Saturday, March 6, 2010

Round 2

After spending 2 days in Port Au Prince waiting for a flight to Cap-Haitien, I finally made it over this morning. My luggage just arrived as well 3 planes later! Life is good.

The time in Port Au Prince was well spent in that I was able to see the broken homes and buildings that the broken bodies we care for are coming from. Tragic sights everywhere you look. It is good to get settled in at the Hospital St. Francois de Sales. A nice room was waiting for me. I am eager to get started on the work I hope to accomplish while here. Frer Geordani and I have talked most of the day and are both very excited to see what God has in store for this amazing place.

While traveling, I met a psychology team that is currently conducting a study in Port Au Prince on a treatment modality for post traumatic stress disorder. They have had some amazing results with it in Rwanda, and are hoping to replicate it here in Haiti. One of the most attractive things to me about their process is that they involve local clinicians very heavily in their work - Even turning the program over to them as early as possible. This ties in well with how I hope to work in Haiti. I am convinced that the only way to really be of help, is to help the people to help themselves in every way possible. One of the psychologists traveled here with me to meet a good friend I made on the last trip, Petit-Homme Handy. He is a trained psychiatrist that lost all job prospects when the earthquake hit in Port Au Prince. This group may be able to work with him in recruiting and training counselors for their program in the country - Pray.

I am settling in preparing for Monday. I will be speaking to two groups interested in supporting education as well as visiting Milot in an effort to recruit more surgeons to work here at the hospital. We have 1 doctor here now planning to work with patients in the clinic next week. I would really like to have at least one surgical group in a week while working here. It is nice to be back in Cap-Haitien, but I'm looking forward to returning to Port Au Prince late next week for a few days to begin setting up a clinic in one of the tent cities. As a result of the earthquake, they are everywhere. Even the hotel I stayed in there allowed people to come in and set up tents at night so they could have a secure place to sleep.

I'm really glad to be back in Haiti. I really miss my family already, but know like never before that I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now. I am currently planning on working here for a 3 month period. During that time I am looking for an organization who's goals and mission are in line with mine. Should I not be able to find such a group, at the end of three months, I will seek God's guidance on starting an organization focused on helping Haitians help themselves in education, job creation, and health care. I still need any financial support that people can spare - Not for me; but for the people of Haiti. I am including a link to my website @ Mission People. There is information there on how you can help support my work here.I hope that you will consider looking at this.

Take care,
Randy

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