“ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18
Hi! This week was a busy week doing paperwork. I am glad that I don’t have to do it all the time but it is important to keep the paperwork up-to-date too!
We got a pleasant surprise this week when Emerson Simplice returned from the United States after completing his cleft lip and palette surgeries. His parents picked him up on Friday and I dropped him off at the bus station to Petit Goave. They were happy to see their son again for the first time in almost 6 months. When he gets to be 10 years old he will be able to get surgery to put in an artificial eye. In the meantime I told the parents to try to find an eye patch to protect his eye against infection from the dust. His mother is proud of her son and the changes in his appearance. When Emerson was born the doctors at the hospital gave her no hope. They had told her that he would die and wouldn’t have a future. She told me that she would visit this hospital and show them her son now. She has always had a strong prayer life and believes God opened doors for Emerson. In Haiti the churches have night prayer services where the congregation stays overnight at the church. The family planned to take Emerson to their Friday prayer service to give the Lord thanks for healing.
Lukner, a worker here at Coram Deo that usually rides along with me in the pick-up just started his anti-retro viral treatment for HIV on Friday. There is a large number of HIV in Haiti although the percentile of the population infected with the virus has reduced. It is difficult to get on these aids treatment programs as demand exceeds supply. Pray for him as the medecine is powerful and sometimes causes nausea and other problems. This treatment will help him to stay stronger and healthier in his work here.
I went for 3 visa interviews on Wednesday and hopefully we will get the visa early next week. We have to bring some more paperwork in to the US Consulate before the visas will be approved. One of the children, Dieunette Lormintus (baby with encephalocele behind head) is now living here at Coram Deo until she departs for the USA. The mother had a problem with another parent at the Missionaries of Charity and they got into a fight. As a result the sisters put her and the baby out on the street. I told her she could stay here as long as she didn’t get into any fights with the people here! She seems quite embarrassed over what happened. The argument was based on jealousy. A mother with a clubbed foot baby was angry that Dieunette is going to be helped in the United States and picked a fight with Dieunette’s mother. They had a scuffle and were both evicted from the sisters’ compound.
We are now awaiting a visa interview appointment for Dieuna Philippe, a hydrocephalus baby. Her head is growing rapidly and she has started to develop a couple of pressure sores on each side of her head. Pray that these sores don’t prevent her from getting surgery. I took pictures of her head and am going to send them to Angel Missions to pass on to the doctor.
The mayor’s office on Delmas 31 was the scene of another protest again on Friday morning. It was peaceful but there were more police around this time.
The inflation rate for February has climbed to 11.9%. One figure that is important is the price of rice. In the one-year period from 2007 to 2008, the price of rice has increased 24%. Since rice is a major part of the Haitian diet, these price increases are really affecting the poor.
The head of the UN Mission here in Haiti, Hedi Anabi reiterated that the mandate of the UN here has 4 principal parts: reinforcement of the police, judicial system reform, penitentiary system reform and securing the frontier. The UN has increased patrols and fixed inspection patrols because of the recent increase in kidnapping. In the beginning of April the head of MINUSTAH will present to the UN Security Council an interim report on the situation in Haiti.
Janes Information Group has published their Country Risk Report on the world’s most unstable countries. Unfortunately, Haiti is still considered one of the most unstable countries in the world. Haiti is number 6. The countries ranked worse than Haiti are Gaza and the West Bank in first position followed by Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Ivory Coast. Pray for continuous improvement in security for Haiti and these other unstable countries as well.
A Canadian government delegation visited Haiti on Thursday. They visited Cite Soleil and also the Haiti/Dominican border town of Malpasse. Canada will provide $305,000 to repair the Malpasse road leading to/from the Dominican Republic (this is the road that currently has a portion covered in water because of the rising lake levels). Eggs are still coming into the country despite the import ban that is in place on Dominican poultry products. Officials don’t have the means to control the ban and the Haitian people are very determined! We are still able to purchase smuggled eggs from the vendor in our neighborhood and they are tasty!
The Canadian government has also helped to finance free gynecological care for women at several state hospitals here in Port-au-Prince and other areas of the country. This health program was officially launched at the end of January but Minister of Health in Haiti is still putting the organization plan in place before these services are provided. Currently at General Hospital it costs $60H (8 US$) for a regular delivery and $200H ( 27 US$) for a caesarian plus costs of materials. Hopital General, Hopital Chancerelles, Hopital Sainte Catherine, Hopital Universitaire La Paix and Hopital de Carrefour are the state hospitals here in Port-au-Prince where pregnant women will be able to get this free care. This program’s focus is to reduce the increasing maternal mortality rates of women in Haiti. Hopefully by next year the mortality rates will start to decrease. Time will tell. Pray that the Haitian government can put this program in place and that gynecological care will be now more available for pregnant women.
That is all the news for today. Have a good weekend!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo
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