Interview

I interviewed a Tufts Medical Student about the issue in Haiti because she has recently traveled to Haiti and first hand experienced and treated patients affected by the Cholera Epidemic. This is our interview-

Do you think that this Cholera outbreak will end anytime soon, or do you think it is going to keep spreading?
Unfortunately I don't think that Cholera will end anytime soon. I think that we will continue to see a residual amount of Cholera in Haiti for at least the next 10-20 years. There will be times when morbidity and mortality (illness and death) are high due to the natural disease which is associated with fluctuating outbreaks.  There will also be times when the disease is relatively silent, hiding out in the more rural communities that lack basic medical care and the capability of diagnosing the condition as cholera.  Additionally, I think that the Domincan Republic will soon see their first case of Cholera and will similarly be affected by the disease. Hispaniola is a relatively small island with limited isolation between the two countries, both of whom suffer from a similar breakdown of public health infrastructure that allows for the spread of cholera in the first place. 

Why is this disease so hard to stop? Why do you think it spread to Haiti in the first place?
Cholera is transmitted via fecal oral route, meaning ingesting stool particles from a person who is sick with cholera. The disease is relatively easy to treat in resource rich health care settings. The most important treatment is rehydration of the patient who is sick and can be losing up to 15 liters of fluid a day. I attached a photo of a cholera patient surrounded by bottles of waters showing how much hydration is needed to keep the patients alive. You can imagine how tough it is to provide this much fluid in resource poor settings like Haiti.

(this is the picture that is being talked about above)

Cholera is easily controlled in countries that regulate sewage disposal and provide access to clean water. Sick individuals who use rivers and streams to go to the bathroom contaminate the water that is often used by others in the village for drinking, cooking, and washing. This is one way cholera is transmitted from one host to many others. Vibrio cholerae, or the cholera bacteria making people sick, is killed by chlorinating water sources. Therefore the solution to eradicating the spread of this disease- clean water sources- is not a novel one specific to cholera. Establishing public health infrastructure to provide sanitation efforts would significantly decrease the spread of cholera, as well as many other infectious diseases endemic to Haiti. 

I attached two photos.... one with a few cots leaning up against the tree. You can talk about how these are the typical cholera cots with a hole cut out of them where a bucket is placed underneath to collect stool and measure fluid loss. The second photo is one of myself with some Haitian nurses and doctors working in the cholera isolation unit. As I mentioned cholera is fecal oral transmission route, however you see these workers covered head to toe with bacteria as though it were an airborne infectious disease. This highlights the great deal of fear in the Haitian community, even amongst educated healthcare workers, about contracting the disease. 

(This is sally Greenwald who i interviewed)

(This is a picture of the cots leaning against the tree.)

Do you think it would be too chaotic and dangerous to travel there? 
I think that care needs to be taken whenever you travel to a developing country in which you have less government regulations on criminal behavior. I have been to Haiti 7 times over the last three years and have always felt safe and respected by the Haitian people.

Once someone has symptoms of Cholera, how can they be treated?

Basically a rehydration- IV serum if the patient can't keep up with oral rehydration. For very sick patients antibiotics such as Doxycycline can be used, but again the focus is on rehydrating the patient.

photo of child with cholera

Be sure to go to my pictures and look at my new photo that i posted of a young girl who has cholera! Just in case you cant find the photo, i posted it below
respond with comments as to what you think about the photo

This young girl looks to be younger and she also looks like she is scared. It makes me feel sad to see these young kids who are affected with this disease, but it makes me happy that they are receiving treatment. I wish that this girl had a smile on her face and that she did not have to get this disease in the first place!

cholera new reported on november 29

It is reported that the Cholera epidemic has gotten a lot worse and is affecting and harming more and more people as time goes by.

this is an article that was posted today about the situation:

"The number of deaths from the cholera epidemic afflicting Haiti since mid-October has risen to 1,721, health officials said Monday.

In all, 75,888 people have been attended for the fatal disease, of whom 33,485 were hospitalized, though 32,283 of them recovered and were sent home.

Cholera, which was eradicated in the impoverished Caribbean nation until it appeared last month, has killed 760 people in the northern province of Artibonite, the hardest hit by the scourge.

Following that province is Nord, with 290 deaths, Ouest with 285 including 162 in the Haitian capital, Plateau Central with 177, and Nord-Ouest province with 164 fatalities.

Port-au-Prince remains dotted with camps holding some of the hundreds of thousands of people left homeless by a Jan. 12 earthquake blamed for more than 200,000 deaths.

Only one of Haiti's 10 provinces, Nippes, has not had a single cholera death.

The origin of the epidemic remains unknown, although, according to examinations performed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it has been caused by a strain that is found in southern Asia.

Some Haitians accuse Nepalese troops with U.N. Stabilization Mission for Haiti, or Minustah, of being the origin of the epidemic and have related the outbreak of the disease with the dumping of human waste near a tributary of the Artibonite River."

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2010/11/29/number-haiti-dead-cholera-rises/


This is really scary to hear about the number of people who are hurt! 
33,485 people have been hospitalized and some of these people were treated. It is good to hear that people from the United States and other places are going into Haiti, risking their own health, to help people cure this disease.
One of my dads medical students who i went to Haiti with in April, just left for Haiti two days ago to help people with this situation. When she comes back i am going to meet with her for lunch to talk about what she saw, who she helped, and if the living conditions and poverty have gotten better from the last time i went to Haiti. I will write on the blog what i hear from her when she comes back!

fundraising ideas

So i was thinking about fundraisers that i could do with the help of my friends and class mates and although a bake sale would be a good idea, i was thinking maybe to sell these lollipops instead.
http://www.ozarkdelight.com/fundraising.asp
^visit the link above to look at them.

maybe i would at first buy the smaller pack that gave 120 lollipops for $39.00. I could do this and see how successful this went. I could sell each of the lollipops for $1.00 each and hopefully make 120 dollars. I also would need help selling them if anyone is interested.

Let me know if you think this is a good idea or have any other ideas as to how to raise money for the Cholera epidemic that is spreading around Haiti. Also give me other ideas because 120 dollars can help some, but can not help a lot of people.

recent cholera news

Hospitals in Haiti have experienced overcrowding because the Cholera epidemic has continued to spread. Of of November 12 more then 917 people have died from this disease and at least 14,600 people have been hospitalized in Haiti. Aid workers who are helping this situation in Haiti fear that the increase in people with this disease, the more overwhelmed Haiti's health care facilities will be. Hospital manager, Francoise Gyrone told The Associated Press, "In this hospital, because of space constraints, we have to make sure that people can be sent to another place where we can provide better care very fast, so that we can still receive patients." 


To help this situation Haitian President Rene Preval had brought a number of speakers in a sunday meeting to strive for citizens to practice good hygiene and proper cooking methods. But this teaching might not help all citizens because many are still homeless and unable to access clean water or reliable sanitation because of the earthquake. 


When people went around trying to teach Haitians about hygiene many of them say, "Let me have soap, I can't afford it." 
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11/14/aid-workers-fear-cholera-epidemic-overwhelm-haitian-hospitals/

video on cholera

These blog post are going to be about this video so those who read my blog can to go the website below and watch the first video that comes up. This video is about a new caster talking to a doctor who is in Haiti currently. This doctor is talking about the disease.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20101109/cholera-reaches-haiti-capital-101109/

My response to the photos is in video is very sad and sympathetic because most of the children, woman, and men are hooked up to an lying on a bench or on the ground. The part that startled me the most was the woman who was on the ground who looked to be in a lot of pain. I think that she came up twice in this video. Also when this woman got water she only had a little glass which was also sad to see. In general this whole video was sad to watch. After everything that Haiti has gone through with the earthquake and a recent hurricane, it must be so hard for the Haitians who are infected or at risk of getting this disease.

I added this photo because it was on the same website as the video and it really shows how much pain this woman looks to be in. It is disturbing to see it and it makes me want to help. Maybe i could do a fund raiser with other people to raise money to help patients like this woman. The cost of all the medicine and water needed to help these patients must be a lot of money!

Maybe someone has an idea on what to do to raise money? if you have any suggestions comment them

why Americans should care about this issue of cholera in Haiti

I was browsing recent articles on Haiti and all them had titles that were talking about Cholera. One of them caught my eye. It sad to read and hear about it. It was written by Mark Leon Goldberg. Title is "Why Americans should care deeply about Cholera in Haiti." This article says:

Dr. Jon K. Andrus, Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization, gave a press briefing yesterday on the cholera epidemic in Haiti. It is among the scariest things I have read so far about the cholera outbreak. So far, there have been nearly 600 reported deaths and over 8,000 people have been hospitalized. But that is only the figures that have been officially reported. Chances are, the real infection rates are higher.   The epidemic has now firmly spread to Port au Prince, where Andrus said  conditions are “very ripe for rapid spread of cholera.” And Cholera will not go away anytime soon. In fact it will be around for years, and likely spread. Even, to North America. “We have to prepare for a large upsurge in cases,” Andrus said. “We have to be prepared with all the resources that are needed for a rapid response.” The last cholera epidemic in the Western Hemisphere began in Peru in 1991 and spread to some 16 other countries, from Argentina to Canada. In Peru alone, the epidemic produced more than 650,000 cases over six years. Adjusting for population size, a similar pattern would produce upwards of 270,000 cases in Haiti, Andrus said. This is going to get much worse before it gets better.  There are large Haitian diaspora populations in major cities like Miami, New York, Boston and Montreal so it is in all Americans’ interest to keep this contained–not to mention the interest of the millions of Haitians now living under threat of cholera.
http://www.undispatch.com/why-americans-should-care-deeply-about-cholera-in-haiti

After reading this article i realized how serious this disease this is and how so many people are harmed to us. I don't know if it would actually end up spreading to the United States, but it could. I am glad to hear that many people are going to Haiti and helping out with this condition. But i wonder if it would be harmful to those who go to Haiti, if they could end up coming back with the disease?
Give me your feedback on this article! thanks 

Cholera epidemic in Haiti

Reported on november 10, 2010:

"At least 73 cholera cases have been confirmed in Haiti's capital, increasing fears that the disease may run amok among people living in shantytowns and tent camps.

But doctors say nearly all those cases involve people who were infected outside Port-au-Prince. Still, the presence of cholera in the capital is worrisome because the shabby conditions following January's earthquake and the recent Hurricane Tomas (toh-MAHS') are conducive for spreading it.

So far, more than 580 people have died from cholera in Haiti. More than 9,500 others are hospitalized with confirmed cases. A confirmed case of the disease had never been seen in Haiti before last month.

Haiti's health ministry says cholera has become a threat to the entire nation of 10 million people."

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/Scores_Of_Cholera_Cases_Confirmed_In_Port-Au-Prince_107034613.html

From reading this report on Cholera in Haiti and I worried that it  is going to keep spreading and spreading. Recently in Haiti there was Hurricane Tomas and this made the spread of Cholera even worse. This is because this hurricane resulted in people loosing homes and living on the streets. Living on the streets is unsanitary and so therefore Cholera is spread easier. Haiti has also had a lack of clean water. This is a down affect because one of the affects of Cholera is extreme dehydration. Those who are infected may not be able to buy or receive the water needed to cure this infection. 

Another Article updated on November 10, 2010 at 9:24 AM stated that Cholera has now spread to the capital and now another 3 million people are at risk or have this disease in Haiti. This disease just recently spread to the capital port-au-prince. The capital of Haiti has many people who are homeless and Cholera is extremely contagious. 

Cholera facts

What is Cholera? Cholera is a serious disease that is infectious and is caused by Vibrio Cholerae bacteria. It affects the intestinal system of the body. Someone who is infected with this disease experiences severe vomiting, diarrhea, and severe dehydration.

Result of Cholera: Without medical treatment, people infected with Cholera can result in death within four to twelve hours after the symptoms begin.

How is it spread? Cholera is contagious and is spread through human contact. Some people are infected by Cholera by eating undercooked meat and shellfish.

Treatment: Cholera can be treated with fluids and antibiotics. In some poorer areas, where antibiotics are not available for everyone, a mixture of water and glucose for dehydration is helpful. Cholera can sometimes resolve itself after a period of time.

Dangers of Cholera? The dangers of Cholera are that it spreads easily among a group of people. This is because people experience human contact on a day to day basis. Another danger is that Cholera causes extreme dehydration and in areas where water is not a surplus liquid, many people can not get enough and die.

Where is this disease common? Cholera is common in unsanitary living conditions because of the poverty and lack of resources, like water. Cholera is not common in developed countries because of the medical treatment that is available, regulated health standards, clean/sanitary water, and the fact that developed countries have effective sewage systems.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cholera.htm

The reason as to why  i am talking about Cholera is because this disease has come to Haiti and is spreading among a lot of the population there.

topic suggestions?

So as people from my english class know, we have to write an insight paper and i don't exactly know what i would like to write about.. Does anyone maybe have any suggestions of what would be interesting to hear about? I want to have a topic that i can create an argument for and also that i can research a little bit.

I was thinking maybe to talk about why sports brought together the people from Haiti. Like for example, when i went, some workers and boys were kicking the soccer ball back and forth in a circle laughing and smiling. They were showing off their amazing soccer skills. I joined in with them and it was really fun. I could also talk about how the soccer field that they had there had to be used for helocopters to land in, and when doctors stopped using the field to fly in patients, the people were happy and did not need to play soccer on the rocks and uneven surfaces anymore.

Or i could maybe try to get in contact with one specific person from Haiti and talk with them to see if any of the living have improved, but they may be a lot harder to research

let me know if you guys like any of my topics or have any suggestions. Thanks!

cupids shuffle

I added this video to show that the children of Haiti know and do some of the same things that I personally do. In this video the kids are doing a dance to cupids shuffle, a dance. A link to this dance is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h24_zoqu4_Q&ob=av2e

The kids there might have learned this dance from people who came to help out in Haiti, or they may have known this dance. But i thought that it was cool that they could perform this dance because i personally love this dance. I used to always do it at bar/bat mitzvahs or dance parties. I also thought it was cool how one of the girls, Fiana, was doing the dance without a leg. This was really cool to see because she could hold all her support on her one leg and still do this dance. Fiana and her friends were also really happy performing this dance.

One of the doctors in Haiti had told me that the week before i had arrived in Haiti, there was a dance party for all the children. I wish that i could have been there for this because it would have been fun to watch and dance with the people there. When the doctor told me this, i thought maybe the kids had learned this dance and the words at that dance party that they had. If I ever have a chance to go back to Haiti, i want to set up a dance party like this maybe at the hospital again.

miracles in Haiti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygt3sHpsKms&feature=player_embedded

This is a video that i also found on the hospital web site. It was made to show why people why they should donate money to Haiti or do some sort of community service for Haiti. 

I thought that is video showed really amazing photographs and i also thought that it captures many moments. I want to maybe start a club at Brookline High School to raise money for Haiti and also to learn more about the current situations in Haiti. If there is currently a Haiti club at the high school maybe i will even join that club. There are still a lot of things that still need to be worked on in Haiti. For example, many kids are homeless and are not receiving an education. Also many people are starving everyday. I wish that I could do something about this. 

I would encourage those who look at my blog to look at the link for the video because it is really amazing. While watching, also pay attention to the words on the photographs. When watching this video I was really happy to see some of the people who I helped when i went to Haiti. One of my favorite images in this video is at 1:50. At this part, the girl is so happy and has a beautiful smile. I also like the caption that says "joyful" that is shown with this image. It makes me both happy and sad to see this video. Tell me what you think of the video and if you liked it!

Visit http://www.crudem.org/

I was curious as to who made the magazine that i have talked about in my past two posts so i searched "Hospital Sacre Coeur" on google. When i did this i was happy to see a link to a website called CRUDEM home. So i clicked on the link and it brought me to this website:
http://www.crudem.org/

From there i clicked on a button that said news so i could read about what was currently happening in Haiti. There was an article called "Moving forward" added on July 25, 2010 that i read through. This article read:

 "Six months ago Hôpital Sacré Coeur had grown to 420 beds and had just moved the patients from the local schools which had been converted into hospital wards to the hospital tents in preparation for the reopening of the schools for the students. We had almost 100 volunteers a week and were still accepting patients from PAP who required definitive surgery for their injuries. We were so busy trying to obtain supplies, care for the patients, and feed the patients and their families that we couldn’t plan beyond the next day. 

As the weeks turned into months we were amazed that we still had 100 volunteers a week and continued to care for 400 patients and their families. Thanks to the generosity of many individual donors and organizations we were able to find the resources we needed. Our volunteers and staff continued to perform miracles each day and the reputation of Hôpital Sacré Coeur spread throughout Haiti.

 At our last board meeting in June we decided that Hôpital Sacré Coeur  needed to remain at 120 beds and that we could support that doubling of our size. Now we had to plan the renovation and expansion necessary to accommodate that growth. This expansion will not only include an increase in our bed capacity but also a permanent increase in our operating rooms to 3, new delivery rooms, expanded lab, new outpatient clinic space, and a new supply depot with a bar code system to track supplies throughout the hospital.

  Our fully equipped prosthetic lab was delivered in May and we have fit 26 patients with artificial limbs. There are another 50 waiting. To fulfill our mission of training Haitians to care for themselves we have been training local Haitian staff to become prosthetists. We have prosthetists rotating to our hospital each week to work and to teach. Since a large number of the amputees are children they will require refitting over the years as they grow. We will be able to help them thanks to our training program.

 The current census at the hospital is 147 with 74 patients from the earthquake and 73 local patients. We are allowed to remain in the tents until February 2011 so we need to create permanent bed space over the next 6 months to allow us to permanently house 120 patients. Your support has helped us deal with the unexpected challenges of the earthquake and will enable us to continue to provide the needed care to the people of Haiti. Thank you for all of your support and prayers."

After reading this article, even though it was posted a couple of months ago, i was overcome with joy to hear how much better the conditions in Haiti have gotten. The hospital has seemed to be fixed up a lot and be able to fit more injured Haitians. This was also able to happen thanks to the many people who have volunteered in Haiti and the people who have donated to Haiti. 

Below the article that i read were many more articles that seem really interesting to read. One talks about how girl scouts raised money for Haiti and another one talks about sponsoring a leg. For those who are reading my blog, I would recommend visiting the website and watching some of the videos and reading some of the articles that are posted. For me at least, it is really fascinating to hear about the progress that is going on it Haiti!

Fiana

As i kept looking through the magazine that I told about in my last blog, I saw a picture of one of the girls who i helped named Faina. It was so cool to see her in this magazine. In this article it talked about the injuries of Faini and the process of helping her get better. On the right side of this article are four pictures. 

The fist picture is of Medical staff pictured in the hospital Scare Coer with tools to fix her injuries. Next to this picture was a picture of Faina in a hospital bead hooked up to an IV. She was pictured with a skull fracture and meningitis. This is "inflammation of the meninges caused by viral or bacterial infection and marked by intense headache and fever, sensitivity to light, and muscular rigidity, leading (in serious cases) to convulsions, delirium, and death." She looks frightened and hurt in this photo. In the next photo she is pictured in regular clothes in a bed with something hooked up to her hand to end her anemia and malnutrition. She is sleeping in this image. In the last image Fiana is pictured sitting on a bench with only one leg smiling. By her smiling it shows that her treatment has helped her and that she is feeling a lot better. It personally makes me smile that she is now in good condition and happy.

I also liked to see this last picture of Fiana because she was one of the girls who i helped in my time in Haiti. 

local artist paints Post-Earthquake Landscape

I was talking to my dad about getting in touch with the kids again and he said that that would probably not be possible because some of the kids were put into foster homes or brought to other places in Haiti. But he told me good news as well...

In the mail the other day we got a magazine/book that was issued from Haiti. The title says Bon Mouvel. Below this it says "Volume 1 Issue 1 Fall 2010." This made me think that this was not the only volume that we were going to get. As I was skimming through it I saw pictures of some of the girls that i helped and also pictures of doctors who visited Haiti. 

While going through this magazine one picture caught my eye. It was a painting of the Post Earthquake landscape. It was painted by a local artist in Haiti named Cesar Iline. The caption under the photo said:

"When the earth stopped shaking on January 12, local artist Cesar Eline grabbed his brushes and paint. In short order and with profound artistic perception, Eline captured the multitude of the events and emotions that tumbled across the Haitan landscape. Eline, 26, lives in the village of the Trois Ravine, a community dedicated to the long-term care of over 150 displaced children. With his usual gracious generosity, Eline donated this extraordinary painting to he CRUDEN foundation."

This painting is very colorful and depicts the ground cracked and not put together. It also shows people crying and one woman dead or hurt. Two other people around her are trying to help her, but can not seem to reach her because of the cracks in the ground. In the background, there are a bunch of houses stacked up on the ground, as if they had collapsed. Telephone poles are ruined and the weather is really dark. In the top right corner of the photo, there is a hand reaching up to the sky and clouds. It shows only the hand and it looks as if the hand is touching the sky. I don't understand why this hand was depicted in the picture. Another part of the photo that i noticed, but did not see at first glance, was a kid in the background crying in running around. Right by that was another kid who had follow into a crack in the ground. 

This painting captures many emotions and in my opinion is an amazing and very artistic.

painting nails

In Haiti i did not only spend my time with the children, but for one day i spent my time in the hospital tents painting people's nails. I did this with another girl who was a Junior in high school, named Julie. I went through every single tent asking anyone if they wanted there nails painted. Most of the people wanted this. It was amazing to see how people were so happy to see their nails after i was done painting them.

There was this group of four women all laying in bed by each other talking in Creole. I asked them if they wanted their nails done. The first woman's nails who i painted had lost a leg and had had surgery on the other leg. I painted her toes on her one leg pink with white flowers, and when i was done she gave me a hug. After this she started teaching me some Creole and i started teaching her some english. I was really astonished by the amount of english she knew in the first place. I really enjoyed talking to her and getting to know her. She introduced me to the other women who she was friends with, and they all wanted their nails done as well. They all kept telling me how beautiful and nice i was. Julie painted one of the woman's nails, while i painted someone else's. When we were all finished were said goodbye and moved onto another tent. All the woman were so grateful and happy that i painted their nails. In some cases it made some of them feel less self conscious about not having a leg or an arm.

chances

I would love to go back to Haiti and see if the poverty and the infrastructure has improved at all. But I would also like to go back just to see the kids who i spent most of my time with. The kids in the pediatric center really made an impact on me and showed me that they are able to be happy, even after everything that they have gone through. I could tell that me, my brother, and this other junior girl helped them to feel better and smile. I know this because by my second day, right when i would enter the pediatric center, all the kids would yell, "Jackie, Jackie, come here!" Also this one boy named Jacky, ran up to me and gave me a hug right when i would enter the pediatric center in the morning. This made me really happy. 

While i was there, i also spent time with one girl named Faina. She was a little shy and spent most of her time in the better trying to shelter from the intense heat. She lost her leg and hurt her hand during the earthquake. I did some occupation therapy with her by painting with her hurt hand. By her painting it would move and work the muscles in her hand. This would eventually make it better. She loved painting and when she was done with one of them, she made another painting, and gave it to me. After she gave me one of the paintings, she gave me a hug. By her painting me a picture and giving me a hug, i could tell that she liked me and was happy that i had spent time with her. It also made me happy that she gave me a hug and a painting because it showed me that she was happy and that she liked me.

I would love to have the experience to go back to Haiti again and see how everyone is doing!

current living conditions in Haiti

Today in Haiti still about 1.3 million Haitians still remain living on the streets with no shelter and no food. The U.S. State department has put Thomas C. Adams as a coordinator to watch over Washington's plans for reconstruction in Haiti. $1.15 billion has been pledged by the U.S. to go to Haiti, but it still has not been sent because a plan for spending the money has to be formed first. The State Department sent the lawmakers the plan on September 20 and gave the legislators 15 days to look over it. "Whether or not the legislative acts or not, the money will be released as soon as the period expires." (Jonathan M. Katz) The obama administration is, "in the final phase of working with them (congress) on release of supplemental funding to implement our-long-term strategy," said State Department adviser Caitlin Klevorick, who helps and works in Haiti.

Haiti is still being helped from the severe earthquake in 2010 and the living conditions are still bad for many people.

Second day in Haiti

During my time in Haiti i spent most of my time at the Pediatric center where the injured kids lived while getting treatment. I helped out by giving kids medicine, doing physical therapy with them, and also by just hanging out and playing with the kids. They loved when you played soccer or catch with them. This made them really happy. It was so amazing to see everyone smiling after all that they have been through. For communication I learned a little bit of Creol. For example i learned how to say hi, how are you. And i also learned how to say my name is Jacquelyn and other small sayings. In addition to learning some Creol, there was a translator who was there. There was about twenty kids living in the pediatric center, but during the day other kids sometimes went to the Pediatric center to hang out. One of the kids who I spent most of my time with was named Jackie. His head got crushed by a rock during the Earthquake so he had to wear a helmet all the time. He was staying at the pediatric center until he was sent to the United States to get his skull repaired. It was so sad to hear some of the stories of what happened to these kids, but I was glad to see that they were so happy and friendly.

Earthquake

The earthquake in Haiti killed over 230,000 people, injured over 300,000 people, and made over 1,000,000 people homeless. The Earthquake hit west of Port-au-Prince Haiti's capital. The Earthquake began on Tuesday 12, 2010 and by January 24 about 52 aftershocks had accord. Some of these aftershocks were measured 4.5 and greater. The earthquake caused the majority of its damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, and other places in the same region. The after affects of the earthquake were people lost family, lost  belongings and money, and many people were injured and couldn't be found.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. There were concerns spread that Haiti could not cope in the event of a huge disaster before the earthquake struck. Haiti has been coping with the situation better then people expected. They would not be able to handle this major disaster if they had not gotten medical help from the United States and many other countries.

First day in Haiti

During April vacation in spring 2010 I went to Haiti with my family to help care for kids who were injured and displaced. In Haiti I went to Milot near Cap Haitian. It is a tropical and hot area in the North shore of Haiti. When i arrived at the airport I felt overwhelmed by people asking for money and I didn't know what to expect when I got to the hospital compound where I was staying. The drive to the compound was about thirty minutes and was a bumpy ride. As i passed by shacks on the side of the road I saw broken tin roofs, windows without glass, and a lot of trash everywhere. When we passed by the ocean it was filled with trash and abandoned boats that were broken. There were a lot of people on the side of the road, mostly kids. We also saw a couple of cars pass by us on our way to the compound. One caught my eye. It was what they call a buss and people would just jump on and pay a small fee.