After just a couple days in Haiti, my heart is melting and it is not because of the heat.  As a nurse practitioner, I was excited about the opportunity to see patients with new and interesting conditions. Yes, I’m certain this sounds crazy to those who do not work in healthcare but to me these things really are intriguing.  Before the trip, I had done my research and felt prepared in my knowledge and training.  However, after my first day in the clinic, I quickly learned that Haiti (and its people) had a lot to teach me. 

The very first patient I saw had injured her leg in a motorcycle accident.  Although her wound was extensive, she allowed me to cleanse and dress the area without any complaints of pain.  She was grateful for the help.  I continued to work and continued to learn. With the limited resources, we had to ration the medications and other supplies. Although, I wish we could have done more i truly believe we are making a difference in the lives of these people. 

I am grateful for this opportunity and am excited about the rest of my time here. Thank you, Haiti, for melting my heart!! 

Ginger McDaniel, APRN

Mt. Sterling, KY

Eastern Kentucky Comes to Haiti

After months of preparation we were very excited to bring God's love to the children of Haiti. We knew that God was going to do great things when our 8 hour flight down turned into 14 hours. We FINALLY made it to Children's lifeline and have been working hard ever since. So far, we have visited 4 orphanages and helped at a feeding station, where we assisted in feeding almost 500 children. So far we have told the story of the creation and of Noah. Two things have really impacted us so far. The first real experience we had with children of Haiti was being greeted by a class full of preschool children singing This is The Day That the Lord has Made. It was so beautiful to hear children so small be able to sing about rejoicing in the Lord and truly mean it. One of the orphanages that we visited also serenaded us with one of our all time favorites, Oh How I Love Jesus, in English. It was so beautiful to hear the love for Jesus in the way that the children sang.It was definitely something we will carry with us forever.
The other thing that has really stuck with us so far is the shoes that the children in the orphanages wear. We take shoes for granted because even if we do not have very much money, we can always find shoes to wear that match. One little girl today that simply broke my heart had on two sandals that were not only mismatched but were also two left shoes. It is so humbling to think about how much we have that we take for granted and these children have so little and are so very thankful.

Bees at Lifeline

We now have bees at Lifeline!  We will be able to package the honey and sell it.  For now we are eating it!  Yum!   We have planted MANY more trees that will provide more pollen for our bees.

Our "Bee Man"- Cayil with Minold (who also has bees at his house) and Marcson with the bee frames.

Smoke to put the bees to sleep.

Bee boxes in our back field.

Cayil tearing cardboard to burn for the bee smoker.

The Least of These

Ministry to the sick

 This woman lost her baby and tested positive for TB so we took her to a TB center where she will receive treatment until she is well enough to go home. 

 This girl came to us with a very bad rash on her leg.

 The rash was not cleared so we took her to a dermatologist and hope the new medication will work.

 This young boy was hit in the face with a rock while playing with friends.  We cleaned him up and took him to get stitches. 

Baby Kevens was sick today but he tested negative for Malaria which we are now able to test for at our clinic lab.

The Longest Day

We woke to rain on the tin roof and thunder rumbling in the distance.  It was 3 am and we gathered our gear, meds, and selves to load into three trucks for the two hour drive down the mountain and the ferry below to return to the mainland of Haiti.  The past three days have been spent on the island of La Gonave, in the town of Mapou.  Pastor Benny Guerrier and his wife, Dominique, hosted our group for three evenings.  The village is remote and life is challenging, particularly with respect to water.  They were gracious hosts and skillfully managed the logistics of organizing the church for two days of clinics.  We saw over 400 people in those two days and touched the lives of young children and elderly alike with malnutrition and infection, young pregnant women,and older folks with hypertension and other chronic illness.  Lack of access to clean water and inadequate nutrition are some of the biggest challenges facing this community.  Pastor Benny is working to bring these resources to his community through education, harvesting and storing rainwater and spreading his faith and message of hope to the village of his birth.

The sunrise was enjoyed on the dock of the daily 7am ferry on our return to the main island of Haiti.  After a beautiful journey back, we had a quick cleanup, checked in with families and friends at home and were off to Escole Congreganiste St. Francis de Sales for a full day of clinic for local school children, both sick and well, and many parents.  General health education, infection, malnutrition, the stress headache of a 10 year old boy brought on by the continued uncertainties of life post earthquake and the common maladies of adults were all part of the day's experience.

Tomorrow we rise early to provide services for the children of a Govaines orphanage Children's Lifeline has served for several years and check in on the progress seen in the care of these beautiful, hopeful  young people.