Nuggets from Haiti - 2011, part 4

What’s it like when you show up at the orphanage right before feeding time? You roll up your sleeves, grab a bowl of noodles and begin feeding the hungry birds! The babies were lined up in a row, buckled into high chairs, swings and bouncy seats, waiting, every eye on the adults with the food. Some were quiet while others were vocal and demanding. Spoonful after spoonful, wiping food off of tiny chins, one after the other. While we fed the youngest ones, the older kids showed us their skills with a fork and bowl of noodles. What a blessing to be a part of that day!

The "hungry birds"

Waiting patiently

Kathy's turn to feed a little one

Old enough to feed themselves

Enjoying lunch

All smiles

Nuggets from Haiti - 2011, part 3

On one occasion in February, we ventured out for a walk around Tabarre with an American who spent over nine years in Haiti. Fluent in Kreyol and everything Haitian, Joe gave us our first opportunity to shop in an open-air market and eat our first street food: lambi (raw conch). The vendor carried a large white paint bucket from which he scooped the raw sea snail into a plastic cup for us. He drenched the lambi in hot sauce, handed us some toothpicks and we tentatively tasted it. Not bad!

Sonya and Joe sharing a cup of lambi

Be prepared to share your space with lizards and many other 4, 6 and 8-legged creatures no matter where you are in Haiti. We have yet to identify some of the creatures that shared our beds at the guesthouse during the night and, frankly, we would not like to visit them again. It has become a running joke to see who among us is the “tastiest”!

Hana enjoying the advances of a very young man!

Does blonde hair attract attention? Absolutely. The tiny fingers of the babies and toddlers at the orphanage wrap around the light strands and run their fingers through it. People walking past on the street and stare. Young men blow kisses while some even work up the nerve to greet a “blanc” teenage girl and ask if she has a boyfriend (while simultaneously refusing to make eye contact with her mother standing by her side...!). A dark bandana or hat helps thwart such attention.

Nuggets from Haiti - 2011, part 2

A treasured memory is from a visit to the dormitory for St. Vincent’s youngest residents while lunch was served. Those able to reach the table on their own sat down and began to eat while the non-ambulatory kids were fed in their wheelchairs. After Yolen finished eating and the worker cleaned up, Sonya took a wet wipe from her bag and began to clean Yolen’s mouth of excess rice.

Diana eating in her wheelchair

Lunchtime, eating beans and rice, a Haitian staple

Yolen

One of the deaf boys noticed, came over, and pointed to the wipes. Thinking she understood, Sonya pulled one out and tried to give it to him only to be refused. He simply pointed to his mouth and pointed his chin toward her, wordlessly requesting that his mouth be wiped too. This began a chain reaction of face wiping for every child in the dorm!

Everyone "needed" a wipe!

Good for wiping all parts of the face!

Everyone wanted their photo taken with a wipe.

Poses were struck! Smiles abounded!

It was wonderful to be able to provide this very simple pleasure for these sweet children but equally heartbreaking to know how much each child craves a mother’s touch even in the most practical ways. It is due to these types of experiences that we spend as much time with the children as possible when we visit, offering these moments that both the kids and our team cherish for a lifetime.

Nuggets from Haiti - 2011, part 1

So, what do a bunch of medical professionals do for fun during their down time in Haiti? They break out the Vaseline and other concoctions to mix up batches and batches of scabies medicine, chuckling as the non-medical staff turns green just looking at the homemade goop, envisioning what needs to be done with it in the coming days.

(seated) Sienna; clockwise from left: Sherye, Dr. Bheki, Wes,

Susan and Wade mixing up scabies ointment

Having too much fun!

And what does it look like when an English-speaking American doctor tries to communicate with a deaf Haitian brace shop worker? It is absolutely fascinating. Neither spoke the other’s language, yet they managed to have a deep conversation about the different styles of braces and orthotics handmade by the craftsmen at St. Vincent’s. Amazing to see how caring for others transcends any language barrier.

Brace shop workers "speaking" with Dr. Eric about the manufacturing process

Transcending the language barrier

These are some of the little snippets from The Red Thread’s first four trips to Haiti this year that didn’t warrant a dedicated post but we wanted to share. We thought you would enjoy these fun, interesting nuggets from our travels that provide another glimpse into our work and Haitian culture. Look for more "nuggets" in emails to come.