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St. Bart's Blog

January's Haiti Mission Trip

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The St. Bart's Haiti mission team - Kelli Richardson, Heather Liggins, Geraldo Garcia, Allen Adams, and Kate McKone-Sweet - arrived in Port-au-Prince bright and early Saturday morning. They shared lunch with Fr. Noe and his wife Shirley. We then arrived traveled to Hinche in the evening. The team is excited and a little tired.

Sunday:
Today we attended a beautiful service with three different choirs. Wow! A beautiful service. Fr. Noe has also expanded the church. It is a beautiful site from the street. They are also adding a guest house. Each Sunday, there is a parade, of sorts, in the town square. People dressed in costumes dancing through the streets. Tomorrow we head to Loranette.

Wednesday:
The medical crew arrived Tuesday night after a flight delay - two doctors, one nurse practitioner, one nurse, and four interpreters. It was wonderful seeing the medical crew and all the other volunteers working together today. We were able to see 152 patients! Our team took blood pressure, measured height, tested eyesight, and provided reading glasses when we could. Eye tests were a little challenging since many people did not know the alphabet. We tried an alternate test with little success. Sometimes Kelli would ask if the cactus in the distance was blurry or not. We did whatever we could.

Next the doctors saw the patients, some with issues or concerns, others for pre-natal and wellness checks. There were many different cases - diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic illnesses that have been untreated, and infections. Dr. Mike brought an ultrasound this year. It was wonderful for mothers to see their babies!

Thursday:
Today, we continued the clinic and saw another 85 patients before 12:30 p.m. We decided to return to Hinche today since many people in Loranette were at a big market today and tomorrow. We plan to run a medical clinic at the school in Hinche. There are almost 12 levels at St. Andres and many students, so we hope to be able to see a lot of patients.

    

Friday:
Allen and Kate left for the airport at 4 a.m. They hit a few road blocks on the way. Yes, real road blocks with trees and rocks in the road. They have been placed there as part of a protest. Everyone was very calm. They all got out of the cars, checked it out and then socialized in the street. As Fr. Noe said, now we know what Haiti is like, you just can’t predict what will happen here. Delays are just part of the everyday events here. As of 8 a.m., they were able to travel about 21 miles in four hours.

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