“A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?” Proverbs 20:24
Hi! This week was a busy week with the medical program and the visitors didn’t have the opportunity to do much painting. They didn’t mind it though! They helped out with a couple of medical clinics that were held. Dr. Ed and a team held a clinic here at Coram Deo on Monday and we went into Cite Soleil on Tuesday to hold a clinic at the church that Willy and Joel attend in the Soleil 17 area. They saw an average of 200 patients at each clinic. Marlene might have a future ahead of her in pulling teeth!
The neurosurgery team from the University of Miami arrived in Haiti on May 29th and started performing hydrocephalus surgeries the next day at Bernard Mevs Hospital. We provided the morning and evening meals for the families who were there. It was good to see the children doing so well after surgery. 22 surgeries were performed. Bernard Mevs Hospital is also going to be the new site for the University of Miami/Project Medishare Field Hospital. Electrical upgrades and air conditioning were installed last week on the grounds in preparation for the transfer on June 6th. By the end of the week only 2 children were still in the hospital. All the other hydrocephalus children were discharged. We give the Lord thanks for these life saving surgeries. Plans are being made for further neurosurgery teams to be formed and the next team may be arriving within 2 months. Haiti is changing! More opportunities for hydrocephalus surgeries are becoming a reality. A Haitian medical resident is being trained in neurosurgery as the first step in training more Haitian surgeons to perform neurosurgery. Pray for the efforts of Project Medishare and the University of Miami in providing more help for children suffering from hydrocephalus. A better future is in sight!
We checked on Saturday morning at the University of Miami Field Hospital on the status of Annuelle Jean’s prosthetic leg. They told us it was in and if we could bring her in within an hour they would fit her with the prosthesis. We raced back to the Adventist refuge camp on Delmas 31 and found her, borrowed a pair of running shoes from a tent neighbor and headed back to the hospital. They had a list of 60 patients to fit and Annuelle was bumped to the top of the list. Saturday was also a special day at the hospital. The Miami Heat NBA basketball organization was arriving for a visit. Annuelle got to meet members of the organization and was given a Miami Heat flag and showed off to them walking for the first time. When we brought her back to the refuge camp we were able to fulfill the promise that we made to her that she would one day walk to her tent. Today she visited us here at the house and walked on foot from the camp to Coram Deo. Her leg/stump is sore and she will need to get used to her new lower leg but she already sees that she can maneuver around well again. Pray that the soreness goes away quickly and that she gets accustomed to her “new leg”! Now we are looking into an educational/training program for her.
When we were at Bernard Mevs Hospital late Saturday afternoon to bring food to the remaining 2 hydrocephalus children who were there it was busy. The Miami Heat convoy entered the grounds along with people from the University of Miami, Project Medishare and Sean Penn’s organization. Around 50 people came to the grounds to celebrate the transfer of the field hospital to Bernard Mevs Hospital. But inside the pediatrics room one of the babies developed a post-op complication. A young baby with a meningeocele repair (spina bifida) developed a leak and CSF fluid started draining from his back. The fontanel in his head started descending and he started to seizure. At the prior hydrocephalus surgeries when the neurosurgery team left and there were post-op complications doctors couldn’t be found to treat the children and they died, but this time the resources of the field hospital were there and the next day when we visited the hospital the baby was still alive and doing alright. The second post-op complication was a baby by the name of Arturo. He is now on a monitor and in critical condition but again medical care is there for him as well. The patients from the field hospital are now in beds at Bernard Mevs and it was a beehive of activity transferring equipment from one site to the next. Tomorrow the new site opens. Pray for the efforts of Project Medishare here in Haiti and for all the medical people who donate their time to help people here in Haiti. We already have a couple more babies on our hydrocephalus list. Last week 2 different families approached us for help and we will be contacting Project Medishare this week to put their names on the next assessments.
When Jerry and Curt were here from Sudbury we talked with them about finding some on-line education for Macdonald. I talked with Jerry this week and College Boreale is interested in doing an online video course over Skype in French! He will need to be evaluated first by them to see what level he is at. Macdonald’s physical handicap prevents him from doing much but he is smart and eager to upgrade his education.
Recently we received a donation of a telescope and we are making a prayer list for other needs to help the students here at Coram Deo. We are praying for microscopes, French books (we donated our school library to Adoration Christian School a few years ago and now we have to replenish it again), computer lab and also for teachers for the deaf and blind as well as foreign teachers to offer teaching seminars for our teachers. In God’s will and timing this can be done! Please pray for our “prayer list”.
We have been trying to find ways to help people get out of the refuge camps. We are trying Micro-Credit Financing. There are other missions who do this as well. We provide a small loan at first and then it is paid back in installments. If they repay the loan they are then eligible to have a larger loan. In this way the individual learns to budget and most importantly makes the effort themselves to get ahead. We have tried this with 2 people. The first person is the wife of our Sunday security guard. During the earthquake they lost their home and the commerce that she was selling. With the loan she received she bought some more commerce and started selling. She has done well and instead of making 5 payments she repaid the loan in 2 payments and also gave us a gift of a watermelon as a thank you. We will be giving her a larger loan this week. She is a determined person in getting ahead. If she keeps up this attitude the family will soon be on their feet again and it will be their efforts that get them on their feet. We gave a loan to Jonel Colo’s mother (the hydrocephalus child who recently died) and she has yet to make a payment back. We will have to be discerning as to who is eligible for the program. Pray that we can obtain funding to assist more families in this way.
The Canadian Red Cross has announced that they are going to build 15,000 homes in the Jacmel and Leogane areas for families who have lost their homes. These homes will be constructed out of wood and tin and will hold up through the hurricane season better than tents. Pray for their efforts.
Lately there have been several birthdays here at Coram Deo. Paulna’s birthday was on June 1st. Thursday was a national holiday here in Haiti. It is called “Fete Dieu” – God’s Birthday! People in Haiti like holidays!
That’s all the news for today. Have a good week!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo
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