A Return to Haiti!

It has been more than three years since I concluded my first, 12 month appointment as a Missioner in Haiti. I have made four trips back to Haiti since the “cataclisme de la terre” (earthquake) of January 2010, primarily focused on the dental education programs sponsored by Tabasamu (www.tabasamu.net). Each trip has only made me love the Haitian people more and yearn to return for a longer period of time. When I least expected it, God answered my prayers through a invitation to assist The Rt. Rev. Oge Beauvoir, the first Suffragan Bishop of Haiti, through a three year appointment in North Haiti. The focus of my work will include the expansion of partnerships with schools and churches; developing training for Haitian lay leaders in youth ministry and Christian education, including identifying further education for certain Haitian lay leaders in these areas; empowerment of youth and women; pursuit of funding and volunteer assistance for a large regional farming program; significant fund raising and grant writing for aforementioned initiatives; and any other requests made by Bishop Beauvoir. Though it took more time than expected to iron out the details, I finally found myself on a plane to Port au Prince (PaP) early a.m. Friday, March 1. Following a scenic and SPEEDY 6 hour drive from PaP to Cap, I was “home”. While my apartment is being prepared, I am staying in a nice room with a private bath adjacent to the office where I work. Oge and his lovely wife, Serette, live above me. It has been very nice to share meals together and have lengthy conversations on the hopes and dreams for this part of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti. The early days of my time have already been filled with meetings and much is scheduled for the balance of the month (including a 5 hour mountainous hike to a school dedication for Food for the Poor!). Stay tuned for more stories and feel free to post comments or questions. Benedictions!

Haitian Senate Fires Prime Minister

The latest on the political scene in Haiti:

Training Of Trainers- A First Step In Advancing Education in Schools Of The Diocese Of Haiti

While researching funding sources for my daily living expenses and special projects in Haiti. I learned of a special grant program available through St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis, Md. They had several priorities in their giving, among them education. I spoke with one of the members of the Grants Committee before departing for Haiti, so I had a sense of the competition for these awards and the kind of projects that might be most appealing. I did not have enough substantive information to complete the application in advance of my departure for Haiti. However, I did know that my goal as a Missioner and the hope and expectation of St. Margaret’s was the development of a sustainable, capacity building project. I began to imagine a peer training programs for teachers of the schools administered by the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti. I looked forward to testing the idea out on Rev. Oge Beauvoir, Dean of Seminaire de Theologie and Executive Director of the Bureau of Anglican Education of Haiti (BAEH).

Once I got my bearings in Haiti, one of my top priorities was the grant to St. Margaret’s. The deadline was the end of November, so there not time to lose. As I shared the premise for the proposal, I was thrilled to learn that Marianne Palisse, an education missionary and Assistant Dean at the Episcopal University of Haiti, had the very same idea. I received all the additional details needed to complete the proposal, including the fact that only 8% of the teachers in the private sector are trained and 15% in the public sector, and submitted it on November 30. As projected, we received word in February that we were among the proposals that made the cut. We were ecstatic. Following two rounds of follow up questions and a couple of conference calls, we anxiously awaited the final decision. In May, we were thrilled to receive word that teacher training project had been awarded $10,000. It was a wonderful start to what we hoped to be a three-year training program.

The months of planning and preparation passed quickly. Soon August 24^th arrived and the beginning of the first 2-week training of trainers was here. Virginie Hoareau, the BAEH Director of Pedagogy, was recovering from surgery, so I served as an administrator for the program. This included gathering all the personal information on the teachers, producing name tags, tracking attendance, taking pictures and assigning a different participant to write a daily blog entry on the experience. Greeting each person as they arrived and managing these details really gave me a chance to get to know the different teachers. There were 20 participants, representing all 5 Archdeaconries. Many came long distances, some making the trip on a daily basis and others staying with family and friends in and around the Port au Prince.

The days were LONG and HOT. August was, without question, the steamiest month of my residency. We began at 8:30 a.m., took a 20-minute break around 10:30 a.m., had lunch at 1 p.m. and concluded the day at 4:30 p.m. The training was facilitated by Monsieur Rouille and Monsieur Maucouvert, two members of GREF, an organization of Retired French School teachers who offer their extensive experience to provide training to other teachers in French speaking countries. Though Haiti has a long history of rote learning, Monsieur Rouille and Monsieur Maucouvert emphasized the didactic approach to learning. This was reinforced in the training experience through small group discussions and individual and group presentations. Furthermore, with 4 female teachers in a group of 20 participants (a ratio, representative of the overall teaching population in Haiti), some important attention was given to encouraging their confidence and leadership in the academic arena.

Through the two-week session, the group focused first on philosophy of teaching, followed by an overview of Haitian curriculum and requirements of the Haitian Ministry of Education, instruction on the creation of a lesson plan, and, finally, a presentation of a class in each of the core subject areas. The last day was spent reviewing the overall training and determining, as a group, what should be placed in the training manual that would be assembled and sent to the team electronically by Monsieur Rouille and Monsieur Maucouvert.

The next training will take place during the two week around Mardi Gras in February. Although it was originally to focus on the newly trained trainers being observed training others, the GREF facilitators felt that another two weeks with the original group would be beneficial. July 2010 will be a month long training by the newly formed Haitian trainers throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, with GREF representatives offering counsel where needed.

It was very rewarding to see one of the projects first envisioned during my early weeks in Haiti come to fruition. The Teachers Training Teachers program is a perfect example of an initiative where I was only tangentially involved and which can, therefore, be easily sustained after I return to the states.

To learn more about this training, please visit the BAEH blog, baehdioceseofhaiti.blogspot.com.

Haitian Prime Minister on the way out

An update on the probable removal of Haiti's Prime Minister:

Food crisis in Haiti: an interview with Myrta Kaulard of the World Food Programme

Food crisis in Haiti: an interview with Myrta Kaulard of the World Food Programme

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Latest Political News from Haiti

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A Dental MASH Unit in Gwo Jan

While on leave in the United States, Dr. Trey Wilson ordered some dental supplies for Joseph Antony, one of the Haitian dentists who participated in the Tabasamu dental clinic and T3 training in May. I brought them back with me and called Joseph to schedule a time for him to pick them up. When he stopped by, Joseph mentioned that he was organizing a dental clinic in Gwo Jean during the third week of August. He had brought a beautiful young woman with him, Falide, who was also a dentist and his girlfriend. I was thrilled about the dental camp in Gwo Jean and asked if I could be of assistance. We decided to meet the following week and finalize all the details.

Joseph had already done most of the planning for the clinic. I made a few suggestions and offered to help on the first day. The only remaining concern was transportation (Surprise! Surprise!). I offered to contact one of the drivers who drove to Gwo Jan on a regular basis. However, Joseph assured me that he was pursuing some options.

In the course of the final e-mails the week of the clinic, I learned that the clinic was going to be held at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. I envisioned providing important dental care amidst pews and altar, truly sacred space where God was laying his healing hand upon those who required it.

The first day of the clinic arrived. I had done all the necessary shopping, including the purchase of an Igloo and cooler (not easy commodities to find in Haiti!) and was ready to be picked up. Joseph’s friend had been unavailable to drive, so he secured a tap tap driver. I wondered if this driver was actually familiar with the final road to Gwo Jean- a decidedly steep and rocky climb. However, I decided to keep my thoughts to myself. As was the case with the reforestation initiative, we found ourselves about ½ to Gwo Jean when the chauffeur pulled over and began to negotiate for a higher wage. At this point, he argued that he had not been aware of the distance. His attempts failed and, soon, we were back on our way. As we made the arduous ascent to Gwo Jean, there were another 2-3 occasions when the chauffeur stopped and groused about the condition of the road, the challenge to his brakes etc. Ultimately, however, he continued to drive us to our final destination. He backed the tap tap up to a little incline to the left hand side of the road. A small group of volunteers appeared and, as we unloaded the supplies, willingly took items and started to walk up the hill. I was a little surprised that there was no road access to the church. However, I folded in and went along with everyone else, taking pictures along the way.

As we arrived at the crest of the hill, I saw before me not a bricks and mortar structure but, rather, a mission church created from woven palms and supported with small tree trunks. I had to laugh- I had lived in Haiti for 9 months and it never occurred to me to ask about the physical construction of the church. Silly me, I should have known better!

In approaching the church, I could see that the right front corner had been designated as the operatory. Volunteers had already created a sterile space with sheets. They had also placed a sheet over that section of roof to reduce the intensity of the sun’s heat.

Before Joseph and Falide set up the operatory, we added a second sheet to the ceiling. Though it was only 9:30 a.m., the sun was already beating down on the church. Joseph also switched out one of the sheets on the back wall for a sterile covering typically placed over a patient during surgery. Joseph and Falide unpacked and organized all the instruments and set up the collapsible dental chairs. Simultaneously, the registration volunteers reviewed the list of patients and created additional numbers for “walk-ins”. Within about 30 minutes, we were ready to see the first two patients.

Before receiving those patients, Falide stepped outside of the operatory and made some introductory remarks. I beckoned Joseph who introduced himself and shared a few details about the schedule for the day. I was taking pictures during their presentation. When they had finished speaking, the three of us started to re-enter the operatory. An older gentleman shouted out something in Creole. Joseph apologized and told me that the man wanted to know who I was. They introduced me and then it was time to begin.

My responsibilities included sterilizing instruments, providing patients with bibs (paper towels) & cups of water for patients and disposing of cups filled with spit. At the end of each cleaning and/or evaluation, I presented the patient with a toothbrush and two instruction sheets, translated into Creole, on how to brush teeth and general dental hygiene. Of course, I also documented the day with lots of pictures.

Around noon, a 3rd dentist, Francois, made the scene. He had spent the morning in his clinic at the hospital in Pernier. He would now spend the afternoon volunteering with us.

Despite the cramped quarters, everyone honored their own space and the operatory remained remarkably sterile. I kept thinking of “MASH”, one of my favorite movies and TV series. This experience gave me a glimpse into what it must have been like to offer medical care in what some might define as a “hostile environment”. Though the setting was rustic, the atmosphere was anything but hostile. There was a true sense of partnership and teamwork. Laughter and lively conversation filled the operatory. There was also important care given to each patient, including counsel on ways to improve their oral hygiene and more complicated dental issues that could not be addressed during this particular clinic.

Just before the last two patients, around 3:30 p.m., we took a break for lunch. The timing was perfect, as I was starving. We all ate quickly and then Joseph and Falide treated the final patients. We packed everything up and left most of the supplies in Gwo Jean for the next day. The tap tap driver arrived, loaded the few things we were taking to Port au Prince and we headed home.

It had been a good day. We treated about 20 patients. We might have treated more if we had not charged them. However, we felt it was important to set a small fee for the dental care that they received. This also helped to offset the cost of the program. Joseph and Falide treated about the same number of patients the next day. Since then, word of the quality care that the patients received has spread and there is a cry for a second clinic in Gwo Jean. Joseph, Falide and I hope this can happen in the next couple of months.

Joseph, Falide and Francois represent the wonderful spirit of Haitian people and the incredible ingenuity and determination of their generation of young professionals. I think it is very important to encourage their commitment and vision, for they are truly the future of Haiti. Joseph, in particular, has a contagious energy and important understanding of the need to lend a hand to serve the underserved while pursuing one's professional dreams. It is a joy and blessing to work with Joseph and all the special young adults that he brings to his initiatives.