Haiti You Stole My Heart
Haiti You Stole My Heart
By: Allison Gries
BSN Class of 2017
This April, Bellin College partnered up with Friends of Haiti and sent two groups of Traditional Juniors to Haiti for a Community Clinical. Kathie DeMuth was the instructor for this course and stayed two weeks with each of the two groups. The first group of four went to Thomazeau, a city in the valley. I went with the second group to the mountains of Noyau.
About 80% Haiti’s population lives in poverty, 50% of children do not attend school, and the average life expectancy is 63 years. Haitians residing in the mountain areas are mainly farmers.The Haitian government does not account for the roughly 3 million people who live in the mountains, which means they do not receive government support services. With little support and access to transportation, many Haitians living in the mountain areas rely on the Friends of Haiti group for medical services each April and October.
When we landed at the Port au Prince airport on a Sunday evening, we were driven to Matthew 25, a house of hospitality that welcomes missionaries. Since I was part of the second group, we were able to stay with the first group before their departure back to America. The first group shared stories about their time in Thamazeau and their experiences in the clinic that week. Hearing about all their stories made me extremely excited to leave for Noyau the next morning.
The bumpy ride from Port au Prince was one wh
ere I could not stop staring out 
the window. There were people everywhere, and even cattle grazing through the streets of the cities. The garbage would be piled on the side of the streets, where malnourished animals would pick through to find food. To make it even more heart breaking, there would be children not too far behind the animals, also looking for food scraps in the garbage piles. Each day many children will go without a meal, and during a child’s development stages, nutrition is extremely important. The journey from Port au Prince to Noyau was just a glimpse of the people we would be treating during the week working in the clinic. The team for the week consisted of 5 doctors, 4 nurses, 6 translators, 5 support staff members, and 4 nursing students. When we arrived to Noyau, we were greeted by smiling children who were excited to see Friends of Haiti were back for another week to serve the community. We played with the children until we needed to set up the clinic and organize all the supplies.
The Noyau church is where we set up our sleeping tents, as well as our makeshift clinic. Each person traveling to Haiti had to bring 2 suitcases which contained the medications and supplies we would use throughout the week. Months prior to the trip, volunteers would come to the Friends of Haiti office to help with packing supplies and pills. Each suitcase was well organized, which made set up more manageable. After setup we were able to enjoy the views and explore the landscape. Each evening we would watch the breathtaking sunsets, which was then followed by a night full of laughter and stories with the group.
On Tuesday, April 19th, we opened our clinic doors to start serving those who traveled for many hours first. Before being seen by the doctors, each person would receive a deworming medication, and we would record their height, weight, and blood pressure. When looking outside the main doors, you could see people all huddled under a tree to stay in the shade while they waited to enter the clinic. There would be children playing, donkeys resting, and mothers nursing their babies. It was quite a sight, knowing all these people were outside waiting patiently after traveling many hours to be seen by our group.
When a family would sit on a bench to discuss with the physician their medical ailments and conditions, we would hand them bags with necessities to help improve their hygiene. These basic supplies are something we take for granted. Something as simple as a bar of soap can increase the well-being of each individual. Along with basic necessities and prescriptions, I was able to assist with examining patients and gathering medications for them. The doctors were all so helpful and allowed us to assess patients and make nursing diagnoses. They would test our knowledge on the pathology of disease, as well as medications. It was a great experience to work side by side with such experienced and wonderful doctors and nurses.
We had the clinic open for 3 full days and saw over 1,000 patients. From pregnant women to hypertensive elderly we saw a variety of patients with an array of conditions. So many children had worms in their digestive tract or fungus growing on their skin. I was able to care for patients with cysts, burns, pregnancies, and musculoskeletal disorders to name a few. Health promotion and education was a crucial part of clinic. Many of the people seen in the clinic were uneducated about the need for proper hygiene, diet, and lifestyle. Though it is difficult to meet these needs when living in poverty without access to regular healthcare services and amenities we take for granted, we try to promote healthy lifestyles with what they have access to as well as the supplies we could bring them. Noyau is so gracious that the Friends of Haiti group comes twice a year to service their community.
Overall, this experience in Haiti was one I will never forget. I was able to take the knowledge from all of my past and current nursing classes and apply it to each situation I was faced with. Being exposed to different types of patients really brings the pathology of diseases and body processes
together to come up with a care plan for each patient. As a medical team, everyone worked well together in order to efficiently see all the patients each day. To see people starving, sick, and in pain due to the economical strains in Haiti was really an eye opening experience. Trips like this makes you realize we are all human and we are all on this earth together. As a future nurse, I never want to lose my sense of compassion and understanding. I want to devote my career to being humble and kind to those I care for. Haiti will always have a special spot in my heart.
