Let it rain...

I wake up at 5 a.m. every morning to the chorus line of roosters. The water ran out today, so I was glad I washed my hair outside in the rain yesterday. It was actually very good because I was holding baby Marvin and he peed on my only pair of shorts, so those got a little bit cleaner as well.

We had another free med clinic today. People lined up for hours to see Dr. Franco. A 79-year-old man had an old wound from a pick ax. This took place even before the earthquake and was left untreated. His left hand was scrunched and his fingers turned in. This was a result of a stroke untreated as well. I was amazed watching the nurses take care of him and treat him, especially my good friend Joannie. They didn’t even speak the same language, and she could read him. She understood him. She's an incredible nurse, and I will always look up to her for her ability to connect with a patient.

After lunch we visited the Port-au-Prince Hospital. The workers were on strike, so no one was there to care for these people. As we walked by, each and every one of them held out their x-rays for Dr. Franco. He stopped for everyone, spoke to them, helped them as much as he could, and then prayed with them.

One man was confined to his hospital bed with handcuffs. I asked Dr. Franco to translate for me. This man was put in prison in 2006 for supposedly owning a gun. However, the police here who accused him of this crime never found a gun on him. But they put him in prison anyway. When the earthquake happened, he escaped. But the police found him and shot him in his legs. He will now spend the rest of his life confined to this bed.

As we were leaving, we walked by the tuberculosis tent. Every person in that tent will die of TB. They do not have access to the treatment and medication they need. Hearst cars lined the streets in clear view for all the patients to see.

Everyone was kind of in a daze leaving the Port-au-Prince Hospital. But as soon as we entered the compound, all the boys of the orphanage came running toward us!

I was walking around with a little boy named Olry. He’s 4-years-old. Joannie and I gave him a mini butterfinger. He literally put the entire wrapper in his mouth after eating the candy bar. As the sun set, we got in the hammock together. It only took a few minutes and Olry had passed out. And let me tell you… it’s not that easy getting out of a hammock with a child asleep on top of you.

And this is how we work...

Sarah Orschlen took this pic yesterday while I was writing my story on the patients here that need help paying for surgeries. The cot turned into our desk and the buckets also work as chairs.

Sarah also made a good point in her blog...

"I find it hilarious (and sort of sick and atrocious) that I have internet access right now, but no running water."

Generations of Hope...

Yesterday the troops arrived… 24 more volunteers. Joannie arrived at 11 a.m. and Dustin arrived around noon. Dustin is a photographer/editor at FOX CT. However, we had no idea the other was coming to Haiti until about two weeks ago. Must have been fate.

Today, patients are lined up outside waiting to see Dr. Franco. Some suffer from dehydration. Others have cholera and even HIV. But Dr. Franco will see all of them.

The internet connection isn’t great here, so the stories Dustin and I are shooting might not air until next week. Regardless, the people of Haiti have incredible stories – some so sad it’s almost beyond comprehension. I wonder where all their joy comes from. But they are full of so much hope, and Generations of Hope Haiti (GoHaiti) is making that possible for so many people.

The streets of Port-au-Prince

Property where Dr. Franco's friend is building another orphanage

View from the orphanage window

Building the orphanage

Generations of Hope orphanage's backyard

Some of the kids of Generations of Hope

Miakel is an orphan at Generations of Hope.

He loves to play soccer, and he really wants my watch.

Jameson...

This little boy, Jameson, follows me around all the time. He's so adorable.

His younger brother is so skinny he looks ill. His mother wanted to get rid of him, so the orphanage said they would take him. He didn't want to go, so the mother gave up the boys' big sister, Linda, hoping the youngest would stay at the orphanage because she was there. Well he doesn't. He always leaves in the middle of the night and jumps the fence. He wants his mother's love.

Jameson's younger brother

Jameson is the only one that stays with his mom, who doesn't take care of him. But the orphanage has to have legal rights to keep them unless they were abandoned (like baby Marvin). Jameson is skinny too. I always sneak him granola bars, but he comes here during the day to play with the kids and eat.

Last night, all the kids were getting ready for bed after playing in the rain. Jameson was still here and was told he needed to leave. It was storming, lighting and thundering outside - so I asked Dr. Franco (who speaks English) why he had to leave now. Dr. Franco said he could stay until the rain stopped. So he did. He sat with me. I gave him a granola bar. He has a cut on his face. It was open because it got wet from the rain, so I gave him some neosporin and a band-aid. He said thank you and just kept hugging me. When it was time for him to go, I walked him outside behind the compound alone. He ran off into the sugarcane fields. I believe he lives in the tent city. My eyes began to tear-up as I watched him wave goodbye and leave. It was so sad. I just watched a child run off into the woods, alone at night.

The hammock after the storm...

Sarah took this picture and posted it on her blog. Click here to read hope.gives.haiti.

Yes, this is the hammock we've been sharing after the storm last night.

Music is a Universal Language...

The Generations of Hope (GoHaiti) Orphanage is working on clearing an area in front of the orphanage so the kids can have a soccer field. After all of our work yesterday, we told the kids we had a BIG surprise for them. Kim and I pealed mangos in the kitchen to bring out to all the children. I was thinking… “Are these kids really going to get excited about mangos??” But low and behold, when we brought out the mangos, you would’ve thought the kids just walked in to FAO Schwarz!! It was amazing. They are so grateful for sliced mangos, a hug, a high five, even a smile. They just want to be loved.

Today we went to church. Dr. Franco gave the sermon… granted it was in Haitian Creole, but I tried to follow with the help of a translator. Some of the songs were in English but most were in Haitian Creole. However, music really is a universal language.

One of the young orphan girls here, Linda, was cleaning dishes outside today by the sugarcane field. She borrowed someone’s ipod and was jamming out to Justin Bieber! There I was standing next to a sugarcane field, with goats running around me, clothes were being hung on the clothesline between two trees – and there was little Linda cleaning dishes singing at the top of her lungs to a Justin Bieber song. Who would've thought?

I also met a young boy today. His kneecap was so swollen. I asked Dr. Franco what happened to him. He said it was an injury from the earthquake in 2010. His mother cannot afford to pay for his surgery. He’s coming to the compound on Tuesday with a few other kids. If all goes well, technology wise, I’ll be telling their stories on the FOX CT Morning News this week. I'll let you know how you can help if you want to pay or contribute to the cost of surgery.

Again if you want to donate to Go-Haiti, click here.

St. Marc Hospital

I slept in a hammock last night. There was some sort of summer camp going on next door. They were chanting and singing all night. We traveled to St. Marc Hospital today to deliver supplies. This is the hospital where cholera started. I saw a woman in a coma about to die from HIV, a man who had just taken his last breath, and people left outside in their hospital beds to die from HIV because there was nothing else the hospital could do for them. I gave a woman a granola bar because the hospital doesn’t feed them. It is up to family members and loved ones. Another woman was still in the hospital from the injuries she suffered during the earthquake in 2010. The number of premature babies in the hospital was overwhelming. Sadly, most of them will die. They just don’t have the care and treatment we have in the U.S. A father stood looking down at his premature baby. The mother didn’t make it through childbirth. He has other children he has to take care of, so he told Dr. Franco that he could take this baby when it gets out of the hospital and bring him to the orphanage at Go-Haiti.

There have been some improvements in Haiti. Paul Farmer and Bill Clinton built the PIH (Partners in Health) Hospital in Kreyol, which provides free treatment to patients living in poverty. The hospital helps them obtain effective drugs to treat tuberculosis and AIDS. However, the patients at St. Marc Hospital cannot reach the PIH Hospital.