New Introductions

Here's a proud mom! Marie Ange, one of our mobile clinic midwives,
delivered two weeks ago to a beautiful baby girl, Christ-Nérie.

Visiting with Jamlecks, our cook's 3 yr old son.

Happy Mother’s Day! Today Haiti celebrates “Fête des Mères”. I went to Maison Fortune Orphanage this morning for the Sunday Mass. It also happened to be the celebration of the Trinity – a two in one celebration.  Following the service, two of the resident boys shared a “Mother’s Day Rap” song with the congregation. “My mother, she is my entire heart, I love her!” And, this was coming from a young man who may not even have one.

One of the volunteers helping the students estimate
blood loss after a delivery. It's food coloring!

The rainy season is in full force now. We get drenches just about every night. The roads deepen with mud, the porches become lakes, but the gardens begin to grow! This is a green time for Haiti.

Midwifery is not for the faint of heart.

My friends and coworkers are beginning to lament my going away! I guess that is a good sign. The mobile clinic midwives (the ones who go to remote locations four days a week to provide pre and post natal care to hundreds of women a month) tell me that they are going to miss my “sense of responsibility.” The cook tells me that she will miss my daily morning greeting. Others ask if my replacement is going to be like me! Well, she won’t be me, but I think she will be better! Her name is Brittany Tusing. She just graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a major in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minor in French (just like me!). I met her in January, and I think she is a great fit for the job! I will be training her when she comes in two weeks. We have some overlap together. I am beginning to write-up a job manual for her. It is eight pages long and growing…

So, what’s next? Brittany will be taking my role obviously. I am happy to say that she will be receiving a monthly stipend. So, the “In-Country Coordinator” is no longer a volunteer job! The Directors have seen the improvement in the program by having someone providing oversight and continuity.

Practicing their suturing (for vaginal tears).

I will be taking MFH’s only full-employed position as their new Administrative Coordinator. I am flying back June 19^th and begin training on the 24^th in Richmond, VA. Wow, has time flied!

I appreciate everyone who has taken an interest in this blog. I have a few more posts left, but I am not sure if I will continue it while I am in Richmond. Not as exotic as Hinche, Haiti to most, but for someone coming from a military school and a developing country, it will be for me!