Sometimes the best visits are those made by unexpected guests. Haiti seems to be a thoroughfare of individuals and groups engaged in diverse, vitally important work in every sector of the country. With today’s technology, it is easy to make introductions and connect people. My family dentist and fellow participant in the Tabasamu dental mission in Kenya, made me aware that Mary Burns, my middle son’s orthodontist, was making a weeklong trip to Haiti to assist with a medical mission in Fond Parisien. Christopher had had preventative orthodenture work when he was in Junior High, so I hadn’t spoken with Mary in years. Paul provided us with each other’s e-mail addresses and we began communicating. I quickly learned that Mary’s 25-year-old daughter, Erin, also wanted to come. Unfortunately, however, there were no volunteer openings in the medical mission.
I believe that one of the reasons that I am situated in Haiti is to provide an opportunity for people to see and understand this country through a different lens than that of the national and international media. One of the best ways for this to occur is through actual visits. Without hesitation, I told Mary that Erin was welcome to stay with me. Despite not knowing Erin, I was confident that there were projects and activities within the Diocese in which she could become involved for a week.
As Erin and I began to communicate via e-mail, I learned that she had never had a mission experience. In my years of working with youth and young adults, I have always set high standards for psychological, physical and spiritual readiness for such experiences. Certainly, any young people traveling overseas with me, have been required to participate in some stateside outreach, if not international work. I also demanded a fairly rigorous set of expectations in building community among all participants and helping to raise funds for the initiative. Needless to say, this was not going to be the case with Erin. My primary concern was that she feel safe while in Haiti and that the experience encourage her to do more of this work here and elsewhere.
I could feel the enthusiasm through her e-mails. Her mother had been on a number of these medical missions. Though Erin’s brother had gone on a couple of them, Erin’s schedule had not allowed for her to join Mary. Erin had recently been laid off from her job and, though she had secured a part-time position, now had the flexibility to engage an adventure- testimony that there is a silver lining in every situation!
Erin is an interior designer by profession. However, she was willing and eager to do anything. She has a sister with mental and physical challenges, so I knew that she would be comfortable volunteering at St. Vincent School for the Handicapped. I met with the Direct of St. Vincent and Trinity Music School. They anxiously awaited her arrival.
I picked Erin up at the airport on a Saturday. We had a relatively quiet schedule on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Monday, we met with Pere Sadoni at St. Vincent and Pere Cesar at Trinite Music School. As soon as both priests heard of Erin’s talents in interior design they requested that she address some particular needs at both schools. Erin’s first task was the re-design of the central office space at St. Vincent. She took measurements and drew a rough sketch representing the new layout. The rest of the work would need to be completed at home, where she had specialized software.
I do not teach English classes on Tuesdays. Consequently, I am able to schedule off-site activities. Erin and I decided we would visit her mother in Fon Parisien. Fon Parisien is about an hour from Port au Prince. The road took us toward Saint Marc and by more agriculturally rich land than I am accustomed to seeing. As we entered the Love a Child compound, we saw numerous, recently constructed buildings all painted in bright yellow. The three school buildings were situated toward the front of the property and, since it was time for the mid-morning break, we could see all the children playing. Their school uniforms included yellow cotton shirts and navy skirts or pants, a wonderful combination.
The driver delivered us to the entrance of the newly dedicated Health Clinic, called the Jesus Healing Center. There we discovered a crowd of people patiently waiting to see Mary for their designated extraction. We entered Mary’s operatory and found her hovered over a patient in an army regulation portable dental field chair. As drawn as I am to the medical arena, Erin is proportionally unsettled by it. I moved in to see exactly what Mary was doing as Erin turned her back and plugged her ears. It is all part of my theory of professional interests skipping generations!
Throughout the day, Erin and I divided our time between exploring the Love a Child facilities, including the school, church and orphanage and returning to Mary’s room to view her latest procedure. In time, Erin found that the best distraction for her was to hold the children of the patients. We were also able to distribute the adorable hand knit Duduza dolls to each child who visited Mary. A real treat.
The day passed quickly and soon we were on our way back to Port au Prince. The day was capped off with a celebration of Carmel’s birthday. Erin was now truly a part of the Seminaire de Theologie family.
Erin spent Wednesday in Acahaie with Timote Georges learning about the challenges of deforestation in Haiti. She also had an opportunity to visit a small school. I hope she will add to this blog in the coming week to share those experiences.
On Thursday, Erin went to St. Vincent in the morning and Trinite Music School in the afternoon. Instead of interior design, she has been recruited to help the new Administrative Assistant at Trinite Music School with an English newsletter highlighting the many events of the year. She would return again on Friday afternoon to complete the project.
Friday morning, Carla and Ari, co-founders of N A Sonje Foundation (nasonje.blogspot.com), visited my apartment to share some of the history and culture of Haiti with Erin. My roommates, Carmel and Margarette, were in the apartment as well and soon joined in the conversation. Soon there was a brief exchange between Margarette and Carmel and followed by a call to the rest of the Seminarians. Everyone was riveted by what Carla and Ari had to share, some of which they did not know and some with which they resonated.
Mary arrived Friday afternoon and we wisked her off to St. Vincent’s. Despite the fact that the dental clinic was amassed with equipment and other inventory from an surgical area being renovated, Mary could visualize the operatory and decided that she would return to lend a hand.
We celebrated our time together with a dinner at the Ollofson, an historic, gingerbread style hotel minutes from my apartment. Erin and Mary spent Friday night at a hotel closer to the airport where I said goodbye on Saturday afternoon. The week had passed very quickly. I had enjoyed every minute of Erin’s stay. I hope that Erin will be able to return. Regardless, I suspect that Haiti has made an impression on her that will linger for some time if not for all time.
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