Dear List Friends,
I am forwarding a copy of a letter written to some friends about their recent experiences in Haiti that might help to prepare anyone in our field intending to travel there to help out. Be prepared. It is a bleak picture.
Steven Fries, LPO
Subject: Serving in Haiti: Dr Bill’s thoughts & experiences
“A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in…. And how many want out.” Tony Blair
Choose Life!
January 28, 2010
Dear Ronda & Jeff,
For nearly two weeks, Lifeline has been blessed to have two phenomenal doctors, Dr Bill and Dr Doug, serving the Haitian patients in Lifeline’s medical clinic in Grand Goave. Dr Bill, the Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Indiana Medical Center (Indianapolis) and board certified in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine and Critical Care, participated in his first trip to Haiti with Lifeline in 1991. Dr Bill has been posting his experiences on his blog and he has graciously allowed us to share a recent post with you.
In a recent post from Dr Bill, he writes:
I read a posting tonight by a team that had just returned from Port au Prince. They were maximally frustrated because the blitzkrieg trip they’d planned was filled with unmet expectations and obstructions. The hospital they were expecting to work at was destroyed, the backup hospital had no water or electricity, the anesthesia machines didn’t work, their relief supplies were hijacked, they couldn’t get resupplied, their “exit strategy” had to be changed, etc. By admitting their failure to plan adequately and exposing the flaws in the “system” – the complete absence of an viable infrastructure, etc. they hope to help others avoid the same pitfalls. It is worth reading – but it demonstrates the difference between having highly laudable intentions, or having a relationship with people.
One working definition of a disaster is to have one more patient than there are resources to handle. By that definition, Haiti is a mega disaster on its BEST day. Veterans of Haiti know there is no reliable “system” – ever.. For a hospital in Haiti to be without power, to be so inadequately equipped as to defy the definition of “hospital”, for equipment and supplies to be stolen by a minority of desperate, starving people who see an opportunity to be able to eat one more night by selling their booty, to have crowds angry because they sense abandonment – all this IS Haiti – all the time.
It’s kind of like the scene from the original MASH movie where BJ and Trapper breeze into the hospital in Tokyo expecting to operate the way they would in the States and then catch a quick round of golf, only to find their plans thwarted by circumstances. One cannot impose one’s will on Haiti. Though it is the second free nation in the Western hemisphere (the slaves revolted against their French masters just a few years after we raised the Stars and Stripes) it is also the poorest nation on this side of the globe. Haiti has never had a sustained period of political or economic stability. Despite this, they are some of the most resilient people I’ve ever met.
Fixing broken bones is important, even if you have to do it with cardboard boxes, or palm tree bark and duct tape – but offering hope to broken hearts is even more important. When the Haitians see us cry because we have no medication to sedate them prior to reducing their fractures, they see that our anguish isn’t due to our own inconvenience. They realize we are not just here to provide physical help – we are their friends. Interestingly, we’ve never been without SOMETHING to accomplish the task, even if it is just offering our apologies for the pain we must cause – being part MacGyver is a good thing in Haiti.
Expect nothing if you decide to come to Haiti – this isn’t serving a single meal at a homeless shelter on a holiday while the local TV cameras role. It’s a commitment from the heart. Planning is good and necessary but the last time your plan will be working perfectly in Haiti is before you get on the plane to come here. Paul wrote that he had learned to be content with whatever he had, and such is required of anyone wishing to help here..
We deeply appreciate Dr Bill and Dr Doug for serving the people of Haiti! We look forward to sharing future posts from their blogs as they give us a glimpse into the heartache and joys of serving the Haitian people. Please continue to keep them, and the patients they serve, in your prayers.
Serving Him,
The Lifeline Staff in Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba & US
Lifeline Christian Mission
www.Lifeline.org
614-794-0108
Forward email
This email was sent to [email protected] by [email protected].
Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribeâ„¢ | Privacy Policy.
Email Marketing by
Lifeline Christian Mission | 184 Olde County Line Road | Westerville | OH | 43081
