WESLEYAN HOSPITAL - ANSE-A-GALETS, LA GONAVE, HAITI

When we left Haiti in 2012, the new hospital was almost finished.  It was one of the things- along with the Guest House/Ministry Center – that we regretted not being able to participate in the “commissioning” services.  Each was dedicated the next year, with the appropriate dignitaries and others participating and promising great futures ahead, serving the people of the island and housing visiting teams and training sessions for the locals.

 Over the next couple of visits, we did get to go in, get to look around and marvel again at what a good place it was for the inhabitants of La Gonave.  Last week, I returned to the hospital with a team that was getting another tour of the facilities and updates, and took the opportunity to get some current photos, especially for you, Marie Cattle, our 2012 neighbor and wife of Julian who oversaw the hospital project and hasn’t been able to make a return visit from England yet.

The front entrance from Rue l'Hopital 

The entrance to the community pharmacy next door

The courtyard and the ambulance, a gift from the government

The waiting area looking out at the courtyard.  On one end of the mural, Colossians 3:23 : Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.  On the other end, Jeremiah 29:11:  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.   Many Haitians are very artistic and this gift is offered and enjoyed in many public places.

There is a covered area outside each wing which provides shade from the sun and cools the adjacent rooms.

Entering the building with the emergency area on the left. 

Missionary Dr. Robert and Dr. Natalie, who is serving her year of required in-country service following med school and residence, catching up on files and paperwork 

The first patient wing is to the right.

The privacy screens were made by a seamstress on a work team from South Dakota.   Moveable, able to be situated to portion off  each side area or between beds, they are a great addition to any ward, and are found throughout the patient wings.

Down the hall, the maternity ward, where expectant women await imminent delivery.  This week, we had a c-section of twins - mother and babies are doing well.  Moms usually stay overnight, their food and physical care needs provided by family members or friends.  Another set of twins were born last night, premature; one died at birth and the other is struggling this morning.  The cycle of life occurs here as in any hospital.

On the way back down the hall, a glance to the right  brings into view the grassy area between the wings.  Larry had brought some grass plugs from the experiment station in Tifton, Georgia, when the area was being developed.  It is still growing well!  

One surgery suite for minor procedures and two suites for major surgeries are at the end of the hall.  Notice the two large windows in this one; beautiful view of the sea!

Pediatric ward wall appliqués brought by a visiting team add decoration and a bit of joy to the patients.

Also, toys and stuffed animals that are donated are given by the nurses to children after surgery or when in an extended stay.

At the end of each of the two ward hallways are several private rooms.

Across the street, areas of the old hospital are still in use.  There is a secluded area which houses cholera patients.  Also the clinics are still held in one wing; the lab and other offices are maintained there.  

The outside area has been landscaped nicely by Haitian young people working with one of the missionaries.  Sidewalks have been laid by a visiting team who worked alongside Haitian workers, in an effort to spruce up the environs and spark a sense of pride in those working at and being served at the clinic.  It seems that a squadron of boys meets each Saturday morning to work here.  Much emphasis has been made upon keeping it pristine with all trash put into the available trash bins.  

A great effort!  What a difference in this area - and in the lives of these young people - since we were last here!

This and that from a good week

Well,  the First Periodic Great Wesleyan Mission Station Cockroach Hunt was hard to beat in the way of compound activities.  But it was just getting the week-end and then the week, started well.

Next, the WISH (West Indies Self Help, headed up by a Global Partners family) folks issued an invitation to their community library to view Rogue One.  Of course, we went!  It was a diverse crowd that helped inaugurate the new ceiling mounted projector, enjoyed the air conditioning and gasped-as-one at the appropriate moments in the film - Canadians, Americans and Haitians.  What a wonder Hollywood Star Wars film makers are!  Larry and I came home and googled the hows and whys of creating visual doubles of movie stars who are no longer living!  Amazing!

And the film wasn't bad, either!

Missionary church is also held in the WISH library, so Sunday night we all gathered there once again for worship, North American style after attending Haitian church that morning.  Several had taken advantage of swimming and snorkeling  at the reef  during the afternoon, so those smart folks had a cooler look and contented demeanor, as they walked into the room.  Special presentation was an end of the school year update on the school kids' work, talents, and unique contributions.  Pastor Wes presented a thoughtful devotion and because it was the last service for one of our families, time was spent praying over the family members in attendance.  It was a good ending to the weekend.


Then, the work week has been full of encouraging events.  Larry introduced the concept of probability to his stat class and was pleasantly surprised that they all seemed to follow him, and feedback was promising.  I had a wonderful surprise in the delivery of a fat ledger book found in a storage unit on the compound - a collection of the station minutes from 1957 to 1975.  A treasure trove for this fledgling historian!

I also got to visit the House of Hope, a Christian home for the aged and infirm with Desirée, an university social work student from Maine who has an internship here this summer.  What a difference from the other "old folks home" we remembered from pictures, which was dark and not well kept, housing dear men and women who loitered in the hall ways and on soiled bed linens.  This was a bright, well-kept house, several bedrooms, a well-planted outer courtyard, solar on the roof and two cisterns to collect water and a view of the sea from the roof.  A place these residents without family members to care for them could take pride in.  These dear people seemed contented; there was a guard at the gate; and a good poi et diri (beans and rice) cook had been hired!   All this through the efforts of a spirited and Spirit-filled woman from California!  "Without a vision, the people perish."  Lynzi hears from the Lord and acts on His leading and He honors her heart!

                          

Then on Thursday, Desirée and I visited the new school founded by our friend Wilnor, here in Anse a Galets.   Wilnor, his wife Brinette and some friends also founded the non-profit called G.A.S., a grassroots organization to provide an education for indigent children.  Four of the sponsored children go to his school; another, the girl we sponsor, is in a school down the road.  It was a great day!  After we checked out his school, we walked down to see Chelda.  It was a wonderful occasion!   It has been 2 1/2 years since I had seen her and, like one would hope, she is growing into a lovely young lady.  I am so grateful to be able to participate in her education.  She is one of the 20 some children who will have a better shot at life because of G.A.S.  The Lord continues to put life into Wilnor's dreams and  plans to provide a better tomorrow for the children of La Gonave.

We also were paid a delightful visit by Paul, who was in Larry's computer class and my English class in 2012.   Sitting in the shade of the new-to-us tiki hut, we caught up in English and creole with him, his wife and daughter, and were grateful for the friendship of this fine man.  He is a teacher at one of the larger private church schools here, preparing students in the 4th grade for the definitive state exam, the outcome of which is the "yea" or "nay" to advancing to the next level in Haitian schools.  

Larry and I were able to bring down LOTS of boy's shorts this trip - collected by a church member at Vintage Church in NC.  Actually, over 200 pounds of them!  The guest house manager is lining up appropriate ways to distribute them to families in the greatest need in this area.  Also, we have contacted some people we know on the island who have involvement with orphanages, etc.  Today, a lovely woman who houses 16 children in a mountain home a distance from our town, came to pick up a couple pair of shorts for each of her boys who live in her orphanage.  It was such a joy to watch her choose carefully for each child, taking the opportunity to select just the right ones.  

Good visits to the mission station from two sets of folks from Wesleyan headquarters in Indiana and a couple of work teams - one from Maine and the other from Pennsylvania - rounded out the busy week.   

Whew!