September 26th to October 4th

It's been quite a busy week for me here, I've got just under a month to go so any spare time I have is spent either out of the compound doing work at the orphanage or on the computer trying to get support from different NGO's on my projects.

A Tap Tap

I've been working on getting a Prosthetics and Orthotics association started here in Haiti with the hopes that it might help to standardize patient care and encourage the clinics to pool their resources.  Hopefully this will also enable them to work more effectively (within their means) and help them to take a more holistic approach to patient care.


On Friday I took David and Nonu into PAP to see another Prosthetics & Orthotics Clinic to do a bit of networking as well as see the clinic's multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation in action. The clinic is owned by Handicap International but after the earthquake destroyed the building that Healing Hand for Haiti was in they collaborated and have now expanded their care to have 3 full time physio therapists as well as a couple permanent Prosthtetic/Orthotic clinicians and technicians.

After a tour of their huge facility I sat down with one of the coordinators to talk about my idea. Much like us, his biggest concern was that small clinics (like ours) have been working far beyond our means and due to the short term 'vacationing' prosthetists and lack of follow up care there has been a lot of unnecessary suffering for the patients we've seen.  Thankfully, he's full support of creating an association in Haiti and is going to help in any way he can... after a vacation of course.



So far I've called on the head of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) for support and have drafted up forms for all of the clinics to fill in so we can gain a better understanding of our individual efforts and use the information to help develop a general measure for the standard of care clinics should be providing. I think the biggest challenge will be convincing all the clinics to join as many of them have their own (business and religious) interests in mind rather than that of the patients.

Port Au Prince

Yesterday was the first day of the mobile clinic I've started for Good Sam orphanage :) it was a prime week to start as I had 2 doctors 3 nurses and 3 paramedics! We managed to give every child a vitamin shot and started up charts for everyone (including staff members) so that we can keep up to date records of them and track any chronic illness or neglect concerns. Some of the logistics are still be be discussed as the coordinator of the compound isn't keen on helping out with it but I think I've managed to get enough of the long term staff on board to make fortnightly or even weekly visits even after I'm gone. My only concern now is in providing long term acute care for the kids and educating the staff on how to identify serious illnesses before they've gone too far.


I've also been working away on my report for UNICEF and have since discovered that in 2008 there was a flood at Good Sam where at least 20 of the children were killed when the river that runs behind the orphanage knocked down the wall in the chapel and swept them down stream. For a few months after that  Madame Lucien and the remaining orphans were moved into a building here but after a few months she had had enough and moved them all back to the same place. Needless to say she's well known around here so I've been able to add a few more eye witness accounts to my report... there's still lots to be done though.

I retrieved Jhonny,who is a little boy from Good Sam, in the ambulance on Tuesday because of two severely infected ulcers on his face about the size of a quarter.

I've also learned that orphanages here are run more like businesses and because she owns it and started it herself its highly unlikely that we will have much luck getting it shut down (especially because she is known to have contacts with the Haitian government and has paid them off in the past to get out of trouble). As frustrating as that is I have no choice but to accept it and try to find ways we can work with her to get the result we want. After all its not about her, but about the kids :)  The best option, I think, is to take advantage of the fact that she has registered the orphanage with UNICEF (which for her means that she NGO's will support her) and use that to enforce standards of care as well as monitor their incoming donations... who knows, it might even turn out to be a better option than just shutting it down- this project might help to educate the surrounding community on child protection and make it easier for other orphanages to get the support they need as well! 

Other than that things are going well, my Creole lessons are going great (I've learned how to hassle the David and Nonu now) and test has been postponed until the 14th :)

much love
xx