Evergreen Rotary

Update from Haiti

Sorry to have been out of touch, the internet is hard to find in Haiti unless one stays at a 5 star hotel ( Dr Epstein and myself stayed at a convent!).

My month in Haiti, thanks to Mercy and Sharing of Aspen (Susie Krabacher) was mainly targeted at bettering the efforts of organizations helping children with disabilities in Haiti, and to conduct a workshop (in French and Creole) with the sponsorship of the above plus the newly created “Secretariat for the Handicapped”.

More and more children are being abandoned in Haiti, many of them with disabilities (blind, deaf, with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, etc). Those in the care of Mercy and Sharing’s “orphanage” were mostly from the state university pediatrics ward.

They were in indescribable conditions until Mercy and Sharing got permission to clean up the ward, provide food and care, and eventually to transfer as many as possible to their “orphanage”, that is becoming more and more an institution for children with severe disabilities. (see book “Angels of a Lower Flight” by Susie Krabacher for more info).

The workshop was a big success, in part due to the Pro Bono assistance of Dr Harriet Epstein, an international expert dealing with “special needs” children.

Happily, the children we saw in most institutions have enough food; those in St Vincent’s School for the Handicapped (an Episcopal institution) are down to two meals/day. But the need is very great.

Only about 2000-3000 are getting care out of more than 100,000 estimated to need it. Only 2% of children with disabilities in Haiti are in school. A Chinese delegation arrived with wheelchairs but no repair parts while we were there.

Had been unable to take the wheelchair that Mereth found for me to take; was overloade with other stuf–but thanks– will do so next time!

Many called who saw the AP photos of children eating “mud cookies” in Haiti.This is not new; since 1967 we have seen many children eating “mud balls” to stave off hunger during times of duress.

The “mud” is clay; part of herbal medicine in Haiti, used as an antacid (deplorable for many reasons, including the fact that it interferes with iron absorption). But food prices are rising and times are tougher now; it seems to me there is a rising desperation. Despite that, people were dancing in the streets for Mardi-Gras, often under protection of the UN forces tanks that are now ubiquitous in Haiti.

Traditionally their “RahRah” songs reveal political protest; there was a lot of that, so much so that many persons told me they expect “big troubles” after Mardi Gras. I was in Cite Soleil and in St Martin, two terrible slums.

Later I was happy to be informed that Rotary International had somehow gotten food into Haiti, as has Catholic Relief Services, Food for the Poor, PAM, and others. The Haitian Rotary Clubs had been careful to identify institutions in need, including those serving the handicapped.

But cutbacks, according to my informants, are happening, and somehow handicapped children are at the bottom of the list in some cases for some organizations distributing food. To make matters worse, a disease has hit the banana and plaintain trees, and the newspapers said the crop would be affected. I came home with a heavy heart; still trying to process it all! I hope to get in touch with whomever at Rotary International.

The Colorado Haiti Project still seeks to have a water project in Chevalier, near Petit trou des Nippes; I was unable to get there. Forming a Rotary Club there has been problematic. I met repeatedly with the Club in Delmas, near the airport, and they are eager to be sponsors! But in the end, because their Club has only 15 or so members, they cannot do it! So we will have to rely on a larger club such as the Petionville Club, and I am in touch with them.

Gretchen Glode Berggren, M.D., M.Sc.Hyg.
Harvard School of Public Health (retired faculty)
23805 Currant Dr
Golden Co, 80401