An Angel Resting Peacefully 11.11.11

Today everyone all dressed up for the funeral service of little Precious*. The foundation decided to give her a small funeral ceremony and a proper burial in the Croix-de-Bouquet cementary. In Haiti, the dress attire for funeral is a little bit different than the States. Normally, we would all be dressed in black, ALL BLACK, but in Haiti it is mostly black, white, dark purple, and blue. The colors represent peace and harmony, which is a wish for the deceased. I dressed up in black and white for little Precious*. I thought about how much she would have loved to touch my skirt today....she loved to play with my skirts whenever I would play with her during the day. So I wore a pretty skirt today, just for little Precious*.

                                     

People had a lot of work to do, so not everyone could make it to the funeral service. Overall, we had three staff members (including me) and Manmie's sister, Nicole, accompanying us to do a proper prayer for little Precious*. It took us about an hour to get to the Morgue and little Precious' * coffin was so magnificently decorated! It was beautiful! More than anything that I would have expected. In Haiti, the general population has a lot of respect for the dead, especially people who believe in Voudouism. This is due to the fact that many traditions of Voudouism talks with the spirits of the dead and many times send the spirits to do different deeds for them. Normally, most funeral services are held in a church, but because little Precious* was an abandoned child, who's never been baptized, we could not do a religious ceremony for her. Nevertheless, there was still a pastor there at the morgue who conducted a small ceremony for little Precious* and us. There was a moment where it was open casket, where little Precious* was dressed in a beautiful white dress, like the ones you see at weddings. Her hair was all braided nicely and a pretty bow was attached. They put some make-up on her, which was quite shocking for me to see her with make-up on, but it was a nice gesture done by the people. Seeing her again, brought back all the memories we had together. Her eyes were shut in the coffin and she looked like she was taking a really deep sleep...

                                               

During the ceremony, the pastor asked if anyone would like to say a few words about little Precious*. I went up, because I was the only one there that had worked with her and was closes with her. I said that "little Precious* was a child full of joy and love. She loved everyone equally and always had a smile on her face when you approached her. She was so happy to have company at the orphanage. She had made a lot of progress in her walking over these short three months that I have known her and was one of the most determined little girls I have ever encountered. She was a brave child, with wisdom beyond her four years. I wish her all the best in her next life. Come back soon to us little Precious*. I love you dearly little one!"

Three Haitian men carried her coffin out to the hearse, while another played a sad song with a metal wire and a hand saw! Everything seemed so peaceful and in harmony here. I watched as they slowly pushed the coffin into the back of the hearse and closed the door. They were taking her to the burial site. I bid her farewell and blew a kiss in the air. I whispered, "You looked so beautiful today little Precious*, inside and out!"

Rest in Peace my little one! We will miss you dearly! 

So I'll See Ya Soon Then

Julia left today! How sad! We have bonded quite well over the week that she was volunteering here. We played with the children, fed them, and clothed them. We had a fun time folding and organization baby clothes in the up stairs storage unit. It was a blast trying to figure out just how many singles of Crocs we had in our storage room. No matter how hard we tried, we could not find them anywhere. Somewhere there is another pile of single Crocs just laying around, waiting to be matched with their pair. I guess we'll never know won't we Julia???? Thanks so much to Julia for organizing all the art work made by the children, now it is a lot easier for me to find them by name and give to the parents when they come. Much appreciation! Most of all, a great big shout out to Julia for helping me with hand-printing with the all the children at Lamardelle. She saved me a lot of time and trouble. Oh man, it was so much easier with four hands, than two, that was for sure!!! We made a great team, AWESOME!

I wish you the best of luck in your PeaceCorp assignment. I will be praying for you to be assigned to a placement that you'd enjoy. Although I think you would have a blast anywhere you go anyways! You are a social butterfly the just lights up the room! Keep doing what you are doing and being awesome! It was so nice to get to know you girl! Thank you for all that you do!

I hope Julia can come back to visit FEJ next Spring! Gotta make that happen girl, ASAP! A week was way too short! No more swimming pools and overeating. It's time for both of us to get back to some serious work!

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU! (In the voice of the awkward Yoda from Family Guy) <3

Mmmmmmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...

IBESR & UNICEF Collaboration

Today was a really busy day! (Although, which day hasn't been right?)

UNICEF and IBESR (Haitian Child Welfare) made a surprise visit to the orphanage today. They were suppose to be here at around noon, but ended up not getting here until 2:30pm. Because UNICEF and IBESR came down, Mr. Duncan had to be there to meet with them. Normally he was suppose to come down tomorrow, but instead made an emergency stop today. Early this morning, there was a pair of adoptive parents that were at the U.S. Embassy to finalize their adoptive child's Visa for traveling to the U.S. This is the last step in the adoption process before the parents can finally take their child on a plane and fly back home with them!!! How very exciting!!!! So because of this surprise visit, I was able to say goodbye to one of the toddlers who is heading home to the U.S. this week. I was soooo happy that I got a chance to say goodbye to him.

So UNICEF and IBESR are working together to do more child protection cases, such as stopping child trafficking and family reunifications here in Haiti. They came to FEJ to talk about the possibilities of temporarily placing all the children in question at our creche while they did investigations on finding their biological families. The meeting that took place was very long. Lots of voices, opinions, and standards. We took UNICEF around the creche, since it was their first time visiting. One of the workers pulled me aside and said that many of these children need more one-on-one attention because they are not getting enough. I told her that we were trying our best and we were working on it, since we are understaffed and that she was welcomed to play with the children herself. It gets to me sometimes when visitors come and they start to point out that the children need more attention. Of course I know the children need more attention, but there are just not enough people around to do one-on-one activities all the time. I'm only one person! I can't do everything! I will just have to keep trying harder! After the meeting, it was decided that probably around 20 children will be coming to stay at FEJ in the near future. All I know is that we'll be needing more staff to take care of the children, that is for sure!

I spent the rest of the afternoon talking to the adoptive parents who were going to leave this Saturday. So the requirements for FEJ is that the adoptive parents have to spend a week in Haiti to bond with the child before they can take him home. It is crucial this bonding period and it serves as a transition time for the child from the creche to his home. I told them all that I could about their child and played with the child for the last time here in Haiti. I made sure to tell the adoptive parents that to get a full medical check-up as soon as they get back to the States, since the resources are limited here in Haiti. It is better safe than sorry. Also to check if he has any allergies, such as Lactose and Gluten intolerant. They are awesome people and I am very happy that the child is going to be in such a wonderful family!

BEST OF LUCK LITTLE BUDDY! 

HAVE A SAFE FLIGHT!

HIV + TB = Deadly Pair

Today was another sad day...

I got a phone call this morning letting me know that the 7 month old little baby boy whom has been hospitalized for the past month passed away at 3am this morning. He came to the orphanage when he was just a month and a half old. He was abandoned at a local market. IBESR (Haitian Child Welfare) took him in and transferred over to us. He tested positive for both HIV and TB when he came. He was extremely tiny for his age (only weighed 7 lbs), most likely a premature baby, and always coughing up a storm. He has been on so many different medications and IV solutions for the past three and a half months that I have been here. He was always hospitalized and for weeks at a time. The poor little baby boy suffered a lot physically.

I can still remember holding him when I was on my way up to Kenscoff for the very first time. He was coughing and holding his fists into his mouth. His big eyes looking up at me whenever I patted him on his back or tummy. How he would hold onto my finger and squeeze whenever the car ride bumped too hard. I held him close to my chest to keep him warm in the cold Kenscoff weather. The sight of him whenever he stopped coughing and fell asleep was like a flower blooming in the fields of spring. Seeing him yawn every time I fed him. The rare occasions of a toothless smile just brought complete happiness to my whole being. Having him in my arms was the reason for life itself.

Rest in peace my little one. Come back soon and give more love to everyone! Thank you for all the love and joy you have brought to my life! You will always be in my heart, forever and always!

New Short-Term Volunteer

Today the short-term volunteer Julia arrived at Manmies. We did not have enough rooms available at the orphanage, so she was situated over at Manmies, which is just like a 3 minutes walk away. She could not stay over there by herself, so I will be accompanying her throughout the week that she will be with us.

I had been busy all morning with coordinating what needs to be changed at the orphanage and making sure that the children were all okay for the moment. We still have many sick children, especially babies, at the orphanage. I am quite worried, so I am spending a lot of time getting to know each one of their situations. We have administered many IV lines for several babies over the last couple of days. It just seems that one baby will be sick and then another will follow. When another baby is getting better, another one will start getting sick. It's not normal and it is not good. I have made sure to have the water system tested and checked for its drinking quality. We are still drinking bottled of water, just to be sure. (Although it does kills me to have to drink bottled water. It is sooooo not environmental friendly!)

Steve and Robin from USAID/US Embassy brought Julia over at around 2:30pm. We all sat down together and chatted about the foundation. Julia was super excited to be able to volunteer at the orphanage. She is 22 years old and works at an Orlando hospital as a Medical Education Coordinator. She just recently graduated from college and is waiting for a PeaceCorp assignment. That is awesome! We had a lot to talk about! I was very happy that she was going to be here for the week, it gives me some time to rest, as well. I am very grateful to her.

We spent the afternoon touring the school, Manmie's house, the clinic. We spent some time by the pool with Will, the other long-term volunteer. It has been a long while since I've used the swimming pool at Manmies. I am always at the orphanage, so there's no chance, plus no time on my part. It was actually quite weird to be swimming in the pool. I was very grateful to have a breather. I definitely needed it! It is looking like it's going to be a busy week but very fulfilling!

USAID/US Embassy Visitors

Yesterday and today are holidays here in Haiti. People do not work on these two days, but I live at the orphanage, so I still work. We had visitors today who work for USAID and also the US Embassy. I got a call in the morning saying that the visitors were not sure if they turned down the right road. So I got in contact with the person in charge, Steve, and told him where to turn. About 30 minutes later, I get another call from Steve saying that they are lost. I told him to pass me to the Haitian driver and he responded with, "Well the driver is from America. He's me. I am driving." Oh well, Houston, we found the problem! Yeah, so I got an American driver, who does not speak French or Creole, driving in Lamardelle, Haiti, and he is lost??? How are we going to do this, think Lori, think! So I called the driver and got in the car with him to go look for them. I told Steve to drive back to the main road that they came from and then call me once they've gotten there. He called me when they got to the main road and I told them to describe to me what was around them.

This was what the description she gave me:

"There is a light pole. A building that has been started, but only half built. The construction is not finished yet. There is a blue building across the way. I see some motorcycles and Tap Taps parked here. The road is all muddy with a lot of pot holes. There are some shops with some stoves." 


This description is pretty much everywhere in Haiti! How am I going to find them??? So I started to ask what have they've passed by before turning into the smaller road. Steve started to tell me the things that they've passed already and from his description I felt like they have not passed us yet. So I told them to get on the main road and keep on heading toward the direction of the border. I said on the left you will see a Tap Tap that is completely flipped over (there was an accident couple weeks ago with a Tap Tap) and then you'll see on your right hand side a huge opening, an opening big enough to fit three trucks. You'll see an Asian girl wearing black and white waving at you. You can't miss it! Sure enough, they found the Tap Tap and then me. Pheeew!

So they followed us into the orphanage and we all chatted. Turns out that one of them was in the education department and is herself an adoptive parent of a boy in Nicaragua. Steve has been working with the Peace Corp and USAID for years and is now happily retired. Robin, his wife, is the secretary to the U.S. Ambassador here in Haiti. They asked me a lot of questions about the adoption process and all the different programs of the foundation. They came on a holiday, so they weren't able to see all the children at school or the staff members. Too bad, better luck next time.

I gave them all a tour and it turns out that they are friends to a 23 year old girl that will be heading here on Sunday to volunteer for a couple of days. I told them what they needed to bring for her and we bid our goodbyes.

I'll see them again on Sunday with a brand new volunteer! Wish me luck!

New Long-Term Volunteer

Today the long-term volunteer arrived! He will be staying at the orphanage for a year (just like me!), but he will not be working at the orphanage. He will be working next door at the school. He is responsible for the different project proposals of the foundation and other things that I am not sure of. Before he came, all I knew was, he is American and will be staying here for a year.

So his name is Will Stanley, which the Haitians here have to get use to not calling him Stanley, because that is his last name, not first name. (In Haiti, Stanley is a very very popular first name!) He is 26 years old and just recently engaged. Wow! That's gotta be hard. Saying to his fiancee, hey I want to marry you, but I'll be away for one year in Haiti. Best of luck to them both. Won't be easy that's for sure.

So I showed him a little bit of the compound and talked to him about what programs exists for the foundation. He came really late in the day, so there wasn't much day light left to show him around. We'll do more visiting tomorrow, since another group of visitors are coming.

Will brought his bike with him from North Carolina!!!! Oh my goodness. That is a first for me. I've never seen someone actually having a mountain bike as a checked luggage before. There's a first for everything. He said that it cost $150 USD just to have it as a checked luggage. That's a lot of money, sheesh. I am not sure what he is going to do with the bike, because he is not going to be allowed to leave the compound and go bike riding. This is his first time in Haiti, so I think it is quite a shock for him to learn that the roads in Haiti aren't exactly the same as in the states. Even if you have a mountain bike, it is still quite hard to get around. Plus the traffic and the way people drive here, not exactly safe to be on a bike. He had in his head that he would be able to get around Haiti on a bike and sightseeing with it. Yeah, not going to work out the way you planned buddy! Sorry!

He doesn't speak any French or Creole, just English. It's going to be a hard year for him. I am going to do whatever I can to make it easier for him this year! Good luck!