Six hours on the road to help 200 orphans

Another early 4:30 wake up call lead to yet another blessing in Haiti. By 5:30 we were loaded on the trucks and headed north to provide nursing care to two orphanages in villages 3 to 4 hours away. The roads were quite different then those in America. Some were made of concrete, some were made of rocks the size of boulders. It felt more like we were off roading in quads rather than riding in the back of trucks. The 3 hour trip to the first orphanage was an eye opening experience. We passed at least five villages all of which were completely different in the way they lived and the houses they lived in.

We were greeted at the first orphanage by bright smiles and chants that repeated "We are glad to see you." The orphanage consisted of two buildings, one was their house of worship and the other was the living quarters for the boys and girls. The workers of the orphanage provided us with a shelter for our traveling medical clinic, which was made from tree branches and tarps. One by one, the children were assessed and triaged. From there they received necessary medical care that we were able to supply. The most common medical problems that we assessed were skin conditions such as scabies and rashes, various wounds, nutritional deficits, and fever. Before the children left the shelter they were given worm medicine, vitamins, and a stuffed turtle that contained a spiritual message.

The conditions that we observed in the second orphanage were much worse than the conditions of the first. Because of it's distance from any kind of true civilization, it was apparent that the resources were limited. At this orphanage there were also two buildings, one of which was the living quarters for the boys and the other for the girls. The living quarters were quite different from the first, these were constructed primarily from twigs and tarps, similar to the shelter provided for our medical clinic at the previous orphanage. Once again the children greeted us with chants showing their appreciation for our visit. We rearranged the boys living quarters to make our medical clinic which was organized into numerous stations, which included triage, wound care, and medication administration. The children here had similar medical problems to the children at the first orphanage but their symptoms seemed to be worse. As a group we came to the conclusion that this was occurring due to the boys using the same razor to cut their hair without cleansing the razor in between cuts. Education was provided to the boys, as well as the caregivers at the orphanage to decrease this occurrence in the future. Other medical issues that were noted in the girls as well as the boys were fever, headache, stomach pain, muscle aches, wounds, malnourishment, and scabie-type infections. Just as before, as the children left they were given bottles of both vitamins and worm medication. In addition they were also given a pack of peanut butter crackers, along with additional food for future use, to aid their malnourishment.

The hours that we spent on the road were well worth the nursing care provided to the children of the orphanages. We pray that the care provided will positively influence the future of these children.

Jessica Wells and Charla Burchett