Clinic at Bois-Neuf

Today, our team went to the Institution Mixte dr L’Estpoir, at Bois-Neuf to set up a medical clinic. It is a primary school, with 4 open classrooms. It was made of thatch, side and top, no doors. The roof had fallen in and hung down in the middle of the building. The floor was a muddy because of the down pour last night. The desks were made of single planks of wood. Some classrooms only had benches. As I walked around the school, setting up for the medical clinic, I collected mud on the bottom of my shoes. This wore off as the sun dried the ground. My job, this day, was to provide some boundaries for the children and provide mental health counseling to those identified as experiencing anxiety or depression from the earthquake or life situations.

I was able to encourage, provide guidance, relaxation techniques and prayer to a few young people seen by our team. One, 12 year old girl, had lost her Father to the earthquake and her Mother was killed shortly after that. She was now living with family members and other people, not her family. She said that her Mother was a hard worker and they needed for little. Now, it is a struggle for her family to meet basic needs. She misses her parents. I did grief counseling and prayed for her. I found out that she didn’t have a Lifeline sponsor. This would relieve some of the pressure from her family and give this young girl hope for the future.

A beautiful, 20 year old female, came to me. She lacked self-esteem and confidence in her future. She lived with her brother and said that this was not a good situation. She said that she had no close friends. She was having some somatic symptoms and trouble sleeping. I reminded her that Jesus has a great love for her. He has a purpose for her life. I gave her relaxation exercises to do to help her sleep and prayed that God will reveal His purpose for her life.

It was a busy day, our doctors and nurses saw many children and adults. It was sad to turn many people away. As we prepared to pack up our supplies, I watched chickens come into the school to eat what they can find. Goats came up to the building and ate vegetation and pulled thatch from the walls of the school.

The school head master was very proud of his school and has a great vision for its future. He does the best he can. At lunch time, Lifeline Ministry delivered 2 large pails of nutritious rice and beans for the children. The Haitian people do the best they can, under the circumstances that they live under. Many have hope for the future. With the help of ministries like, Lifeline and short term teams to bring supplies, energy, love and God’s word, many more will have hope. Death is common. The basic needs of shelter, food and clean water, can make death not so common. Please pray for the Haitian people.

Paulette Myers