Haiti, After the Quake

A few weeks ago, I had the unique opportunity to travel to Haiti and participate in medical work with the medical and dental mission, Friends of the Children. I had been planning the trip for over a year, and I consider it is a miracle that it was not cancelled when the earthquake hit. Up to the week of the trip itself, I was told repeatedly that travel to Haiti was impossible with its destruction and violence. Almost everyone I encountered discouraged my trip because it was “too dangerous,” “chaotic,” and “traumatizing.” To my good fortune, however, the trip was sustained and I was able to experience the most incredible week of my life.
We traveled to Jacmel, a city in Southern Haiti that was completely devastated by the earthquake. Although my trip took place 6 weeks after the quake, I failed to witness any evidence of relief effort or rebuilding in Jacmel. The people I encountered in the clinic were extremely malnourished and anemic. Many had intestinal parasites, scabies, and diarrheal diseases due to the horrible sanitization conditions in their temporary housing. Interestingly, I saw a lot of post-traumatic stress and a generalized state of fear in the Haitian people. The majority of the people I saw refused to enter any sort of building because of the ever-present aftershocks. Even those whose houses survived the earthquake chose to sleep in tents because of their constant fear. While sleeping in a tent myself, I felt two of these aftershocks.
While I was in Haiti, I tried to learn as much as possible about the people, their culture, and their current living situation. I spoke to them in French and Creole, toured their houses, attended community gatherings and church, and played with the children after clinic closed. Overall, the Haitian people that I encountered are incredibly kind, grateful, and loving people. Although they were malnourished and shockingly poor, they would bring us baskets of food from their gardens as thanks for our services. The villagers made a special effort to greet us at mass and thank us. At a village dance, the people welcomed us and taught us traditional Haitian dancing and games. I also witnessed incredible dedication and self-sacrifice by the Haitian people for their loved ones. With the overwhelming child and orphan population in Haiti, it was common to see distant family members, friends, and even young siblings caring for children.
Although I was there for only a week, I feel that I am a part of Haiti. The welcome and love I experienced there was overwhelming, especially in the midst of Haiti’s poverty, devastation, and tragedy. I am looking forward to returning, hopefully in September, to continue my friendships and care for the wonderful people I met. In the meantime, I hope to develop an educational class for the midwife’s in the Jacmel area, which I would like to implement during my next visit. The maternal and infant mortality rates in Haiti are astonishing, and need to be addressed. Also, I am actively raising money for the group I will return to Jacmel with. Until then, Haiti will be in my heart and prayers, and serve as a constant reminder for why I want to be a physician and serve the most desperate and needy of our world.

La Jornada - Eye Screening in Rural Guatemala

 Today's agenda wasn't too different than the previous day's agenda, though in quite a different setting.  We were doing an eye screening in a rural community about an hour outside of San Benito with native Guatemalan "health promoters".  We didn't find a mountain of people waiting for us when we got there, probably because of the remote nature of the tiny village, but it did follow that there was a steady flow of people for the couple of hours that we were there.  

There were some routine cases of individuals whose vision had simply worsened with age, naturally.  For them, the big smiles they displayed after they put on a free pair of reading glasses was enough to bring great joy to my heart.  Their daily lives instantly got a little bit easier because they could again finally see what their hands were doing.  I knew quite well that they would not have had the knowledge or resources to go to the store (which would be an hour or more by bus, which also wasn't free.....) and buy themselves a pair of simple reading glasses.   

Some of the other cases weren't so routine.  There was a man with a big red eye, a woman with a foreign body in her eye, a man with a growth in one eye, and a couple more villagers who needed more than just reading glasses.   The most we could offer them was a referral for an evaluation at the Vincent Pescatore Clinica de Ojos, marked as "servicio social" (which meant it would be free, though getting there once again would be the challenge).   

I left the rural community wondering what the man with the big red eye would have done if we had not gone to do the jornada.  I was wondering how many of the non-routine cases were actually going to make it to the clinic an hour away.  And I was thinking about the importance of service to those less fortunate than ourselves.  

Christine Garcia, M2

Vincent Pescatore Clinica de Ojos, San Benito, Guatemala

I woke up and the first thing that comes to mind is "Why do the roosters believe that it is normal to start each day at 5 am?"  I decided not to ponder it too long and went back to bed, very thankful for a warm blanket, a comfy mattress, and another hour to sleep, despite the unwanted wake-up call.  

After round two of waking up (this time at a reasonable hour), I dressed, ate, and headed out to tackle the days agenda.  The agenda was more full than I could have expected!  When I arrived at Vincent Pescatore Clinica de Ojos with Dr. Linda Novak (a Loyola Stritch grad, and our host), we found a waiting room PACKED with patients in need of eye care, waiting to be seen.  

When I found out that many of them had traveled upwards of three or four or even five hours to come see the ophthalmologist, I felt a quick second of disappointment (in myself) for being annoyed with the rowdy rooster wake-up call!  Instead, waking up a little earlier would have meant a little shorter waiting time for someone who would have probably appreciated it very much.  

We saw each patient, one by one, for the rest of the morning.  I took note of Dr. Novak's calm demeanor throughout the hours, even though there was a mountain of work left in the waiting room.  It hardly seemed like work to her, though, because of her servant heart.  I left the clinic that day with a couple lessons on ophthalmology/los ojos, a lot of lessons on service, and excitement for the next days agenda - una jornada (an eye screening in a rural village).   

Christine Garcia, M2

Amba mimi happa (my name is...)

We arrived in Embulbul, Kenya on March 1st and met with the Youth Art Project coordinators Daniel, James, and Isaac. The children that participate in the project warmly greeted us with songs, dance, and poetry. The joy the children felt by our presence was evident by their wishes for us to sing and dance along with them. We were honored to participate in the festivities.

After the singing and dancing ended, we toured the community with the coordinators, watched a football game (which the Embulbul Sparks won against Hillside), and drank chai in Daniel's home.

The eye clinic we held on the second day was quite a success, with us able to provide every patient with a pair of glasses and vitamins. Hopefully, tomorrow will be as successful!

Pictures and video to come.

Erin Hunt, M1
Hajirah Saeed, M4
Ruben Frescas, M4
Robin Kang, M1