Haiti Mission Trip

June 2013- This would be my third trip to Haiti on a dental mission with Dr. Scott VanSlambrouck, my friend and previous co-worker/doc at Healthlinc in Indiana. (We had been on two previous mission trips together, 2011 and 2012, so I will glean from memories of my first arrival in Haiti and the subsequent trips)

2011- We were arriving one year after the devastating earthquake whose epicenter struck the most populous area near the capital of Port-au-Prince. Over 160,000 people died, 1.5 million were displaced and over 3 million were affected by the earthquake.

I was not sure what conditions would be but I was assured that the encampment and nearby village of Chambrun ,where we would be staying, had not suffered the amount of damage as in the city. Leaving the airport in Port-au-Prince, after about 5 check points ( yes, 5!) I was struck by the sheer poverty of this nation. Horrible roads, tent cities, goats and oxen in the road, hundreds of people along the roadside selling whatever they can. One stand could have rice , another beans, another kitchen goods and on and on for miles.

We arrive at Nehemiah Vision Ministries compound , fenced with armed guards ….extreme poverty= desperate burglars. On the property there is a school building, a church, 3 large Quonset huts – 2 for housing mission groups and one with a kitchen and for dining. The Quonset huts are air-conditioned which is a special blessing since the average temperature is between 88 and 94° daily🥵 then add in humidity!!

First off, we are debriefed as to the customs and mission. Their belief is that every person is God‘s masterpiece and work to empower the people of the village providing education for the children and teaching women how to make items to sell in the market. Men are taught to respect women and are helped getting gainful employment. We are told that relationships are more important than timeliness. In other words, if someone is stopped on the street to talk about something and arrives late to their appointment , it is totally understood and accepted. Every day, we would have oatmeal for breakfast, rice and beans for lunch and then some sort of dinner that included meat. Not to expect fruit since it’s very expensive to obtain. There is a restroom/ shower building…no a/c, cold water showers😬

Now it’s time for us to change into scrubs and walk to the building that has been provided for medical and dental. Talk about bare bones!! It’s a cement building with 2 old dental chairs that are stationary in a reclining position since we need the compressor for the dentist to use his drill. No suction so patients have to rinse and spit into a bucket🤢. And worse of all…..no A/C and our dental instruments are ancient and not sharpened.

Regardless, we pressed on and we worked 1 PM to 6 PM on our first day there with two young Haitian men who doubled as interpreters ( language spoken is Creole) and as assistants. Completely drenched in sweat, I had to wear a bandanna around my forehead to keep it from dripping on the patients😅. Once we were done, that cold shower felt GREAT!! After a day of traveling and work, I collapsed into my bunk bed by 9pm. A good tired.

More about Haiti in the next couple of blogs. So much to tell all of you about the Haitian people, the volunteers and the exhausting yet wonderful experiences on these mission trips.