First Report from Haiti

Sunday
We flew in to the Bahamas to get gas because there's no airplane fuel in Cap-Haitien. We made it safe and sound, but our luggage did not arrive. Big disappointment.


Monday
11 people for breakfast. Seven from Michigan, four from Minnesota. Still no luggage. Bummer. Clinic busy. 44 patients from 9 different villages. Cap-Haitien is bustling, people are friendly. We had a flat tire halfway to the clinic, which took 3 hours to fix. Long story. We started the wiring on the clinic but had to work around the patients. A little hectic.


Tuesday
Luggage arrived, except Elena's. All solar parts accounted for. No customs (no security check before we took off either). Minnesota team: one nurse, 3 professionals who are drilling and rebuilding water wells. Drilling wells for 18 years in Haiti. 22 patients only at the clinic today. Meals are excellent and plentiful.

Wednesday
Clinic closed. Market day. Full steam ahead on solar. Installed most lights and wall plugs and control panel. Began tile project in doctor's exam room. Rained really hard overnight. Linda, Elena, Sybil (Lansing) and Irene (MN) assist in the clinic each day. Anemia, malnutrition, pain and parasites are the main maladies. Thankfully Elena's luggage arrived today.

Today
44 patients. Lots of children came to visit and play games with Amanda. Dave completed the solar frame. We completed the wiring indoors and the outdoor underground wiring. Very long, but productive day. Drillers fixed three wells. Hand pump wells just wear out. Tonight, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, fried tomatoes and cake for dessert. The ladies issued rice rations to patients also. Two and a half small bowls of rice apiece.

Tomorrow the plan is to mount the solar array. It's 53" x 99", bigger than a sheet of plywood. And it has to be raised on a 20' steel pole, with 4' buried in the ground. It's going to be a huge job. Hopefully there will be no wind.


General update
The team is working well together. Calls out of Haiti are free, thanks to AT&T. Several phone companies are doing the same, so it pays to check. But there's no internet.

Not too many people speak English. Half the group is traveling to the wells and the other half to the clinic, so it's been more difficult traveling separately. The people are very proud and clean, despite the fact that dust is everywhere. You get used to the feel of dirt on your hands. So far the folks we've met have no family or direct connections with the people in Port au Prince. You couldn't tell there was a tragedy here. Except for the traffic. Anything with wheels on it has people hanging off it like a Christmas tree. And we've noticed a lot of cement being moved around.

Temperature has been tolerable, typically in the 80s. Today was 100. But generally pleasant. My roommate is Bob. We've had electricity every night from 6pm to Midnight. It really helps a lot. Last trip we only had it for one hour each week. What a difference.

Haitians can go over to the Dominican Republic on Mondays and Fridays without a passport. So they travel 50 miles to cross the border and buy food and supplies to consume or sell.

Bananas in Haiti take year to grow. In Dominican they produce them in 4 months using fertilizers. But Haitian bananas are much sweeter and are treasured. Gasoline right now is readily available. Diesel is $3.00/gallon and gas is $4.00. It's coming from Dominican Republic now. Last year, when we were here the costs were $8.00 and $10.00 respectively. So that's an improvement.


Everyone at home is on our minds. We've had so much support and are glad to be able to give you all some feedback. So far, as they say in Haiti, 'No problems'. Except, can't locate a rim for our spare tire. (Thus the long story with regards to the flat tire).

-Staton (transcribed by Brandy via phone conversation with Staton)

Editors note: The internet service they had was provided by a tower in Port au Prince. So while calls can come in and out, email and blogging won't be possible. I'll post info when I hear from Staton by phone.