Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Leaving Haiti

We're back in the DR and will travel back to Canada tomorrow. As we have been debriefing as a small team, our hearts are filled with all kinds of thoughts and memories.

  • people we met and held as they were cared for
  • mothers and fathers trying to care for families when everything they had was destroyed
  • seeing girls (and men and women and babies...) dealing with the realities of amputation
  • Pondering our relative wealth that we so take for granted. Wealth in so many ways
  • Asking when we will be back
  • realizing the level of exhaustion - physical, mental, spiritual, emotional
  • amazement at how quickly friendships can be made in times of crisis
It will take time for each one of us to deal with the realities of what we experienced.

Was it worth it? Absolutely! Being part of a team that performed over 1500 medical interventions from wound care to intense orthopedic operations was amazing. Many of these people would have died or lost limbs without our care.

I am humbled at the reality of it all.

Thank you for your support and interest...







More pictures at

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=190708&id=674531082&l=104873007e

New photos

click on this link to go to 60 new pictures

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=190601&id=674531082&l=0a5b85d04c

New Video: What makes a good relief worker?

Sorry for the size issues with the videos in some browsers

Monday, January 25, 2010

Calling for more relief

Help us raise funds for Support.
Please support the relief effort we are directly involved in as we financially support the long term relief efforts of the Jesuit Church in Haiti to react where there currently is no aid and respond to the long term future need of the People of Haiti.

Would you consider partnering with the Haiti team with a financial gift? All donations are tax deductible and can be sent to:

CIDO
Christian Indigenous Development Overseas
142 Dalhousie Road NW
Calgary, AB T3A 2H1

CIDO is a small Calgary based NGO specializing in international economic development and has kindly offered to handle the financial details for the team and issue tax receipts with no administrative levy.

(Cheques are made payable to CIDO. Please do not write our names on the check, simply include a note designating funds for Haiti relief team.)

Sunday in Haiti

Our day began with an ecumenical service that helped us reflect on our surroundings and situations we are experiencing.
The team then joined into 3 groups to do medical work at IDP camps and hospitals.
The group with Pat, Rey, and Colleen had a busy day seeing over 60 patients including a lot of children with diarrhea, skin diseases and PTSD.The day ended early as a truck showed up with donated water and we decided to leave over the chaps for water.
A touching story from the day was a taxi driver who showed up with a young boy who we assumed was his son, however he was a 6 year old boy who had lost his parents and grandparents and had latched on to him. This man had 4 children of his own and his wife had died. A young dominican couple agreed to foster him for month and there is a woman in Chicago who is hoping to adopt him.