Time flies so fast. In my previous newsletter I was talking about the dramatic circumstances and consequences of Super Typhoon Hayan, when I was working in the Philippines to help out a missionary on several islands where no medical professionals had arrived. Reconstruction still goes on there, with thousands and thousands of people waiting in refugee camps while tropical diseases started to make even more havoc.
Haiti
I needed to move back to Haiti: another island, another aftermath, as earthquake, cholera epidemic and Hurricane Sandy took place during the last years on this already extreme poor island. The team was waiting for me. Medications had been prepared and delivered to our two clinics in the interior of Haiti. These stocks get depleted every day and can only be replenished outside of the area, as we have chosen to work with the poorest of the poor in the Haitian inland.
Our outreach started again with major problems due to defects of our old 4 x 4 Toyota Land Cruiser. We could fix it and move on to reach Manceau in the North-East and Morency in the far South-West corner of the island. We went first to the mountainous region in Manceaux, Artibonite. There is no electricity, no Internet and no contact with the world outside. I was the first ‘white’ man who ever came there.
Pastor St. Louis
This is the place where Doctors on Mission helped Pastor St. Louis to pay off the debt of his church. This action saved the Pastor from years of prison in terrible circumstances that was only a few days away from happening. The Pastor preferred to use the little money he had to feed the orphans instead of paying off his mortgage.
It’s great that everyone now has clothes and one meal a day, but we couldn’t reach our goal to have shelter for them. Our clinic work was now a lot more organized as the medicine was already there. We had rooms to work in. So, for the first time, I didn’t need to sit outside to see my patients.
The song
In Manceau I experienced a very nice moment when many children were standing around me in front of a dilapidated hut. They started to sing spontaneously two beautiful songs a cappella. In their song, they thanked God for the help that had come to them.
Morency
A very long drive then took us out the mountains to Morency, where we have a similar work. The children of Morency are recognizable by their yellow uniforms. The situation is more or less the same as in Manceau: no shelter and no utilities or facilities that would make their living a little more bearable. Temperatures are very high and quickly go upwards to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
It was wonderful to see all these children again. They now look a lot healthier, have clothes and we try to give them their daily food. Thank God that we now have in this place a small clinic and medicines.
Expectations are high
I observed in both regions that expectations toward Doctors on Mission are high. Even if we had the money, it would be a big challenge to bring the needed materials in these regions since they are very difficult to access.
The need in all of the inland is so high that it’s hard to believe.
Meanwhile, nurse Zephir of our DM team got a successful intervention. She was recently married, became pregnant, but the fetus had died in her belly and she needed an urgent intervention to save her own life. Zephir has been part of the team since 2010.
Pakistan
In the meantime, I was challenged by a lot of problems in Pakistan. However, many severe cases from the minority groups received vital help. We now support the studies of two Pakistani Christian nurses. The costs are extra high because they are Christians and not Muslims.
There is also an ongoing severe famine in Tharparkar (Sindh province), where dozens of children had already died due to a severe drought that prevails there. We have sent our team to go there and were able to be a blessing for many.
