Devastation in Haiti

Hurricane aftermath at Mission of Hope video

Good Samaritan orphanage video

(The links above are Mission of Hope's on the ground footage showing the devastation in the town very near to us called Cabaret. You will also see the home of the 100 orphan children we are housing temporarily here at the mission.) 

It is a strange thing, the rains in Haiti, on one hand I have not seen the fields so green, on the other..people are suffering. We are in Haiti and we can't tell you in words what we have walked into. The recent hurricanes that have gone through the area have devastated many people's lives. If you have received our recent e-mail, you have a little feel for our first few days in Haiti. But now let me tell you about the last few days here.

The last few days, I (Dr. Cheryl) have been going out with a small medical team to shelters in Cabaret. In these shelters (schools that are still standing) there are thousands of displaced people. All who had to flee from their homes in the middle of the night due to the rising waters and mud. Imagine running through the dark, over mud and rocks, leaving all behind, carrying your children with you (perhaps you are pregnant or elderly too). When the rain stopped, you return to find everything you had, washed away from the flood. 

We treated many people over the past few days, many who are severely malnourished and many who have been traumatized by what they have been through. There were so many who touched my heart but let me tell you of 2:

The first is a man who was carried in by others. He is an old man and he could not walk due to severe sciatica. He could not feel his left foot. He has no teeth but he explains that he has had pain for a while but after running from the flood, he can not walk anymore. At home, this man would be headed straight for the x-ray machine but here I let my hands do the talking. After working briefly on his muscles, I adjusted his back and sent him off with his friend half carrying him. He was just one of many stories that day. Yesterday, we were back at the same shelter caring for those that we did not get to see the day before. I was busy at work when an old man came up to me talking furiously in Creole with a smile on his face. I recognized him as the man who couldn't walk the day previous. He was now walking on his own with a cane! An interpreter quickly translated what he was saying, "I can walk today with only a cane!! Look, I don't need anyone to hold me" (a big grin on his face) I proceeded to treat him again this time with far more movement in his bones. After his treatment he proudly stood up tall and said, "I know you are from God and God can heal anything!" As he shuffled away, I could not imagine what this man has gone through in this past week and I know that God has used me to touch him in a small way.

The second was a young mom and her 4 children. There was no dad to be found. Her children ranged in age from 11 to 3 but they appeared to be 8, 6, 3 and 18 months. They were still covered in mud and they were missing a lot of their clothes. The younger two did not even have a full set of clothes if you combined their outfits. There hair was starting to turn orange a common sight of malnutrition. They were beautiful children but it was obvious they were in rough shape even before the flood. Our team treated all 5 of them and after I asked the mom, "Ou gen rad ti moun yo?" (do you have clothes for the children?) She replied, "No, I have nothing, all was washed away in the flood".  As she was leaving, and it was time for me to put down her little boy, she asked in desperation, "do you want to take him?" I responded holding back my tears, "he belongs with you." He is after all, one of the lucky ones...he has a mom.

On Oct 1st, all these people will be displaced once again as all the schools need to open for classes. I don't know what this family or all the others will do then, but for now, we will be dropping her off a bag of clothes tomorrow. God will provide.

Cheryl and Laurens