A group sponsored by Integral Life Foundation is currently in Haiti (Sept. 20-26) to treat more than 800 children living in six different orphanages. Currently, many children living in the orphanages have scabies, which can easily be prevented and eliminated with treatment. That involves treating all the beds with a disinfectant, covering all mattresses with plastic covers, washing all clothing and linens, and treating all of the kids.

The ILF group also will be putting up more than 800 mosquito nets for children and mamas to prevent malaria, which is one of the biggest contributors to child mortality in Haiti. This will be hard work but volunteers will be doing it side by side with the kids and mothers from the orphanages.

Participants include: Emily Guerrero and her son Gerardo, Dr. Candice Smith, Cynthia Rudy, Anthony Walton, Brian Wallace, Brad Gautney and MaryBeth Jackson, who provided these daily updates:

Prior to departure

On Friday, Sept. 18, a volunteer group in Kansas City helped prepare medications for dispensing. They included Kathleen Shelton, Tracee Palen and her husband, Kyle, Joseph Idalbert, Altema Mackley and Jean Baptiste – three members of Glory House Services – a Haitian non-profit in Kansas City, along with Sasha Ehlers – a South African grad student at UMKC.  It was a very interesting international evening as we learned about both cultures.  Betty Goolsbee, Linda Neville, Barbara Bollier and Stephen Platt – ILF supporters – also helped prepare meds.

Day 1

Last night’s unplanned overnight in Miami turned out to be quite nice. The Miami International Airport hotel couldn’t be more convenient and the AA ticket counter was just a few steps away.

We arrived at the hotel in Port au Prince about 9:30 a.m. Brad and Brian spent the next three to four hours dealing with customs. The good news – WE HAVE THE MOSQUITO NETS! Candice, Cynthia, Emily, Gerardo and I made good use of the time waiting by counting and packaging pills to be used later.

We headed to the orphanage around 2 p.m. It was my first experience driving through Port au Prince more than just one airport to the next. There are potholes that could easily swallow our vehicle whole!! We were in two vehicles – I was in the “chase car.” If you’ve ever been in a car trying to follow DouDou – you know what I mean!

It started raining on our way to the orphanage – so a change of plans. We couldn’t do any of the planned cleaning because of the weather. So while Brad and Candice saw the kids — treating about 40 out of the 100 – the rest of us got to hug the kids. We also (finally) got to give out the one box of shoes we brought!

Tomorrow we are headed to Cherette. We are feeling so blessed to be here doing this work, and we are so thankful for all the donors who make it possible for us to do it.

Day 2 – Cherette

The weather cooperated today so we were able to get all of the work we planned for Cherette accomplished.  While Candice and Brad checked out all the kids and treated those that needed it, Emily, Cynthia and I, with the help of several kids and adults, washed down the beds (kabann) and sprayed the mattresses (matla) with disinfectant. Then we covered the mattresses with plastic.  Brian and Gerardo then installed mosquito nets.

When the girls were done with the mattresses we had several rousing sessions of follow the leader and played hand-clap games, with Cynthia as our tireless and creative leader.

While there is still a lot of work to be done to help these kids, we think we made a good start today.

Mosquito Forts

By Cynthia Rudy

Thanks to a great team today we were able to treat all the kids at Cherette orphanage, spray all the mattresses with Clorox and wrap them in plastic so the bugs won’t bite. We put up mosquito nets on all the beds. The kids were thrilled and LOVE to help us. We are not sure they understand what we were doing. But as long as their meds kill the various parasites and they can sleep at night, mission accomplished.

Of course the forts would not take care of the issue if it was not for the diligent work of Brad and Dr. Candice, whom I believe saw every child today – around 100 total.  God bless the medical team!

You would think that the way they drive here the ‘oops’ of the day would be hitting something on the road; but actually, as Brian was hanging the mosquito nets he and two kids fell through the bed. Fortunately, everyone was fine. They are lucky to have beds as many of the children down here are forced to sleep on the floor.

The backdrop of the orphanage is rich tropical foliage that continues up the mountainside. It’s truly a spectacular setting. I don’t think we will get to the beach but from the drives to and from the orphanages the view of the Caribbean is phenomenal.

I have been to many Third World countries but not to the orphanages, and it’s truly sad to see so many children that have been abandoned. As soon as I started a follow the leader game I had 100 kids following me clapping, marching and doing the twist. We then played patty cake games and realized just the simple things put a smile on their face. They have so much love in their hearts, and with God’s grace and the hard and diligent work of ILF and C3 Missions they will have a better life. There is much work to do here and the list is endless.

I know none of our lives will be the same after this trip and I will treasure the days we made mosquito forts.

Day 3 – Casa Majeur

We had a long day in Casa Majeur. We were unable to go to Arniquet or Port Salud as planned. Despite our unexpected arrival, the mamas, papas and kids all rallied to help us. Casa Majeur is a larger site. The medical team saw at least 175 kids. We installed 118 mosquito nets on beds, cleaned 144 mattresses and covered them with plastic. Great day!

Today was a good day in that I met up with several of my colleagues and friends from Hopkins SPH. One is working with PMTCT and early infant detection in Malawi on a national level and we plan to discuss ILF’s future endeavors with maternal and pediatric HIV in Salima. Her insight will be valuable.

Sessions I attended today primarily focused on pediatric ART and EID in resource-limited areas, and the extreme challenges clinics and health care providers face. On a global level, only 8 percent of HIV exposed infants are tested and identified before 1-2 months of age. The goal is to test all exposed infants between 4-6 weeks of age to be able to early-initiate ART, which has shown to decrease mortality associated with HIV by 76 percent. Clearly, the challenges facing these EID programs are universal.

ILF associate Brad Gautney is attending the International AIDS Society conference in South Africa this week and will be reporting on his learnings.

The opening day of the conference was interesting as the first session I attended discussed infant feeding and HIV. The data are overwhelming that even in the face of possible further HIV infection, exclusively breastfeeding for a minimum of the first six months of an HIV exposed infant’s life is essential to reduce mortality and increase survival. The assessment that two of my colleagues performed with ILF in Haiti in January underscores the need for further education in the majority of HIV programs there.

We will soon be making this data available to many of the organizations working in Haiti as we continue to work to improve the care they provide for mothers and infants affected by HIV. The opening ceremony here was moving because it highlighted the magnitude of lives touched by HIV/AIDS around the world. Despite a global economic recession, child mortality, maternal mortality and HIV/AIDS are not in a recession. This only solidifies the work that ILF and its partners are taking on together in Haiti and Malawi!

Follow the conference at www.ias2009.org or on blogspot here.