The Deluge

Monday February 19, 2007

Last night we had a storm like they have not seen here for some time. The damage done to the seawall in from of Norm’s Place was something the owners have not seen in their 13 years owning the place. A sailing yacht was washed ashore and one of the water taxis was swamped and destroyed. The walk along the beach to the village was eventful with 5 foot waves crashing into the beach.

Today we split the group for our last day of clinic. Half made the trek through the mud back to Purnette and the other half stayed in Labadie to do a kids and old folks clinic. I was assigned registration duties for the clinic which is interesting since I do not yet speak much kreyol. Luckily I was assisted by two young boys who inevitably will become Haitian bureaucrats. One kept the numbers straight and the other kept the crowd in line. I had absolutely no arguments from anybody since the only words I knew was “stay here”, “line up”, “please wait” and “please go to the doctor now”. I had good fun. Everyone learned a little English. I learned a little kreyol. A few hand tricks keep the kids entertained and you can pay people for their help with gumballs.

Jo and the house staff prepared a great final meal, made some rum punch and genuinely expressed how much of a treasured experience the whole thing was.

In the end we saw over 1200 people in 8 days of clinic.