Where He leads...: May 2013

One of the things I love most about serving with the Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti is having the opportunity to spend so much time in the community. And "in the community" doesn't just mean walking a couple blocks away to buy a 7-Up or fried egg sandwich from a street vendor. "In the community" often means hiking... for hours... to some of the most beautiful places in Haiti. When Kerry told me that she needed me to head up to the mountains with one of our monitrices to deliver school supplies, I happily obliged. While there is always so much to be done in the office and I enjoy that work too, it's always a nice break to get out in the fresh air and explore a new place. She said this hike would be long and difficult. Perhaps 6-7 hours. "Ok... bring it on!" I thought. The monitrice from there is Andremene. And she's tiny--maybe not even 5' tall. If she can do it, surely I can too! Although hearing her supervisor Rose-Elene say that Andremene "walks like a machine" had me a bit intimidated.

I left the house early on that Tuesday morning. The plan was to hike most the day, stay the night at Andremene's house, deliver the supplies on Wednesday, another sleepover, and hike back on Thursday. A moto driver picked me up and took me the 30 minute or so ride Jan Jan, the base of the mountain. There I met up with Andremene, her boyfriend Mackenson, and their mule Grace. I hadn't inquired much about the route, so I had assumed it would be similar to the path I'd taken when I was with our mobile nutrition clinic for a week. I was wrong--which proved to be both good and bad. The good news was, half of our entire trip would be walking in the riverbed. Meaning less of the continual climb I'd anticipated. The bad news was, I only had my flipflops and tennis shoes. Our riverbed route required at least 20 river crossings, sometimes the rushing water was above our knees. Flipflops won't work for that as they'll just float away. Barefoot I went... barefoot I (painfully) went! I was relieved when we finally made it to the point where we'd start our climb. I put on my tennis shoes and up we went.

It was a steep hike but thankfully Andremene didn't walk as fast as I'd assumed she would. I mostly stayed with the mule who was in the lead. If I stopped for a break, so would she. I think she was annoyed at my slower than normal pace.

The views were incredible. As we got closer to Petit Goyen, I could hear and see a big waterfall in the distance high up on the side of the mountain. The air is so fresh, so unlike living down "in the city". Despite my exhaustion, I took it all in and was thankful for this opportunity.

We arrived to Andremene's house before noon. All in all it took us about 3.5 hours. Apparently the last expat (Ron Bucca) who had come up here was taken a roundabout way that had added hours to their hiking time. That's why we had thought it would take so much longer. Again, "thankful" was the word of the day.

With much of Tuesday still left, I enjoyed getting to know Andremene's family and neighbors. We sat outside and chatted while Andremene prepared dinner. A couple young kids were running around playing. Both children are being raised by extended family or friends of the family. Dashline, the little girl, is an orphan who's mother was killed and who's father died in the earthquake. Her sidekick was Joelson who's mom works in Port au Prince. They were definitely my favorite part of my whole time there. Dashline started calling me "mama" and if anyone would ask her who her mom is, she would point to me. I pray for God's protection over that little girl. And that somehow as she grows up, she will know and experience that strong love like a mother's love.

Mackenson's teenage brother sat in the middle of the "yard" reading a Bible outloud to himself. I pulled a chair up next to him and listened to him read for the next half hour. Later that night I took out the Creole children's Bible I had brought for the school and Mackenson read about 8 stories to all of us--children and adults alike. It's moments like these I love the most. And why I could spend days upon days with these wonderful families!

Spending the night up in the mountains typically equates to a very early bedtime. After the sun sets there's not much to do but sit outside and get eaten by mosquitoes. I'd say 7:30pm has been my average bedtime! Around 11pm that night I got woken up by the rain. And it poured! I turned on my phone's flashlight to make sure the rain wasn't coming in under the door since I'd left my backpack on the ground. Thankfully, all was fine and dry. As I scanned the room my jaw dropped open! On the opposite wall was a giant tarantula! What in the world do I do?! Do I pretend I didn't see it and try to go back to sleep? Fat chance! Do I just leave the light on and not sleep for the rest of the night? Not wise. Do I wake up the family and tell them I'm about to have a panic attack? I'd feel kinda bad about that. After much deliberation, I decided that I would have to wake them up, so I whispered as loudly as possible and Mackenson peeked over the wall. "Oh yeah... I see it," he says and then wakes up his dad to tell him to come kill it for me. Then for whatever reason (maybe it speaks Creole) the tarantula tucks back outside through the slats in the wall and disappears into the night. I manage to go back to sleep only to wake up the next morning to an infestation of fire ants in my backpack. Note to self... don't leave anything on the floor. Ever. Oh, and do not--under any circumstances--turn on the light in the middle of the night. Double ever.

It took about 20 minutes to hike up to the school. It was much as I expected, a makeshift building with lots of cute kids. I introduced myself and told them I'd brought some supplies up courtesy of Ron's sister Jessica. It's in moments like these I'm reminded at the stark contrast from my childhood to that of a typical Haitian child. I greatly took my education for granted. I still remember back to kindergarten, the big, clean room, the games and activities, the attention of the teacher and her helper, the resources. And that was just kindergarten. Every year was an improvement above the last. I was happy for the supplies we were able to bring up, but I was instantly struck with how much more they still need to be able to receive a decent education. (Please watch the video at the end to get a better understanding of what the school is like and what their needs are.)

We hung out with the kids a bit, handed out the supplies, and then headed back to Andremene's around lunchtime. We had one more great afternoon and evening together. Andremene's cooking was delicious. She made fresh corossol juice and later that night another monitrice sent over some fresh cow's milk which she boiled and added sugar and other delicious ingredients. I sat with Mackenson for about an hour teaching him English. And I sat with one of the young teenagers from the school helping with his multiplication and division. Tutoring is typically not really available here and children often struggle to keep up with the material. I was glad to be around to help both of them.

I quickly fell in love with this community, Andremene's family, and the Community School of Petit Doyen. I've spent time in several communities but this one is extra special to me. Their kindness and hospitality warmed my heart. I plan to visit again as I get the chance. And I hope that sharing these photos and videos will encourage you to want to get involved as well. So again, please watch the video at the end and consider what you can do to help this school.

The trek to Petit Doyen

Andremene making us corossol juice--a fruit I was not familiar with but supposedly has great health benefits

Joelson looking all innocent

Dashline and her crazy, adorable grin

Ecole Communitaire Petit Doyen

Three classes are constantly going on at the same time

Handing out crayons, tootsie rolls and toy cars

It's safe to say this is the first toy car they've owned. A couple of the younger cars didn't even know what to do with it. I constantly had to flip it over on its wheels to show them how it rolled. Nonetheless, they were all excited!

Some of their girls and their beautiful pillowcase dresses

Natasha is a beautiful, 23 year old Haitian woman who is benefiting from a number of our programs. Although she had to quit school at the age of 17 because of a lack of funds, she is quite savvy and is doing all that she can to keep her family healthy.

When she first met her husband, they discussed having children; however, due to financial difficulties and the reality of their situation, together they decided to only have two children. She immediately started receiving birth control shots every three months until they were prepared to have their first child. They now have their two children, the firstborn is four years old and her youngest son is two years old. Now that we have initiated our Family Planning Program, Natasha comes to our PTA/PNS clinic every three months to receive her dosage.

Natasha's first child was a healthy baby boy, however, her youngest son, Kabi, has had some difficulties. She first noticed that something was wrong at the beginning of 2012 when he was just under one year old. He was getting sick often and there were times he was too weak to hold his head up. She was referred by an organization to get x-rays and medicine from a local hospital. The x-rays did not show anything and the typical medicines for his symptoms were not helping. She and the doctors were unable to get a clear vision on what particular issues her baby had. Kabi continued to weaken and his diarrhea and fever were getting worse. Finally, at the beginning of March 2012, she heard about our Outpatient Therapeutic Program (PTA) and was referred there. Her son met criteria for admission and immediately began receiving treatment.

Our main treatment for children in our PTA program is Plumpy Nut, a medical peanut butter that is packed with vitamins and minerals specifically designed for severely malnourished children. At first, Kabi did not want to eat it as it was so different from his normal diet. When this happens, our staff encourages the mothers to mix it in with foods they are accustomed to such as rice, soup, and cornmeal. Natasha tried this and by the 3rd day of eating the "medika mamba", Kabi started to like the taste and was eating it by itself.

Within the first week of entering our PTA program, Kabi improved considerably. By the end of the first month, he was gaining weight, could hold his head up, his fever and diarrhea disappeared, and he was even starting to walk!

By the end of August, Kabi was discharged from PTA and entered into our Supplementary Food Program (PNS) for three months of continued follow-up. This is required for any child who is discharged from PTA. Instead of coming once a week for PTA, Kabi came twice a week so our staff could take his measurements, discuss any health concerns, and receive Plumpy'Sup--a peanut butter similar to Plumpy Nut and designed for children who are moderately malnourished. Over the course of five months, Natasha's son had become a completely different child and was healthier than she had ever seen him.

In addition to the treatment Kabi was receiving, Natasha grew in her knowledge of nutrition and health. While in our PTA and PNS programs, our staff teaches the mothers and caregivers about preparing balanced meals and the importance of treating or filtering their water. In March of this year, Natasha attended our Hearth Program (Ti Fwaye). This two-week program offers in-depth training for mothers and caregivers to learn how to maintain a sanitary home, cook balanced meals using local and affordable foods, the importance of drinking clean water, and how to care for the essential needs of their families. Natasha now reports that her home is clean, she is cooking balanced meals on her shoestring budget, she treats her water, and is living a happy, healthier life. She is confident in the knowledge she obtained so much so that she is giving advice to others in her community regarding these important issues.

Without our PTA/PNS and Ti Fwaye programs, Natasha says she does not know what she would have done. She believes CNP saved her child's life and has improved her own drastically. She trusts that she can now provide for her children and husband in every possible way and is grateful to CNP for all we have been able to do to help her family.

Natasha and her healthy boys!

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