A Little Rain, Haiti Hurricane Journal #1

Dear Friends and Family,

We jumped up half asleep, then woke Luke up to help. It rained! Our "summer bed," oblivious to my distress, slopped oak-stained water onto my cold tile floor the full length of its rescue from the autumn shower it had on our new deck. I heaved it over against the sliding glass door to rest and drain with swim towels packed neatly around.

What a mess.

Then, my sleep warn off. I remembered the forecast for Petit Goave. Non-stop thunderstorms and rain from now until we land in Haiti next week, then continuing thunderstorms through the days we set up and run the mobile medical clinic.

And I was worried about my day-bed. What a luxury. Swim-towels, clean floors and sliding glass...just a dry bed, what a luxury.

On the advice of our Haitian doctor, we delayed our flight to Haiti until this Thursday to save $1,000 on airfare. I eagerly spent that and more on my first order of pharmaceuticals yesterday. Then, I went shopping again at the dollar store. Triple-antibiotic, one dollar. Fungus cream, one dollar. Tippy-cups to serve rehydration pedialyte to cholera babies, one dollar. Dr. Joey will be so pleased. Such small luxuries, if you can call them that.

Monday, Paul left to pick up the 100 tarps I ordered and came back with 200, then told me he ordered 100 more to pick up this Monday. He too had spent well over a thousand dollars. How can we not, when we see the photos that remind us so very much of the scenes of devastation we witnessed after the 2010 earthquake, only now drenched in cholera water?

We have so much more we want to buy, even with boxes of supplies circling us already. Donated vitamins piled around me, I know there is an endless need for still more. I have to remind myself, we have to save money for luggage fees and to buy the 100 lb. bags of rice when we get there.

Its heart-wrenching to make choices on what to buy when I know the chances of it having life-saving consequences. Infant tylenol liquid, 2 for $20...but it saved a baby's life on day in Cite Soleil because I carried some in my bag. Got to have it.

Even if you cannot donate, please share the site our student, Hannah Rea opened for us online,  https://www.gofundme.com/2t2pg258 . I will try to keep you posted when we get in-country, as internet allows.

Hurricane Matthew Haiti Fund by Hannah Rea - GoFundMe www.gofundme.com Hurricane Matthew Haiti Fund by Hannah Rea - Children's Hope is a non-profit organization based out of Sacramento that serves Haiti's most vulnerable children. Our ...

peace, all ways and always, Leisa

Prof. Leisa Faulkner, Folsom Lake College
Executive Director, Children's Hope
3025 Cambridge Road #A
Cameron Park, CA 95682 USA
916.801.4184

Children's Hope
Port au Prince, Haiti


email: faulknl@flc.losrios.edu;  childrenshope@live.com

blog: http://coalitionfordemocracyinhaiti.blogspot.com/