“Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…” 1 Peter 3:13-15
Hi! This week focused on the struggles of the handicapped. Late every afternoon I always give Macdonald Jean a ride near to where he lives. He lives in the Cite Jeremie area in our neighborhood. He has some form of neuro-muscular disease and over time it gets progressively worse. He likes to come here to be around the other people and also to advance his education. He is not a child but a young man of around 23 years of age. He is smart and has learned to repair computers and cell phones. He is determined to function in life despite his physical disabilities. Because of his weakness sometimes he falls. He doesn’t complain though and just tries to get back up again. One day he was laying awkwardly on the table and when I walked past him I helped him to sit up in a better position again. I asked him how come he never called out for help and he responded by saying that he knew somebody would walk by him eventually to help. He has a lot of courage in facing his disability. People who are physically handicapped here in Haiti face a lot of obstacles in trying to move around, especially on some of the roads we have here in Haiti! Pray for Macdonald as he courageously faces his neuro-muscular disease.
When we bring Macdonald home the other children always want to come along for a ride in the truck. Late Wednesday afternoon Manu and Benson came along. We dropped off Mackenson and then turned the corner to head back up the street. We saw a crowd of people ahead and Manu said that there was a lady lying on the ground. We stopped the truck and got out to find out what was going on. The crowd was standing around watching a woman lying in the middle part of the road. We went up to her to see if she was dead or alive and she was alive. I asked the crowd if they knew who she was and what happened. Nobody recognized her (or would tell me) and some people responded that she was a “zombie”. Others said that she had collapsed from hunger. One side of her mouth was drooping down and I thought that she might have suffered a stroke. In Haiti the emergency number to dial is 114 and we kept getting a busy signal. We then decided to go to the police station on Delmas 33 to make a report and request their assistance in transporting the woman to the hospital. I showed the policeman the picture on my camera of the woman and he spoke to some other policemen and than a police vehicle drove out of the station. The guy then told me that he sent a vehicle to help out. We went back to the area where she was and the police hadn’t arrived yet. I told the crowd that the police would come and they didn’t think that they would show up. Time went on and the police never came. The people in the crowd told me that I should have told the police that there was some cocaine on the road! It started to rain and we didn’t want to leave her on the road and I asked the crowd to help me lift her into the truck. Nobody budged to help. The only volunteers were the older children here at Coram Deo. Reginald and Harold helped to lift her into the truck. We started to drive downtown and the rain turned into a downpour. The water runs quickly down the streets and we passed a person empty a large sack of garbage on the road for the rains to wash away. This is a common thing for people to do and when the rain stops all the garbage piles up in the low areas. We arrived at General Hospital and brought the lady into the emergency room. We made a report with the doctors and then left her. The lady can’t speak so her name is marked as “Inconnu” (unknown). The doctors asked who was with her and we told them that we found her in the street and couldn’t leave her lying in the rain. I was hoping that her family would search for her and find her in the emergency department at the state hospital. In Haiti if there is nobody with a patient they basically get no treatment and I told the doctors that I would come back the next day and try to find an alternative location to put the woman. We went back to the hospital the next day and brought some food and something to drink for the woman. We didn’t find her in the emergency department. She had been moved to the floor of the waiting room. She didn’t have a stroke but she was mentally handicapped. I don’t know how she ended up in the middle of that street. She either had been wandering around for some time and was weak or else somebody dumped her there. We visited the Brothers of Charity in Cite Pele to see if they could help but they weren’t able to. I did have a good discussion though with one of the Brothers. He is from India and used to work for several years in Mexico with the handicapped. The Brothers of Charity just recently had to put out a young mentally handicapped adult after having problems with him who had been with them since a child. He said that they didn’t want to have to handle another situation like that again. He mentioned the need in Haiti for a place for handicapped adults. He told us to check with the Missionaries of Charity at the Home for the Dying to see if they would take her in but didn’t give much hope. We went there and they were away on retreat. On Monday we hope to speak with the sisters. If they don’t take her in there are no other options available but to leave this woman at the state hospital. When we brought this woman food there was an older man there and he came up to us. He told me that he offered to give her some money to buy food but she didn’t understand. He then gave us the money to help to buy some food for her. At least being there on the floor people will notice her and hopefully give her food and something to drink. Pray for this unknown woman who still is on the floor in the waiting room at the hospital. Christian Horizons has group homes for adults in Canada. I pray that one day they will be able to do the same thing here in Haiti. It can be frustrating trying to help the handicapped in Haiti because there are very few options available. Pray that the society will work together here in Haiti to help.
This week we visited Vanessa Jules and her mother. They have been homeless since the father ordered her mother to get rid of Vanessa. Vanessa is a young hydrocephalus child that was recently operated on. Her mother had her baby in a building, which used to be an orphanage/school. She delivered the baby herself with the help of a couple of other squatters. She loves her children and is doing the best she can to look after them. Pray for this family as they are in a difficult situation.
We have had several requests this week for schooling assistance for some children. Kervens Peltro is a 9-year-old mentally handicapped boy. Jodline Jean is 13 years old and has never completed a year of schooling. Pray we can help them in September in our school program here at Coram Deo.
That’s all the news for today. Have a good weekend!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo
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