Jan. 8, 2011 Delynn Unema, R.N. Holland Hospital Emergency Room, Sassier, Haiti
I have been waiting for almost two years to come to Haiti. So, for me, this is a dream come true to finally be here. I love working with the Haitian nurses and the Haitian interpreters. We are having such a good time working together all day long shoulder to shoulder.
The Haitian people here dress up in their very best clothes to come to the clinic. Some wait several hours outside yet all have smiles and all are so very grateful. I feel very privileged to be able to spend a little time with each of them.
Haiti is beautiful. The mountains are beautiful and the people are beautiful. While this is a first trip for me, I know that it is only the beginning and that I will return many times.
During clinic, I really enjoy seeing the little children. They are so adorable; some are shy, some are not. Being able to interact with them is such a pleasure for me; as is encouraging mothers who are doing a great job raising their children.
Also, seeing the elderly amazes me; having someone who is ninety-five years old come through and have perfect vital signs… They have seen so much in their lives and to be ninety-five and healthy just amazes me. You can tell by the lines on their faces what a full life they have lived so far.
It’s interesting to see such a wide variety of people and to see them all watch out for one another. It’s definitely a community here. They are a very caring group of people.
I particularly enjoy watching the kids at the end of the day get ready to play football with us. They laugh and play and just enjoy being kids. We don’t speak the same language but everybody speaks football!
It has also been a very rich experience within our group to bond and build comradery. We are all meeting new people and we didn’t all know one another before we arrived here. The team is really meshing well and we are also having a really good time together. I hope this group can come here again together.
I am very impressed, coming here for the first time, with how well everything runs. It’s amazing to me that in a day we can treat over one hundred patients in this clinic with quality care. The way things are setup and the organization of how it is run is remarkable. Further, the health committee members are wonderful and do an excellent job of keeping things organized. I’m just really impressed with the way things are run and organized – the teamwork that we all have, seeing the patients, each of us has our own responsibilities, and just the way everyone works together. It has been a seamless experience for us to come in and do the work that we do.
Overall, I am very blessed to be here. It has touched my heart and I am so very thankful to have been able to be a part of this medical mission. And, I look forward to the day that I will return again to Haiti.