Alexi in Haiti 2005

Closing of the Fish Farm and Opening of the Depot and Farming Project

This year was a transition period for Literacy for Haiti and the programs we try to operate on the mountain. The fish farm project that we have been striving to see realized over the past three years hasn't been producing fish. There are several possible reasons for this, and not insurmountable ones, but the people were discouraged, and motivation for continuing was lacking. We were really disappointed about this, and decided that we wouldn't come up with any more ideas for projects. If the people came up with their own idea, we would help them realize it to the best of our ability. We told the fish workers that they had two weeks (until our departure) to come up with another idea. Encouragingly, they did come to us, saying they had learned how to better work in groups through the fish project and wanted to try a depot system this coming year, where they would buy goods in bulk during harvest season and store them until the supply went down to make a profit. We were really encouraged by this proposal because they know more about crops and the local markets than we ever would and we think the project has a high probability of success. Most of all, I was encouraged by the willingness of the mountain people to initiate progress with their own ideas. We have high hopes for this new program.

Also, the old fish farm will not go to waste. The old water tank for the fish system will be used for a new irrigation farming project that will incorporate terracing. The three hundred village school children will perform this new project, that will combine Haitian farming techniques with terracing, soil conservation and irrigation. Above is the former fish farm before deconstruction.

Sewing Center

We opened a new sewing center this year with a $5,000 grant from the Sister's of Allegheny. The new building is beautiful and houses six manual sewing machines. They aren't as sturdy as we hoped, but the sewing students learned how to make hand-dip fish nets for sale in the United States (we had a small contract with a company in Florida for 110 nets) and filled their contract. They were paid 1$ per net and we hope their work will be judged satisfactory, and that the nets will sell. They will also have the opportunity to learn how to make clothing in order to make more money soon. Above is the new sewing center before the students started working.

Loan Program

The Loan Program (which has been our most successful program over the past nine years) underwent a major revision. We augmented the total amount of funds to nearly double the previous quantity so each patron can now borrow twice as much, in exchange for the payment of 5% interest. The interest will go to pay the administrator of the program and to recoup any loses due to payment failure. The program should now be self-sufficient from US funds. Any further money from the states can go directly into augmenting the amount or number of loans we disburse.

Here are six of our 200 participants receiving their money from the new office building.

Medicine

Eric and I have both completed our first year of medical school, and this year we were able to provide more health care to people in our village. We made house calls on kids with fevers, prescribed Tylenol, aspirin, and whatever over-the-counter meds we had with us. We cleaned several cuts and accompanied one small boy to the dispensary to see what our people have to endure in order to get healthcare.

I also had the opportunity to stitch up my first case on our final day. I had some anesthetic, but only one suture (of the huge size which in normally for closing abdomens) and no sterile instruments. The boy had split his knee badly and I gave him three options: go to the hospital to get stitches (a long journey, money and time), stay and get it washed everyday (and probably re-tear the wound open every time he bent his knee) or have me stitch it on the spot. He chose stitching and I did the best I could. I only had one syringe and so when I needed more anesthetic, I had to stick the dirty needle into the bottle and re-draw. I threw the bottle away so no one else would use it and wasted 50 cc's of Lidocaine, but there wasn't any other option. I gave him seven stitches and it was amazing to trust the effects of the anesthetic (I think I must have asked the kid about 20 times if it hurt). His wound closed well, but I didn't get to follow up because we left 20 minutes later. I had to explain to him and the local pastor how to recognize inflammation, and how to take stitches out. I'll have to visit him next year to see how he is.

Fall from a Mango Tree

We also went through one of the hardest things we've ever had to endure with our mountain friends this year. Eric and I were called to come see what we could do for a boy who had fallen from a mango tree. We hurriedly packed our equipment, but the second thing out of the messenger's mouth was that the boy hadn't moved yet. We packed faster, and hurried down the road. On the way to the scene we passed the boy's father coming up the hill. He said, "It's over, Soniel is dead," and trudged away, shaking his head. I wondered why the father of the victim would be fleeing the scene, but I had no time to think as we pressed on down the hill.

After just a few more steps we came upon two women on the side of the road. One was laying in the dirt, shrieking. It was his mother. We walked faster. We passed a small boy who said that a substance was pouring from the fallen boy's ear. I expected to find him dead when we got there. When we got to the base of the giant tree and pushed through the shrieking crowd, Soniel was on his back on top of a door in preparation for the journey to the hospital. He was still breathing in rasping gulps but his eyes were unresponsive, and blood was trickling from his ear. I took out my stethoscope and listened to his heart and found a pulse in his wrist. Eric felt the back of his head, which was very soft and the slightest touch made blood pour from his ear. The people around were despairing and didn't even want to make the effort to carry him to the hospital. Eric and I were a bit shocked. In our mind, our American mind, there is always hope. We screamed at people and other Haitians joined in and eventually willing porters were found to hoist Soniel onto their heads and plod down to the valley some 2 hours away by foot.

We went through a roller coaster ride emotionally through the next day, hearing that he had died, and that he was still alive, then that he was dead, then that he had made it through the night on oxygen at the hospital and finally that he breathed his last. We saw his body being carried through the valley market back up the mountain on the same door the next day. His family couldn't afford the morgue. We attended part of an all-night vigil at Soniel's house and were asked to take photos at his funeral. We saw the shock of Soniel's death in everyone's face: he had just passed his school exams and was well liked by everyone.

Eric and I struggled with the thoughts that if we had known something more we might have been able to do something, or if this wasn't Haiti, or .... or something. I guess everyone goes through intense feelings of inadequacy when their first patient dies on them. It was also frustrating to realize that while an accident like falling out of a mango tree could happen to anyone, the delay and effort of carrying the injured down mountains on a wooden door on top of the heads of two men is a condition relegated to the poor and oppressed. We'll see what we can do about that in the future.

Anthropology This year in collaboration with faculty from the department of Community and Preventative Medicine here in Rochester, I tried to complete some research on household economy in Damye. I was interested in what goods were being sold, by whom, and for how much money. Which items had the largest profit margin? While gaining an understanding of the local economy was a major goal, forming better relationships with villagers was at the heart of my purpose. I was very satisfied with the results.
I followed CD, a Damye market woman sown to get her weekly goods with Eric and Sarah. We had a grand adventure in the crowded Pon Sonde market. So crowded that people twice used the space between my hat brim and my face to move a 160 pound bag of rice. We saw what a hardship she endures on the weekly journey to get her 11 coffee cans full of rice (some 80 lbs) and other small goods to carry up the steep mountain on her head, all in the tropical heat of the noonday Caribbean sun. We declined to endure the return journey with her at that time of day (also on no food). We passed out in the air-conditioned hospital library until the sun was a bit lower before trying to tackle the mountain with our 10 lb backpacks. We also interviewed a local farmer, a boy who travels to the Dominican to find better work and others in the village. I feel that I made great advances in relationships within the village, and a decent understanding of what people do to make money, even if the data is less than complete.

Above is my market informant and her weekly wares, a small boy near his house that shows typical living conditions in the area, and Kevin and his sister Sofya who live next door to us and whom I've known since they were born.

Meeting the Parents

Upon reflection, I suppose I put Sarah through the toughest 'meet the parents' scenario ever devised. Sleeping three feet from the boyfriend's parents in a confined space where there is no privacy, in a strange country, where they are all very comfortable, and you don't speak the language, and where you better fall in love with the place if you want to keep the boy that you like...yeah, I suppose it was a bit tough. I couldn't be more proud of how she did, and we are looking forward to returning together very soon. As a result of this summer's trip and other factors, Sarah is deciding to explore career options outside of her current PhD program in Neuroscience and apply to Med School, Nursing School and possibly Physician Assistant school for the upcoming year. She is excited to get into a field where she can work more hands-on with people in more direct service. We are praying that God shows her exactly where He wants her to be.