Friday, November 28, 2014

Clinic Miracle

There has been a wheel chair and an insert for a child with a belt 'kicking around' here for a very long time.  The idea has been toyed with to just get rid of it, but it never happened.
Yesterday, a mom carried her son into the clinic to be seen by a doctor.  It turns out that this boy has cerebral palsy and hasn't walked for five years.  Mom has carried him around whenever they go somewhere.
We realized that we had this wheelchair on hand and with the help of Dr Chuck, Many, Wade and Brit, they got the chair fixed up so he could be wheeled home and anywhere else from now on.
That is what makes it worth while being here.



Fish for Supper

Fresh fish for supper!


Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The Origin of Voodoo

Here is an article from Google on the origins of voodoo -- one of the better ones.


The actual religion of Voodoo, or “Voudon”, originated from the ancient practices of Africa. Voodoo came about most likely in Santo Domingo (modern day Haiti) where slaves devoted rituals to the power of nature and the spirits of the dead. The term “voodoo” was probably adapted from the African Fon spirit, “vodu”.
For many enslaved Africans, such spiritual traditions provided a means of emotional and spiritual resistance to the hardships of life. In time, slaves from the Caribbean were brought to New Orleans and they brought Voodoo with them.

The first reference to Voodoo in official documents came in 1782 during the Spanish regime in New Orleans. In a document which tells of imports to the colony, Governor Galvez states "these Negroes are too much given to voodooism and make the lives of the citizens unsafe". He made an attempt to ban the importation of slaves for a brief time... and its likely he felt he had a good reason.
In both 1791 and 1804, a series of slave revolts rocked Haiti. The revolts were based around the practice of Voodoo and they ended with the French being expelled from the island. Many of the French were able to escape to New Orleans and many of them brought their slaves with them. Now, New Orleans had not only additional Voodoo practicing slaves, but rebellious ones as well.
Many of the Catholic saints would become “stand-in’s” for important Voodoo deities and if you go into a Voodoo shop today, you will see statues, candles and icons depicting various Catholic images. There are in fact, Voodoo symbols as well.
Soon after the introduction of the African slaves to New Orleans, Voodoo began to play a major part in the traditions, and fears, of the general populace. It was not long before the white colonists also began to hear of it and to feel its power. By the end of the century, Voodoo was firmly entrenched in the culture of New Orleans.

The religion was practised by the slaves and the free blacks as well and so strong was the power held by the upper echelons of the religion that they could entice their followers to any crime, and any deed. Whether or not these priests held supernatural power or not, the subtle powers of suggestion and of secret drugs made Voodoo a force to be reckoned with. Masters felt the taste of poison in their food, women and men the taste of lust with a handful of powder... and even death was held in check by the use of "zombie" drugs. There was no denying that Voodoo was real, and powerful, and even today, it is widely practised in the Caribbean islands.... and even in New Orleans.

Clinic - Day 5

Today is day 5 for the Hungry for Life team.  They are very busy with some challenging cases.  One hundred twenty tickets are sold for each day at 100 gourdes each (approx. $2.00 US).  This is an amazing team of people - working very hard in a hot clinic with challenges with the power situation as well.

Donated dental chair that arrived this summer
on a container

We are thankful to have a dentist join the team 



Monday, November 24, 2014

Wall Art

A group of Haitian artists have decorated the walls of the entrance to Haiti ARISE.....








Visiting our Children's Church

Some of the folks who came down for the Grand Opening visited Tapion, our Children's Church up in the mountain.  We hadn't been there since last spring.  Pastor Marc came to share with the kids and to encourage Jhony and Roseline who so faithfully run this church every Sunday afternoon. They have been doing this for about a decade.
Handing out Peanut Butter sandwiches

The group put together a skit

Pastor Marc encouraging

Jhony telling a story with flanel graph

Entertainment!

The fellow is a deaf mute, but he loves to 'serenade you.'
He usually has a guitar made roughly out of wood, but now he has
a real one! 

There are Batman fans in Haiti!


Medical Team

Haiti ARISE has a partnership with Hungry for Life out of British Columbia. This partnership has been instrumental in the development of our clinic.  Every year, they send a medical team to assist our medical staff.  This is a huge blessing to everyone.  They invite you to follow their blog....

http://www.hungryforlife.org/partners/cranbrook-community/november-2014



Enjoying a night out at the Goat 'n' Coke


Friday, November 14, 2014

On the Road

This is what we see driving through Port au Prince....


Roadside food vendors

A rare road sign - we are in Grand Goave


There are many, many lotto outlets.

Typical roadside repair



Taptap = Taxi

A colorful taptap



Grand Opening

Here are a few pictures from the Grand Opening Ceremonies for the Technical School and the Medical Clinic....











Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Powered Up!

We have posted in the past about the power situation here.....We currently do not have city power, so we are relying on our generator.  Here is Wade filling it up with diesel -- something he doesn't get to do in Canada!




Preparations for the Gala

There is hustle and bustle this morning as the last cleaning and beautifying takes place....

Clean up and touch-up painting at the clinic


Dining room set up for the luncheon tomorrow

The Tech School shops have been getting wired and this is the
2 post hoist that has just been installed.
Yvon, our mechanic, is ecstatic!

The stage in the front yard for the festivities

Final landscaping at the Technical School