Haitian Proverbs

Bondye do ou: fe pa ou, M a fe pa M.
God says do your part and I'll do mine. Haitian Proverbs

As I sit here and contemplate what is needed to sustain our mission work in Haiti, an uncomfortable feeling over takes me. I have been trying to discern what that awkward feeling is. It finally came to me…I’m not sure I know what is needed. I’m not qualified to say. I can tell you what I’ve experienced in Gramothe and what seems apparent to me with my pediatric and maternal focus and my heart for compassion, and that’s the best I can do.

“For me, an area of moral clarity is: you're in front of someone who's suffering and you have the tools at your disposal to alleviate that suffering or even eradicate it, and you act.” Paul Farmer

As I lay in my very comfy bed, after a nice shower and a full application of great smelling lotions, and my windows open with a soft, fresh breeze filtering in, I’m unable to settle down and relax because I have a few itchy bug bites on my ankles and arms. I think of the Haitian children I know, sleeping on concrete beds or on the floor, straw under a worn blanket to soften the concrete, no shower, no screens, who are scratching their scabies and other infestations night after night, to the point of severe infection, distraction and discomfort. I want to buy enough medication and soap to rid them of these infestations and infections. Effective medication is expensive, but it’s strong and it works. And this suffering is relieved, even if it is only for a few months.

Dye mon, gen mon.
Beyond the mountains, more mountains. Haitian Proverbs

So beyond that first mountain, there are other mountains, other kinds of infections, especially intestinal worms, which also need expensive medication to be effective. I feel miserable, to the point of tears, when I’ve had the stomach flu in the past. All I want is the comfort of my bathroom with all of its amenities, yet I still feel sorry for myself if I vomit or have repeated bouts of diarrhea. I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to be bloated, nauseous and weak day after long day from the effects of intestinal parasites. Especially with no running water, plumbing, crackers or7-Up, and to continue working in the heat outside – walking miles for clean, fresh water, then having to carry the heavy water miles back.

Woch nan dio pa konnen doule woch nan soley
The rock in the water does not know the pain of the rock in the sun. Haitian Proverbs

I am acutely aware of the poverty and malnutrition that is occurring in the mountains. It is hard for families to grow food. The soil is rocky, the trees have been braised for fuel. Water is a difficult resource to collect and re-direct. At least vitamins and peanut butter can help. Especially in pregnant and lactating moms, and in children, whose brains are developing, and whose minds are open. Their attention in school is better if they are not suffering from hunger and malnutrition.




Kreyol pale, kreyol komprann
Speak plainly, don't try to deceive. Haitian Proverbs

To think towards a next level, to seek out opportunities for prevention, I would love to have a teaching health room, where we could have simple educational programs while the people are waiting for their clinic appointments. To have team members talking and teaching about breast feeding, nutrition, simple hygiene, worm prevention, scabies eradication, malaria prevention, TB, HIV/AIDS prevention etc. Distribution of fortified salt, solar ovens, mosquito netting, clean water sources…

Bwe dlo nan ve, respekte ve
If you drink water in the glass, respect the glass Haitian Proverbs

I think about the news and various talk shows on TV and the obsession everyone has had in the past with travelers who’ve come to America with a multi drug resistant form of TB. The infected traveler has sat for hours on an airplane, exposing a multitude of people to this serious germ. Americans were upset, as they should be! That was the first time I was actually grateful for the self-centered attitude of Americans (and maybe even the world), getting so outrageously upset by this type of exposure to TB. Too bad the appalling attitude didn’t last. I am assuming people don’t realize that TB is still a worldly hazard, and Haiti is really close to our shores. There is no national testing for TB in Haiti. No one knows who may or may not have TB. I have seen mothers die of TB, leaving their young families behind. We should be helping Haiti screening for TB and then facilitate consistent and reliable treatment. This, I believe, is the world’s responsibility, but we can start in a small village, which is better than just talking about it.

Neg di san fe;
People talk and don't act. Haitian Proverbs

Starting an immunization program, of course, would be the ultimate pediatric prevention program, which would be a huge project. Significant research would need to be done prior to initiating and funding something this big. A generator for reliable refrigeration would need to be purchased (we actually would need the generator for multiple other dreams too). I also believe that immunizations would need to be coordinated with the Ministry of Health – likely TB testing would also need to be coordinated with the Ministry of Health. Other expensive dreams would be building a storage room and a simple laboratory with a microscope and simple but reliable diagnostics. We have also dreamed about a computer communication system to confer the more complicated medical cases with stateside physicians. That would mean Internet access at the clinic. We could also discuss fixing up the living quarters for nursing staff (a room has been built above the existing clinic), and both scholar ship money to train Haitian nurses and a salary to retain a nurse. These are all dreams, but I don’t want to just talk.

Piti, piti, wazo fe nich li. Little by little the bird builds its nest. Haitian Proverbs
Little by little we can act together.