Wednesday night... One of the many wonderful projects of HFH, has been getting solar power to Terre Blanche. Four new solar panels were scheduled to arrive when we did, and after multiple trips into Port au Prince (4ish hours, each way), and much debate over the "fee" to get them out of import jail, they were finally brought home to roost and installed on the clinic roof late yesterday afternoon. The primary power during the day has come from the existing solar panels and a gas run generator, and with a team of 14 people, that energy gets used much quicker. So, the addition of more solar power is a wonderful thing! Last night the energy managed to keep the ceiling fans going until 3am, and at 3:05 most of us woke up from the stifling heat. I managed to stay in bed until 5am, worked on some teaching materials at the kitchen table with the use of my flashlight, then headed to the roof for star gazing at around 5:30am. I had a quick breakfast with the team and decided to go down to the clinic early to continue working until the clinic opened at 8am. We decided to try something new today, so I spent the morning scanning OB patients with Mme. Bluette and the afternoon seeing clinic
and OB patients with Dr. Avril. It was a fantastic day of teaching and learning, and my mind is spinning with potential Case Study presentation material. But enough about me! Tonight I will tell you about the trade school for women, here in town. The trade school is a three year program, open to women of any and all ages, the teaches sewing, cooking, house cleaning, general healthcare and parenting, as well as social skills. When a student graduates, and passes a final exam proctored by a National representative, she gets a sewing machine which is paid for my HFH funds. Some of the women who have graduated from the trade school, have also participated in the micro loan program to start their own business. I worked through most of my lunch, so when I came upstairs for a quick snack, Sarah (Joan's daughter), was interviewing a couple of current students and I was lucky enough to hear the stories of these women. One of the women was in her 50's and had started going to a trade program in her teens, but had dropped out when she got married and started having children. She decided to return to school 2 years ago, because she remembered how much she loved learning and was finished raising her children. She kept talking about how much she loved embroidery the best. It makes me crazy that I can't post pictures to go with these stories, but I promise to post them when I'm back in the states. :) Most of my team are slipping off to bed and I am at the kitchen table, surrounded by notes, text books, and a giant French-English Medical Dictionary. One of my roomies, Michelle (a neuro RN), just came out to say goodnight and looked at my set-up, laughed, and said "Are you doing more homework?!? You know...you PAID to come here and your working your butt off!" We both laughed, and I just said "I don't know what to tell you, I can't explain it!" :) Another fantastic day in Haiti. Bon Nuit! Oxox
and OB patients with Dr. Avril. It was a fantastic day of teaching and learning, and my mind is spinning with potential Case Study presentation material. But enough about me! Tonight I will tell you about the trade school for women, here in town. The trade school is a three year program, open to women of any and all ages, the teaches sewing, cooking, house cleaning, general healthcare and parenting, as well as social skills. When a student graduates, and passes a final exam proctored by a National representative, she gets a sewing machine which is paid for my HFH funds. Some of the women who have graduated from the trade school, have also participated in the micro loan program to start their own business. I worked through most of my lunch, so when I came upstairs for a quick snack, Sarah (Joan's daughter), was interviewing a couple of current students and I was lucky enough to hear the stories of these women. One of the women was in her 50's and had started going to a trade program in her teens, but had dropped out when she got married and started having children. She decided to return to school 2 years ago, because she remembered how much she loved learning and was finished raising her children. She kept talking about how much she loved embroidery the best. It makes me crazy that I can't post pictures to go with these stories, but I promise to post them when I'm back in the states. :) Most of my team are slipping off to bed and I am at the kitchen table, surrounded by notes, text books, and a giant French-English Medical Dictionary. One of my roomies, Michelle (a neuro RN), just came out to say goodnight and looked at my set-up, laughed, and said "Are you doing more homework?!? You know...you PAID to come here and your working your butt off!" We both laughed, and I just said "I don't know what to tell you, I can't explain it!" :) Another fantastic day in Haiti. Bon Nuit! Oxox
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