The View from Here

Good news and bad news…

Good news is that the last time I was at the cholera treatment centre (CTC) in Bercy there were only 3 patients, 2 of them going home in the afternoon. And the few people we have been treating are much less sicker than the ones we were seeing in November. Our education has been effective. People are coming for treatment sooner, rather than later. No longer are their families bringing them in by wheelbarrow or carrying them over their shoulders. I thank God that the worst is over and continue to pray that this community has seen the last.

The bad news… it has rained over night the past few nights. And although the numbers remain low in Bercy, they have jumped from 15 to 50 patients in Cite Soleil, the slums of Haiti that plays home to hundreds of thousands living in tents and shacks. With the rain the water levels rise and spill over, carrying cholera along with it.

A few days ago I visited the Cite Soleil CTC. It was my first time to see the hospital they erected in 10 days. I was impressed with the thought that went into the planning and building of this centre. In Bercy we did not have the luxury of planning. Cholera hit hard and fast. Our centre consisted of tents, tarps and trenches.

Bercy CTC – Looks like a scene from M.A.S.H.

Cite Soleil CTC – an actual structured building

 

As I was given the tour of the Cite Soleil CTC, it was pointed out to me that even the placement of the tarp was thought out. You can see out but are still able to catch a breeze. You can also see all that is going on inside the centre as well. I looked out the tarp and for a moment, had I not been standing in the midst of a cholera centre, it would have been easy to believe that I was on a tropical island, having a lovely vacation. The view of the palm trees and mountains in the distance is almost breathtaking…

A lovely view right? But as I wandered over for a better view the rest of the picture tells a completely different story…

Breathtaking indeed. And this is just one of many tent cities. An entire family living in just one of those shelters. And this is not a result of the earthquake. This is a result of poverty. Living in squalor among the garbage, pigs and filth is a way of life here. And what can I do but show love? I think nothing of embracing the dirty children with bugs in their eye lashes and smothering them in kisses. Young mothers who cannot afford diapers for their babies are so embarrassed when I take their babies in my arms… they do not want me to get soiled because of their lack. And to me, I am embarrassed that they think I am above dirtying my clothes.

In November before I came I received an email from Sean Penn’s organization. They were looking for volunteers to help with the cholera outbreak. I thought about it for about a minute before I realized that I would only do that so I could come home and say ‘Hey, I just worked with Sean Penn’. Being able to use my skills here in Haiti has been an amazing experience. But being able to use my skills while ministering God’s love… trump card!

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty. ~ Mother Teresa.

 

One Love, ♥