Naturopaths Without Borders.

So part of this trip to Haiti was to be used as a time to be able to move forward with some things in regards to Naturopaths Without Borders (NWB). We have been working on figuring out what our role in the global and public health arena as well as within the Haitian medical world. I think every day we are closer to figuring out where we fit in the grand scheme of it all. I was beyond ecstatic to be able to be here in Haiti with all the other board members of NWB! All of us in one place at one time was A-mazing and worth all the financial sacrifices and the stress of putting together a large student trip and getting all of us down here at the same time. We were able to expose Dr. Geyer to all of the things we have been filling her in about for the last year and she was able to experience what running a clinic day feels like first hand. There is no substitute for the actual hands on learning experience you get when you come down here and I know it has given us all a better understanding of what direction we want to go in.

NWB is an organization invested in working to bring health care to those in need and to also work on the determinants of health and creating a sustainable model of care that includes a co-op style clinic that will work towards empowering the community and creating a better basis for preventative care and overall health. Easier said than done here in Haiti but we are in talks to work with an amazing Haitian Physician who will be able to work on the frontline with support and resources from us while we continue to educate the community, see patients, and hopefully one day train community health workers to be able to bridge the wide gap that is so present between doctors/hospitals/clinics and the community. There is so much hope in my heart for all of these wonderful prospective projects! Stay tuned for more info regarding NWB and our work in Haiti.

Three of the four board members.

After a mobile clinic at a elementary school.

Working with some students from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine.

Working with patients in Balan.

Questions, answers and more questions...

Old fountain in Vaudreuil...close to our clinic

Beautiful day for a walk.

Fishing boats in Labadie, in the north of Haiti. 

moo.

Haiti is a beautiful country full of amazing people and beautiful scenery. It is also a place where there is much work to be done which begs the question…WHO should be doing this work? Should volunteers from all over the world come here to bring their expertise and ideas about what works and what does not when it comes to global and public health?  Should money be sent down and fingers crossed that those who need it actually get it? Perhaps we (foreigners) should just bring resources and find local community members to teach how to use the resources in a sustainable way. Do we look at collaboration with community leaders who inevitably have a greater sense of what in particular their community needs? Quality or quantity? Giving out money to those who have no access to food? Paying for school for local children with the hopes they will be able to make it there daily? Free medical care or sliding scale, are we putting local doctors out of work, or at least steeping on toes and causing animosity? Coming in with, “all the answers” puts many of us in a position of unease as we know the history of Haiti and the destruction caused by people coming in to this country with preset ideas about what is needed and wanted by Haitian people.  And in the end, there are always more questions than answers.

So. Many. Questions.

I will blame all of these moral dilemmas for my lack of blogging. It seems to be the easiest thing to do. When in doubt, get overwhelmed and then do nothing. Haha, I guess I didn’t make it to the do nothing part but this time in Haiti has definitely found me in a constant state of reflection regarding my work here as well as what is the most beneficial for Haiti. I love this country but it will sadly never be ‘my country’. I will always be an outsider, even when I am on the ‘inside’. It is not a reflection of how people in the community treat me as they are often the ones to say, “she is Haitian!” and give me positive feedback on my ability to speak or try and speak Kreyol, the work being done here and the fact that I seem unfazed by much of what goes on daily. I feel nothing but love from the community but I cannot ignore the simple fact that I am an American in Haiti.

A wonderful hike to the waterfalls. 

Then you see a little kid come into the clinic, smiling and looking coyly at you. She has been one of our oldest and most ill patients, fluctuating between a state of absences of disease and severe illness. She is feeling better after one of our docs referred her to the hospital after she came into the clinic in what I can only imagine was some of the most severe pain one could have. Her ear was infected, likely from many weeks back and now, without treatment she has fluid and maggots draining out of her ear. She made it out of the hospital safe and sound, and is even happier after one volunteer donated some money for her to be enrolled in a peanut butter medicine program for malnourished kids (Medika Mamba). When her mom thanks you for being there when no one else was, it doesn’t seem so important anymore that perhaps we are stepping on some toes, making some incorrect decisions and perhaps not following all the moral guidelines which seem to be so subjective by nature. I think that when I get down about my purpose and mission here in Haiti I need to make sure that I am always thinking about the triumphs, which have been innumerable. I know in time I will be able to navigate my way around this work as I see many of the ‘long timers’ do. I must say, I admire the perseverance it takes to continue to work but also understand most people who are here long term are completely utterly head over heels in love, as I am, with Haiti. 

Everyone loves a baby goat.