Haiti Thanksgiving Update

I have the day off, and the stinkers are at a movie with the mom so I figured I would do some blogging.

First of all, our Bake sale was a huge success. $727 was raised Which will go directly towards the purchase of medications for the Haitians. This money significantly closes the funding gap that we had up to that point. Special thanks to nurses Jill, Kathy, Diane, Sheila, as well as Amanda for setting everything up and for doing much of the baking. Also thank you to Janet for baking as well. For those of you who made purchases, I hope that the goodies you ate are as sweet as the feeling we will have when we provide the medications in Haiti.

With the gang having purchased the airline tickets and some of the other travel logistics getting nailed down, Our mission is definitely taking on a " real " Feel to it. Over the next several weeks we will be holding meetings, Making our medication and supply purchases, And registering our trip with the United States State Department. After that there's nobody to beat but the kicker until we take off for Haiti. Of course, as we head into the giving season, there is always room for more donations....;-)

Eric

Baking for Haiti

Bake Sale! All proceeds to benefit the medical mission to Haiti

When: Monday, November 12th, 7am until the goodies are sold out

Where: RMH Main Level by Cafeteria

Why: To buy homemade treats while improving the lives of Haitian children.

I will be there with pictures and stories of previous Haiti trips.

Come one, come all....

Fundraising Update

Hello readers,

For those of you who have committed to making a contribution To my Haiti medical mission, I thank you for your charity. I cannot express in words how grateful we involved all feel. Every dollar committed to this ongoing project goes straight to the orphanage and the clinic.

I wish I could write that fundraising has been going well but that would be a gross overstatement. Frankly things have started off somewhat slow. I was hoping to be halfway towards our $5000 goal, But alas we are not 1/4 there yet. Perhaps people are waiting to commit until the trip is a little bit closer, But what people need to understand is that we make our Pharmaceutical and supply purchases in the next month or so. As a reminder I would like to tell folks that we do not commit any donations to our personal travel expenses- We travelers pay our own way So 100% of the contributions can go directly to the orphans And local towns people. On occasion there have been a few dollars left over to help subsidize those In a less desirable financial situation.

I would strongly encourage those who are willing to make a commitment to this worthwhile project to do so over this month of October so that our group knows that we will have enough Resources to Make our trip a success.

I'm not really very good at soliciting funds with hat in hand, so thank you for putting up with my pleas.

Thank you and God bless! Eric

A Nice Email from Pastor Geordany

Good morning Dr. Eric,

We pray that your entire family doing good. Apreciate that you working hard to come to help us in the Island of Haiti. Surely God put you on our way to relief our suffering. Let Him continue to use you to the end. He will pay for all you have done.
Your benefits are in His Bank. He is a faithful God forever more.

The people and children praying for your comeback. We love you.
Our love to your nice family. May God richly bless you.
Your dear friend,
Pastor Geordany

Gearing Up for Winter Mission

Our Haiti group is coalescing and making preparations for our January trip. A few of the players have changed but the goal remains the same- improving, beautifying, and making healthier the residents of Pignon/LeGene and the 42 children at the Mt. Carmel orphanage. The logistics are complicated but "yours truly" has two rounds behind him and has a decent handle on what needs to be done. Medication purchases, travel plans and other supplies must be secured; Transporting 15 of us with our packs in and out of the central highlands of Haiti needs coordination.

This year two of my colleagues from the emergency department will be accompanying me- Christine, a seasoned nurse, and Dena, one of our physician assistants. As first-timers they are both very excited about the trip, and I can't blame them. They also will be blessed as I have been.

We also have our perennial spiritual leaders- Pastor Henry and his wife Janet, as well as other congregants with varied skills. While some of us work in the clinic, others will be putting up solar panels, working on trucks, and improving the orphanage grounds.

If you can see it in your heart to make a contribution to our trip please contact us or donate by clicking PayPal button on the upper right corner of this blog. I thought I had a way to make the contribution tax-deductible, but alas that option did not work out.

Thank you in advance.

Here is the Hard Copy w/Pic

Local Newspaper Article

Our happy little mission made the local paper this week. Thanks again to the Daily News-Record:


Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA)
February 10, 2012

Section: News-Local

A Hand For Haiti
DOUG MANNERS


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HARRISONBURG - Eric Kramer could see and feel Haiti's rebuilding efforts on the four-hour ride from the capital city of Port-au-Prince to the rural village of LeGene.

Bumpy roads that were unpaved and unpainted two years ago are now hard-surfaced. Power lines are starting to go back up in places. And the orphanage in the central Haitian community features a new bunkhouse.


Yet people still live in huts with no plumbing and there's no commercial electricity. Many residents remain out of work.

Beautiful people in a bad situation - that's how Kramer described life in the impoverished Caribbean island nation still healing from a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake two years ago.

"The local townspeople are amongst the happiest people for their condition that I have ever met," said Kramer, an emergency department physician at Rockingham Memorial Hospital. "They don't have much materially. ... I call them sanguine, but content in their relationship with the church."

Kramer, 45, traveled to Haiti in late January with eight other area residents for a one-week medical mission at the Mount Carmel Orphanage just north of the small city of Pignon.

The Rockingham County resident first visited the orphanage in February 2010, one month after the devastating earthquake. He was forced to cancel his trip last year after the U.S. Department of State deemed traveling in Haiti too dangerous amid political unrest.

`Pray For The People Of Haiti'

This year, Kramer provided medical care to about 500 Haitian villagers at a temporary clinic with assistance from Clint Roberts, an RMH patient care technician.

Kramer treated mostly common ailments, including respiratory conditions and back pain. Each patient left with a bag full of vitamins, medications and "dewormer" pills to combat parasite problems.

Even a basic medical checkup is far from routine for many villagers.

"Just having a doctor attend to you is a big thing because they're so limited there," said the Rev. Henry Elsea, pastor at Mount Pleasant Church of the Brethren.

Elsea and his wife, Janet, helped spearhead the mission trip, his sixth to Haiti since 2000.

He first met the pastor who runs the Haitian orphanage, Geordany Joseph, about 18 years ago while living in West Virginia.

Joseph feeds, clothes and helps educate about 30 orphans. Most were rescued from the streets because their parents either died or abandoned them, Elsea said.

In addition to providing medical care, the group of nine local residents - all affiliated with area churches - worked to install solar panels for electricity, fixed trucks and prayed with villagers in the community of about 800 people.

For most in the group, helping in Haiti is a lifelong commitment, Kramer said.

"We're always raising funds for them and in communication," he said. "They have rudimentary email capabilities in places. The ones that can type English, I communicate with, including Pastor Joseph."

Elsea, 64, hopes to lead mission trips to Haiti every January or February, an ideal time because the weather is comparatively dry and cool.

"Once you are there, it grabs you. You have a heart for it. You're always thinking, how can I help these people?" Elsea said. "People need to pray for the people of Haiti, especially her children."
Contact Doug Manners at 574-6293 or dmanners@dnronline.com

Copyright (c) 2012, Byrd Newspapers, All Rights Reserved.

Video

I have put together a video slideshow of the Haiti trip which can be viewed on YouTube. Depending on what you use to view it, it may run without the music (song copyright infringement) or may not run at all. I have had the best luck on a laptop and the older generation iPad or smartphone.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RbJT3b0qD4

E

Closure/Final Thoughts

It is quite possible- in fact likely- that a mission to Haiti provides more for the missionaries than to their Haitian benefactors. Reflecting back on the last couple of weeks, I have memories that will be tattooed on my soul for the rest of my days and beyond.

It never fails that seeing, doing, and caring in that tiny little land with its ruggedly beautiful landscape and its loving and beautiful people has a huge impact on us as Americans. Particularly with one's first journey, as happened with me, one looks inside oneself for ways to improve personally. Right after returning last time in 2010 I cleaned up my life, bettered myself, improved my relationships and my career. I hear others pledge to be better people- to embark on a new line of study, to improve health, to mend fences. Maybe it's the influence of God's aura on the people that rubs off on us, perhaps divine intervention itself, perhaps being unencumbered by the selfish and convenience-driven never ending to-do lists in our daily routines which obscure the true meaning of life....but whatever you believe, Haiti changes you.

I am experiencing a comfortable mellowness that seems to come with the post-trip afterglow. Much like a "runner's high," I am floating thru my days back home with a calm I have not felt since, well, after my last Haiti trip. It is reflected the relationship with my family, my work, and my daily routines. I hope I can hold this feeling as long as possible....

I look forward to my return to the orphanage. I will occasionally solicit for contributions from family and friends (see the PayPal link in the right upper corner of this blog). Emails communication with Haitian friends, new and old, have already started to flow. My vision is sharp, my head clear, and heart joyous I feel at ease with my life, in the grace of the Almighty God, without whom there can be none of this.

I would like to give special thanks to my brothers and sisters in whose mission I shared:

Pastor Henry- your leadership and guidance was the foundation of our success.

Janet- Part inspiring, part comforting, with a love of the Haitian people unrivaled.

Clinton- thanks for all your support and great job providing excellent care!

Kim- I can never thank you enough for the friendship, your shared stories of personal triumph, and general companionship.

Scott- Your spirit was a gift to us all; your words uplifting...and the pictures you took are some of the great take-home treasures

Kellie- Your good-humored nature put us at ease and made us laugh; your knack for running the pharmacy was unrivaled

Diane- Thank you for all your stories, words of wisdom, and for filling up what might have been some quiet moments

Crystal- I will never forget the look in your eyes as you look into the eyes of the Haitian children. Whatever path you choose, may it come from your heart. Best of luck to you.

----

I shall be "going dark," so to speak, on my blogging for a while but will try to upload some more pictures, perhaps even a video slideshow if I can get one working. In the meantime, thank you for reading and please keep Haiti in your prayers.

God Bless,

Eric

Home Sweet Home

I'm starting to feel clean and rested. And clean. And shaved. Going over a week without a shower is something somebody should do no more than once a year, if avoidable. I was starting to feel a little bit gamy and scruffy....

We returned last night after an almost 24 hour journey door-to-door; I showered and went right to bed. This morning I was back at it with the family routine, getting up with the children and bringing them to school, but not before I was able to hand out the souvenirs. Baby mama got a hand-embroidered Haitian tablecloth and hand-carved pill/jewelry box. My daughter received two Haitian dresses, and for the boys it was a couple of handcrafted wooden decorative machetes. I also picked up a first grade level Haitian Creole reading and writing workbook, which one of my sons promptly brought to school for show-and-tell this morning.

After I dig out from underneath the pile of bills and finish unpacking, I'll be putting together a little more detailed prose with regards to the trip overall. In the meantime here are a few more photographs. Enjoy!

More-

Enjoy.

While waiting for our connecting flight, more:

A few more random photos in no particular order-

Sitting on the taxiway in Miami....

So I thought I'd upload a few teaser pics:

The Clinic is Open....

143 patients in the back of the orphanage church today....

A lake we passed; some orphans

Janet and her newest PAP friend

Miami to Pignon: The Road thru Hinche

Hello folks,

Wow...what a day.

We woke up at 3:00 am and one flight and six hours in a school bus later, we arrived at our destination- the Mt. Carmel Orpahanage in LeGene, just north of Pignon. I would love to describe every last detail of the journey but as it turns out my international data rates are FAR more expensive than I had imagined. Pastor Joe has graciously allowed me to use his laptop but it is not a fast connection, and I don't want to dominate it.

Port-au-Prince was as smooth as one can hope for in a third-world country. We basically flew in on time, went thru immigrations, customs, got our bags and were met by the good Pastor and his helpers in their US-purchased renovated schoolbus (purchased in Virginia for $2200, with $2500 in shipping costs and over $3000 in customs fees for Haiti administrators, but I digress...)

After a quick stop for water, we made our way...slowly...out of the city proper and into the rugged mountainous countryside. Lots to see...but it was Haiti as I remember it from 2010- full of beautiful people in a bad situation. (I invite any of the OWS spoiled crybabies to stop texting and put down their Red Bulls for just a moment and come see what REAL poverty looks like).

Anyway, the last miles of the trip were on unpaved, poorly maintained roads but we arrived tired but in one piece....having avoided the bands of UN convoys so famous for confiscating anything of value and either keeping it or redistributing it in "the name of the UN." We turned into the orphanage and were immediately greeted with the smiles of children and adults alike, and there were hugs and kisses all around.

After a wonderful dinner prepared by Nerlande our house mother, we set up for clinic for tomorrow in the church on the compound. The tables were set up and medications and supplies laid out. I even got to see my first few patients as a favor to the Pastor.

I would love to type more but I am exhausted and have a long day tomorrow. I will try to upload a few pictures, if it doesnt get too $$$$...

Eric

Port au Prince Security

Roll call: Shenandoah Valley to Miami

Our Haiti adventure began at o-dark:30 this morning when the nine of us gathered at the Pastor Henry's church. We loaded up the van and were on our way to the airport , a relatively uneventful drive. I sat in the back row and had an opportunity to dialogue with Janet, the pastor's wife. Now here's a woman who takes things in stride....Conversation centered around what one would expect with a pastor's wife-the assault rifle parts she purchased for her daughter for Christmas, the merits of concealed carry versus open carry, and how many rounds of .22 LR would be appropriate for home storage.

The trip through the airport was remarkably smooth, except for my turn at security. Screeners had to inspect every last piece of my medical equipment; a supervisor was called over when they discovered the MRE rations. My water packets were confiscated but they allowed me to keep my beans and rice. Apparently peanut butter does not count as a liquid so that got to stay too. Beyond the delay at the screening checkpoint, there is not much airport stuff really to mention (other than my quiet amusement at seeing a women's softball team camped at the Aer Lingus counter).

After our arrival to Miami international Airport, we picked up our ample checked baggage (but not before I pointed out to my Shenandoah Valley colleagues that the Hasidic Jew we crossed paths with was NOT, in fact, an Old Order Mennonite), and high-tailed it to the local Holiday Inn Express.

Right now it's a waiting game at the hotel until we depart for Port-au-Prince very early tomorrow morning, when we will once again hit the airport at o-dark 30 for some more TSA fun. It will give me a chance to eat, rest, and take one last inventory of meds & supplies.

Little Bird (Haitian Childrens Song)

Ti Zwazo kote ou prale
Mwenn prale kay fiyét lalo
Fiyét lalo kon manje ti moun
Si ou ale lap mange ou tou
Brik kolon brik Brik kolon brik
Wosiyol mange korosol
woulo woulo Mwen soti lavil o kay
Tout bet tonbe nan dlo
Madmwazel leve pou danse
Mesye mwen trò fatige


Little bird where are you going?
I am going to Lalo's house
Lalo's eat little kids
If you go she'll eat you too
Brik kolon brik Brik kolon brik
Nightingale eats breadfruit
Rolling rolling I come from the village
All birds fall in water
Lady, please dance with me
Sir, I am too tired.

My Packing Helpers....

....holding a few portraits of last time

Prologue: Haiti Mission 1012

Dear Friends,

Departure time for Haiti grows near and excitement is building.

The mission group has really kicked preparations into high gear these last several weeks. Through the financial contributions (thank you, you know who you are!) as well as some personal resources I have been able to order, organize, secure, and pack up a host of much-needed pharmaceuticals for our little traveling clinic. Antibiotics, dewormers, skin creams, injectables, antihypertensives, female products, multivitamins, analgesics, steroids...etc....Having learned the Hatians' medical needs from my last trip over, I have been able to tailor my inventory to better treat them. In addition, we come prepared with donated surgical instruments, wraps, bandages of all sizes, water purifying equipment...and plenty of hand sanitizer. The volumes of these items have turned out to be a bit more than I had originally anticipated; fortunately, we are a team of eight this year.

There have been some last-minute personnel changes. The nurses originally expressing interest in the trip had to cancel, so jumping in as my primary assistant in their stead will be one of our own emergency department clinical techs. Clint will serve as medical assistant: part nurse, part pharmacist, part clinic supervisor...and part security. A big, self-assured guy with experience in the Red Cross and FEMA, he brings an added level of OPSEC to our group. Not that I am overly concerned about our safety during our time in-coutry, given the relative stability (for Haiti) lately, but it's nice to have a guy along like that who can watch your six. Third world traveling is never risk-free, and safe return to CONUS in one piece is never assured, regardelss of preps.

Our other fellow do-gooders will be a group from a local church- Pastor Henry and his wife Janet, and parishoners Crystal, Kim, Scott and Diane. All are seasoned Haiti volunteers, having been to "Pastor Joe's" orphanage before. Each brings his/her own area of expertise, which will be used to improve the lot of the orphanage and local townspeople- electricity enhanced, vehicles upgraded, health improved...and spirits lifted.

Once I get past my last regular shift in the emergency room this weekend, I will gather up the last of needed supplies, make a Wally World run, reorganize my survival pack, and load-to-go. After that it will be some much-needed quality time with my family before the Haiti gang rendezvous at first light Monday for the bus ride to the airport.

My intention over the next 10 days or so is to "blog on the fly," uploading journal entries and pictures as we travel. Pastor Joe has graciously agreed to let me use his laptop once we arrive, so I am hoping to post updates nightly, or as interesting occurrances present themselves. Of course, if I happen to be deeply involved in a soccer match or Creole sing-a-long with the children one evening, please bear with me....