While this journey gave us a great sense of the beautiful, lush scenery in Haiti, it also opened our minds up to the shocking reality of life in such a remote region. Since there is only one road, it is shared by cars, motorcyles, and pedestrians alike. During heavy storms, this road is completely impassable. Along the road, we passed people’s homes and businesses selling drinks and ice cream to provide refreshments along the mountain road. Seeing pedestrians walking across the river with loose stones, we were reminded of the woman who had cut her foot during the journey to the clinic in Borgne yesterday. For the entire team, the trip to Tibuk really contextualized everything we have been seeing in Haiti thus far. We also appreciated the tremendous value these women put on their own health and the health of their mothers, daughters and sisters by making such a long trip to our clinic.
After we had parked and toured the hospital grounds, we saw one of the hospital staff exit the gates. Soon after, we began to hear crying…first a few voices but soon what sounded like 50 people crying outside of the gates. They had just been informed that one of their loved ones had died of cholera. Apparently, it was the first cholera related death in that community. We stood in silence as a group of men carried a coffin through the gates, onto the hospital grounds.
For the CCC team, it was a very humbling experience and something quite difficult to put into words. This journey further highlighted the need for this new hospital, which will serve the nearly isolated community of 10,000 people. As we set up the Phyllis clinic with Dr. Thony and Nurse Ange we were filled with great hope that this clinic will bring life saving aid to the women that need it most. By spreading into this remote village, we are confident that we will be able to reach many more women who otherwise might not have been screened because of the long and treacherous journey to Borgne.
The CCC team, accompanied by Dr. Thony and Nurse Ange (the new TiBuk nurse), traveled to the TiBuk hospital to establish the Second Phyllis Clinic-TiBuk (Donated by Irv Kessler and Barb Anderson). What we thought would be a simple forty-five minute drive up the road seemed more like an off-road adventure through the jungles of Haiti. The road was entirely unpaved, made of jagged rocks, random ditches, and two rivers we had to forge. When we inquired, we found out that this was the only road accessing the entire village of Tibuk.
While this journey gave us a great sense of the beautiful, lush scenery in Haiti, it also opened our minds up to the shocking reality of life in such a remote region. Since there is only one road, it is shared by cars, motorcyles, and pedestrians alike. During heavy storms, this road is completely impassable. Along the road, we passed people’s homes and businesses selling drinks and ice cream to provide refreshments along the mountain road. Seeing pedestrians walking across the river with loose stones, we were reminded of the woman who had cut her foot during the journey to the clinic in Borgne yesterday. For the entire team, the trip to Tibuk really contextualized everything we have been seeing in Haiti thus far. We also appreciated the tremendous value these women put on their own health and the health of their mothers, daughters and sisters by making such a long trip to our clinic.
After we had parked and toured the hospital grounds, we saw one of the hospital staff exit the gates. Soon after, we began to hear crying…first a few voices but soon what sounded like 50 people crying outside of the gates. They had just been informed that one of their loved ones had died of cholera. Apparently, it was the first cholera related death in that community. We stood in silence as a group of men carried a coffin through the gates, onto the hospital grounds.
For the CCC team, it was a very humbling experience and something quite difficult to put into words. This journey further highlighted the need for this new hospital, which will serve the nearly isolated community of 10,000 people. As we set up the Phyllis clinic with Dr. Thony and Nurse Ange we were filled with great hope that this clinic will bring life saving aid to the women that need it most. By spreading into this remote village, we are confident that we will be able to reach many more women who otherwise might not have been screened because of the long and treacherous journey to Borgne.
While this journey gave us a great sense of the beautiful, lush scenery in Haiti, it also opened our minds up to the shocking reality of life in such a remote region. Since there is only one road, it is shared by cars, motorcyles, and pedestrians alike. During heavy storms, this road is completely impassable. Along the road, we passed people’s homes and businesses selling drinks and ice cream to provide refreshments along the mountain road. Seeing pedestrians walking across the river with loose stones, we were reminded of the woman who had cut her foot during the journey to the clinic in Borgne yesterday. For the entire team, the trip to Tibuk really contextualized everything we have been seeing in Haiti thus far. We also appreciated the tremendous value these women put on their own health and the health of their mothers, daughters and sisters by making such a long trip to our clinic.
After we had parked and toured the hospital grounds, we saw one of the hospital staff exit the gates. Soon after, we began to hear crying…first a few voices but soon what sounded like 50 people crying outside of the gates. They had just been informed that one of their loved ones had died of cholera. Apparently, it was the first cholera related death in that community. We stood in silence as a group of men carried a coffin through the gates, onto the hospital grounds.
For the CCC team, it was a very humbling experience and something quite difficult to put into words. This journey further highlighted the need for this new hospital, which will serve the nearly isolated community of 10,000 people. As we set up the Phyllis clinic with Dr. Thony and Nurse Ange we were filled with great hope that this clinic will bring life saving aid to the women that need it most. By spreading into this remote village, we are confident that we will be able to reach many more women who otherwise might not have been screened because of the long and treacherous journey to Borgne.