650 Children/Pregnant Women Treated by 12 Volunteers and Staff
November 22, 2011 at 5:54 am
Refreshed on Monday the 21st, one team walks 2 miles along the beach to Monbin, a town of 800 to 1000, supported by farming and fishing, and are met by Pastor Etienne Joel who has set up the church for the clinic. He dreams of building a clinic for the village some day but funds are scarce from local and North American sources. A similar clinic is set up and 171 patients are seen and treated for similar conditions. The other team stayed back and did clinic at the adjacent school again.
At the end of the afternoon, the New Jersey team leaves for Cap Haitien and home. Their tally for the November mission is over 650 children and pre natal women treated and provided with valuable health education and resources. Importantly, these missions employ a number of Haitians at least part time and students, assistants and nurses receive invaluable medical training and experience on a regular basis.
On the way back we notice a Royal Caribbean cruise ship slipping out of the bay headed from the tourist beach of Labadee to open sea and some other port of call. It's ironic contrast to the remote primitive village we are staying at but part of the reality of Haiti. I learned that Royal Caribbean does employ 700 Haitians in the vast beach resort complex and contribute about $12 million US a year in fees to the government of Haiti. Cruises to this part of Haiti continued right after the earthquake. Some ship carried emergency supplies and equipment as well as their usual contingent of 2000 holidaying North Americans.
