Back in the old US of A, things keep on keeping on...

NWB has been BUSY over here in Portland! As the Director of Community Outreach as well as Co-Medical Director of the yet-to-be-named Portland clinic site I have been working with Dr. Maria Valdez, a fellow Naturopathic physician and the Medical Director of the Health and Wellness arm of the Osaia Collective. Together with support from other local Naturopathic physicians including Dr. Leslie Nicholas from Mercy & Wisdom and Dr. Carmen Campbell from Four Blessings we were able to provide a free ‘lunch and learn’ series called Thrive, focusing on Diabetes and Hypertension.  Dr. Nicholas has extensive knowledge about community clinics in Portland and has helped us navigate through some of the initial set up steps. Dr. Campbell lectured and hosted a Q&A regarding health and wellness which elicited great audience participation. Other N.D.’s, community members and a representative from a Physicians Co-Op were on hand to help and offer ideas for future classes and series as well.

Dr. Carmen Campbell talks to the community about Diabetes and Hypertension

Dr. Maria Valdez (in white) talks to other professionals about NWB-Osaia.

The highlight of this opening, in my eyes, was the book talk by author and N.D. Dr. Pamela Jeanne (naturalmedworks.com) a sweet, insightful doc with 45 years of experience in Women’s Health.  Her new book, “Healing Matters”, looks at women’s role as healers and their significance in health and wellness historically and how that plays out in today’s society. We have lost much of the ‘feminine essence’ in traditional medicine and even within our medicine; we not only fail to  clearly emphasize the role of women, but their subtle energies and accomplishments that have lead to and continue to lead to healing on so many levels.  It was a great talk with much participation from the audience which left me reminded that we can enact change by being persistent, passionate and driven while remembering to also be compassionate, loving and respectful of the delicate ‘yin-yang’ balance that is so vital in our world.

Dr. Pamela Jeanne presents, "Healing Matters"

What is the next step you ask? Well, we hope to plan for another ‘Thrive’ lecture series in Aug (or the last Sunday in July due to scheduling) and are still reaching out the community in the form of surveys, talks, information sessions etc. to find out what their actual needs are and how the NWB-Osaia clinic can help make those a reality. Finger crossed, the grants start rolling in and we can open the doors for health screenings, health fairs, physical exams and Primary Care appointments in the fall!

Dr.'s Zeenia Junkeer, Carmen Campbell and Leslie Nicholas (left to right)

Until then…dreams of grants, Haiti and empowering the community to take care of their health will keep me fueled up and ready for the next step!

~Dr. Z

Gorgeous mural right around the corner from the clinic space.

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.

Home aka Mama Baby Haiti clinic

People have asked me to please put up some pics of where I live in Haiti so I am taking full advantage of the internet at the Hotel Roi Christophe today...enjoy!

My bed, the room also has another bunk bed, a single bed, and all the bulk food we buy.

One of the bathrooms. Buckets are for flushing and bathing when there is no electricity.

we have an actual flushing toilet! 

volunteer quarters upstairs, we eat, rest and hang out up here.

medicinary upstairs, this room also holds three sets of bunk beds

Sarah has done an amazing job getting things organized downstairs for the birth center.

Washing station. For clothing but it also gets used for dishes ;)

side view of the beautiful clinic

filling a hole in the garden just in time to get planting again!

Haiti Village Health/Mama Baby Haiti Collaboration

We visited Haiti Village Health today in Bod du Mer near Bas Limbe which is about an hour away from us, located in a small fishing village north west of Morne Rouge. It was beautiful and we couldn’t help but to jump in and swim twenty minutes across the bay to a small uninhabited island…in our clothes. FYI scrubs pants and shoes (worn because there are so many sea urchins) make swimming MUCH more difficult, but still well worth it. We had gone out to talk about sending our Haitian midwife Marie to teach educational classes for the Matrons in the area twice a month, following a program designed by the ministry of health years ago. It was a great meeting and I think that this collaboration will be beneficial for not only both organizations but also for the local Matrons who often have no formal training but who are the main caregivers for pregnant mamas here in Haiti. I really hope this can continue here in Morne Rouge too as we have so many Matrons who are seeking these educational materials which were once provided to them but are now withheld as the presiding forces decided that they didn’t want Matrons delivering babies so they stopped the trainings but as one could have predicted this didn’t result in less births with Matrons, just less birth with formally educated Matrons. No good, pa bon, boo.

Haiti Village Health clinic outside of Bas Limbe in Bod du Mer

they do amazing work for the community, a rural fishing village

touring the grounds of their clinic, they will be adding a new building soon!

So nice to be back with my second family which includes Marie our head Haitian midwife

First Blog, Second Trip

I have been in Haiti for five days now, almost four months since I left and things have changed dramatically. For one, the birth center/clinic is now 100% a birth center, with many midwives, students and community volunteers who take care of the mamas giving birth, women waiting for prenatals/postnatals and well child checks for those 2 years old and younger. There are many more volunteers than I am used to which makes for an interesting time with all the personalities, agendas, passions, schedules etc. I love it. I think there is something fun and interesting about spending time in close quarters with people who you might not otherwise spend time with…kind of like when you are at the dentist and they are digging in your mouth causing you pain but you want to hold out on telling them it’s painful because you are hoping that it will go away soon…it’s a challenge I find myself striving to win but am also very thankful for my IPOD, my friends who live in other locations and my sense of humor. On the flip side, it has been amazing reconnecting with all my Haitian “family” again and I love all of them more than when I left. It has been a trying time for all living and working here at the birth center by shear virtue that we are combining different cultures, ethnicities, religions, personalities and lifestyles.

I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with a friend of mine who lives in Cap which I jumped at. Now I know most of you are thinking that I just got here and what do I need a mini vacation for but then I know that most of you know me well enough to know that I am a big proponent of taking care of yourself and making sure you enjoy every day to the fullest J We went to the beach, out to dinner, hung out by the pool and just had a great time. It was a nice way to start off my trip here, knowing there is so much work to do and that without my ability to be calm, decisive, and humorous I might end up being a very grumpy person…that is the last kind of personality we need around here that is for sure-haha. Anyway, I love to be able to enjoy the luxuries Haiti has to offer as we so often focus on the negatives; the poverty, the despair, the starvation, the illness and the horror that people have to live in situations that are so far beyond their control. I love Haiti and I love Haitians, they are so full of life and heart, I think it is a disservice to the country for me to simply focus on the negatives and the difficulties. I mean, I can make a list that would wrap around this island about the negatives in the US but I would rather remember that we have constant electricity, opportunities to become educated and help others, food, water, toilets, access to medical care (ok this is on both lists) and infrastructure (as corrupt or not as you believe it might be).  Perhaps I am just justifying my weekend of play but I think it’s good for the soul and right now, I’m feeling happy, healthy and ready to spend the next six weeks working…well, with the intermittent fun day here and there…I mean, we all know all work and no play makes Zeenia very inefficient…and grumpy.

N’ap pita!

Belly Beach near Labadee, Haiti

Last week here...

I began the last week here working closely with a good friend of mine from the states who came to visit and spend some time in the clinic. We saw tons of patients, he assisted on a few births and even caught his first baby! It was so awesome to have someone from home here, it made for an amazing start to what will probably be a very busy and very sad week..though I am beyond excited to see my family and friends at home who I have not seen in over 8 months! I have been taking full advantage of the fact that we got our car back and we have made a trip to the beach the last two weekends-talk about relaxation! The beach is one of the most beautiful I have seen and the fresh seafood 'caught to order' has me wondering what I need to do to make living on the beach a reality :)

Dr. Yves and Sarah with his first "catch".

 Santo our head translator and all around helpful guy graduated from the Community Health Worker program last weekend. He was the class valedictorian and I am so proud of the work he did and will continue to do for Mama Baby Haiti. He gave a great speech and we were happy to be able to support him as the staff here is definitely our family!

Congrats Santo! At the Community Health Worker Graduation.

All smiles at the beach!

It has also been very sad for me to have to tell my patients I will not be here any longer as the responses have been overwhelmingly positive...only the best wishes for my future plans, thankfulness for the treatments I have given and the results they have achieved, and gifts I never imagined would make me feel so overjoyed at this opportunity I have had here. Last week, Jacques brought me some more plantains, I got some homemade 'dulce' (Haitian sweet peanut goodness), a hat, a bag of oranges, and the best compliment ever, "after God, comes you doctor". Now, I certainly don't think that I deserve these kind words and generous gifts but there is really nothing like feeling truly appreciated along with knowing that you have been able to do something you love while making a real difference in the lives of others. Words cannot describe the feeling.

I have learned so much here, not only about being a doctor but about the Haitian culture, people and language. I know I will be back very soon and hopefully I can reconnect with many of my patients even if it is just to say hello and tell them how much they have affected my life as well.

I spent many visits pleading with this mama to stop feeding her baby sugary drinks as she is malnourished and failed to gain weight, at the last visit she met her goal weight and mama said, "I remembered what you said about the juice and I stopped giving it to her and look how big she got!" 

A sweet grandma and baby Biendie who graduated from the Medika Mamba program last week!