told us, were always this bad, nothing to do with earthquake.

With our flight delayed, we were late for our meeting with the Bishop. We waited for a half hour and cooled down in front of the fan in the waiting area. The Bishop was busy but once he heard that we needed to get to domestic airport for our flight to Les Cayes, he graciously interrupted his meeting and gave us few minutes of his time. He seemed tired and stressed but he was incredibly gracious and kind to us. He listened to our updates, asked questions, gave us suggestions for our work at MN. We shared the Anglican Prayer Beads so lovingly made by our Episcopal friends in Kansas City and laminated prayer sheets in Creole and English. He was very pleased.

Eglise Episcopale D’Haiti

We left his office with his blessings for safe and productive journey and headed to the domestic airport. Battling the traffic again, and mostly coasting downhill as Zo would turn his engine off to save fuel, we reached there in record time! Zo’s driving skills and his ability to charm and scare other drivers to move out of his way is unparalleled.

At Zo’s insistence, we cooled down a little under a big tree outside the domestic airport after securing our boarding passes and checking our bags. We enjoyed a cool Prestige beer and then boarded the Tortugair flight to Cayes. We got to witness the natural beauty of Haiti from the air. Sparkling water, islands, mountains, and greenery as far as the eye can see had us speechless. The chaos of Port-au-Prince seemed another part of the world. We landed safely in Cayes and waited for Robin to pick us up. The airport was clean, people friendly, and outside was tranquil. Heather and I sat down on the steps of the airport, exhausted and feeling grateful for all the people who made it possible for us to be here. We were tired, hungry, and very sweaty but happy to be here and can't wait to get to our MN facility in the morning.

Robin picked us up at our lodgings. It was so good to see her! She is a terrific driver as well.  Maneuvering though Cayes traffic isn’t as chaotic as PaP and there is a lot of nature around. It was getting late and though both Heather and I desperately needed to take a shower and fall into our beds, we also needed to eat. Robin and her finance Brian were incredibly gracious and treated us to dinner at their favorite local restaurant, La Cayenne.

After a simple but delicious dinner, we came back to the Hope for Haiti facility where we are staying, took our much much needed showers and collapsed in our beds. The night was hot and humid and even with 5 fans, we had a hard time falling asleep.  We learned how to correct the power outage situation at HfH and it was a good thing because we had to get up during the night to switch on and off a ceramic lever that helped restore the electricity and our sanity.

Quote of the Day:  “We need help.” Spray-painted on wall in Port au Prince.

DAY 2: Les Cayes and MN

We got some sleep, even with the general hub-hub of cleaning and other morning activities at HfH (and the insomniac chickens who talked all night), and got ready for our first visit to MN. Clausel, our hired interpreter, joined us. Because it is a Saturday, MN is not fully staffed but we got to meet our grounds caretaker/guard Marcelin (who hides in the flower beds & behind plants at night to protect MN, so he can see others, but they can’t see him); a nurse auxiliaire, Ms. Melonne; one of the cleaning staff, Marilene; and midwife Ms. Fanfan. Robin gave me a tour of the facility – a small admin office, another room housing the pharmacy and medicine in two refrigerators, a delivery room, postpartum and consult rooms, the lab where HIV/AIDS testing is done, a structure outside the main building that houses our generator, and a little farther away, an incinerator that rids our waste.

Heather and I got busy with our appointed tasks at MN and while she met with Robin on administrative details, I got to talk with Ms. Melonne and Ms. Fanfan about their work at MN, the women and children they serve, and why they like working with MN. They were candid and insightful in their responses and I learned a great deal about how highly regarded MN is in this community. They are very proud of the high quality care they provide to expectant mothers and the overall benefit MN provides to their community.  They also remain grateful to co-founders Stan and Betsy.

I also learned about the four mothers recovering in post-partum rooms. They usually stay at MN for 24 hours after delivery to rest and for observation. One of the mothers, I was told, had given birth this morning.  She had come all the way from Port-au-Prince. Having experienced the roadways of Haiti in Port-au-Prince and Cayes, and the gravel road one must take to get to MN, I was both thankful and sorry to hear about her journey to MN. I am glad she gave birth to a healthy baby and she knew about MN, even all the way in Port-au-Prince.  It made me thankful that she was spared much suffering and pain because MN was here.

One of Marcelin's Hiding Spots. You Really Can't See Him!

Quote of the Day:  “Because of God, I am at MN.”  Marcelin Berluce, when sharing why he was so grateful to be working at MN, and why he feels it is his duty to guard MN.