Good morning from Haiti! It is just after 5 in the morning but I couldn’t sleep. Yesterday was our first day of clinic. We traveled to a remote area about an hour from Cap Haitian called Trou du Nord, meaning “hole of the north” in Creole. From the name you can imagine what we saw… poverty beyond imagination. I am still trying to digest the sights, smells, sounds of such pure hardship. The buildings were falling down… remnants of a civil war that tore this country apart. Trash was everywhere, sometimes being burned in streets right next to “shacks” made from old concrete and tin roofs. But in the middle of all this destitution was a small church. We turned a corner in our bus and were greated by over 200 children wearing their Sunday best and singing to us in English. There faces were beautiful and the sounds of their voices are still ringing in my head. No matter what belief or religion, I find it hard to believe that there is not a human being out there that would not be touch by such an incredible scene. The children were curious to see our white (very) faces. The rest of the day was a blur as we hit the ground running. We limited our clinic on this first day to only 220 children (and their families). We got a bit of a late start so we didn’t finish up until around 6pm. Headed back to town for dinner at Hotellaire Roi Christophe, a quaint, old French Colonial hotel near Hotel Mont Joli.
Today we are headed to a more remote village for another day of clinics. Please go to tenutophotoblog.com to see pictures from yesterday and bios of some of team. Also go to medicalmercy.blogspot.com to see comments from Dr. Beyda.
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