The news about this trip first came to me when my mother told me she was going to Haiti with a missionary group, Back to Eden. The idea of my mother going on her first mission trip in one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world was not comforting to say the least, so I decided to join her on our first mother-daughter mission trip experience together.
Words alone cannot describe the overwhelming hardship the country's people face day to day ever since the devastating earthquake. Even though several months have passed, the harsh reality that has left thousands homeless and barely hanging on is unimaginable. Our thirty minute ride from the Port-Au-Prince airport to the house where we were staying at in Diquini was merely a glimpse of the destruction that was caused by this horrific earthquake. Along the roads, there was concrete rubble everywhere and piles of trash 4 to 5 feet high. I was in shock at the sight of hundreds of tents pitched along a narrow median strip of a busy highway. Often, the highways are so congested with traffic that the vehicles will crash into the tents along the median causing injuries and fatalities. It's extremely sad to think that these people live amongst the most dangerous places just to find shelter, a place to call home.
Although our time was limited to just one week, we managed to set-up a clinic at a local SDA church to provide medical and optical services. Every morning, we arrived at clinic around 9am to be welcomed by hundreds of people patiently waiting to be treated. As part of the medical team, I helped triage patients taking vitals and history with the assistance of our translators. With only one physician (Dr. Lee) on board, patients waited long hours before being seen. Even with the most challenging task at hand to see every patient without a break in between, Dr. Lee showed nothing but kindness and compassion as he thanked every person for waiting so patiently and prayed with them. Majority of the patients we treated suffered from pain (head, stomach, back) and infection (most commonly UTI's) attributed to the earthquake in January. Most of the children were severely malnourished and anemic because they simply didn't have food to eat. In Leogane (the epicenter of the earthquake), we treated a two-year old boy with a parasitic infection. It was so heartbreaking to see him in tears and pain caused by the parasite that was literally living under the skin of his left foot. After treating as many patients as we could in clinic, around fifty to sixty children showed up every afternoon for Vacation Bible School. By the end of the week, they had mastered all the songs and hand motions we taught them. Singing at the tops of their lungs, they would uplift their voices filling the entire church with their favorite song "Hallelujah, praise ye the Lord." Seeing the children so happy with their faces lit up with smiles ear to ear was priceless.
Looking back, I am so pleased with my decision to go to Haiti. Even if it was just for one week, just to be able to make a small contribution and reach out to these people was worth the experience. You can't help but come back with a greater appreciation for everything after witnessing the hardships people face there everyday. Although it will definitely be a long road to recovery, we can only hope for a new Haiti and continue to keep them in our prayers.
