New Baby Arrives in Remote Village
Nov. 20 – 2011
Yesterday, the 19th, weather was again perfect. One Haiti Village Health team led by a gynecologist travelled through the breakers across the bay by boat to run a clinic for pregnant women at PlageMichel in the Camp Louis region. 14 women were each given a physical, checked for high blood pressure, screened for anemia and diabetes with blood and urine tests; fetal heart beats was checked and safe birthing kits (clean razor blade, string, pads, erythromycin ointment for new born’s eyes) were distributed along with vitamins. Most of these women will deliver at home, some with the help of a midwife.
A 2nd team led by a pediatrician set up a children’s clinic in the village school. A lot of families showed up and were registered and children were triaged. Each youngster is first weighed and measured and receives an update to a personal chart. Examination stations are manned by pediatricians, nurses and family physicians who patiently, with the help of translators, listen to the mothers, fathers and kids describe theirpresenting problems – cough, headache, fever, shortness of breath, skin rashes, pains, vision problems were the most common. Vaccinations are brought up todate (ouch – the big kids act brave the small ones go ballistic), a month’s supply of vitamins is handed out, and prescriptions written for filling at the pharmacy station. Some kids are referred to specialists who intermittently travel to the region for follow-up.
A nurse presented a nutrition program called Medica Mamaba to staff and volunteers. The product is called ‘Plumpy Nut’, an effective peanut supplement that improves malnutrition within weeks. It is a collaborative effort between local farmers, the manufacturer Nutriset and UNICEF, which distributes it free to organizations qualified to run the program, like HVH. A total of 168 children were treated before the end of the afternoon!
In the morning a young women presented with labour pains and was attended to by a local midwife and the resident HVH clinic director, Dr. Brinvert. It was her first pregnancy and she had a normal delivery giving birth in the clinic office to a charming, healthy baby girl in the early afternoon. Everybody celebrated the event.
As the sun set (early here) the villagers gathered for a special night of music and dancing, with only a bonfire and a crystal clear starry sky to light the incredible scene of local culture and amusement. The musicians were two drummers whacking expertly with different instruments on an old broken iron pot (I think); and three ‘bass fiddle’ players striking on ropes stretched from the end of a long curved wooden pole anchored in the ground, to a rubber pad secured over a hole in the ground by a frame and pegs. Sounds complicated but the tonal range and power produced by this primitive string section was impressive. Above the syncopated wild drumming and the musical interplay ofthree bassists thumping, rose the melodious and haunting voice of a male singer, sometimes harmonizing with a partner, calling to the chorus and thedancers. The invocations and the responses plumbed the rich depths of the Creole language and clearly echoed the African roots and heritage which is so intertwined in Haitian culture. Singers, dancers, drummers and musicians performed with increasing intensity for five hours without a moment’s break. It was impossible not to lose oneself in this sensational night.
Nov 20 – free day; the team is hosted to beach day at Isle Amiga off Bod Me Limbe - including snorkeling and lunch. It’s good practice for NGO’s to offer volunteers a day off once a week or so to rest, absorb experiences, processemotions and compare notes in a relaxing atmosphere. This break refreshes and nourishes for the next challenges and the final push to complete as much medicine as possible.
