We’re very proud of our Haitian counterparts Frankel and Rosemela’s work with 23 families in Fond Baptist. Twenty of these families now have goats for breeding and a better diet of milk and meat. These two Haitians did great work in today’s clinic, where we saw more than 450 patients. Tom
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Yesterday we drove up to the mountains. It was a very intense drive with a deep gorge in the middle of the road and we had to cross it by making a bridge. Thankfully we all made it up safely. When we got up to the mountains everyone was invited to a local game of soccer. Mission Manna vs. Fond Baptiste. The ending score came to a draw 3-3. As we were walking back to our compound we noticed a small game of soccer being played by little 5-6 year olds. The little kids were running around kicking not a soccer ball but an orange. I found it so creative and original that these kids who lived in dirt and had little to nothing to eat were playing the world’s game with an orange. After the game we walked back to the compound and headed in for our rough night sleep. We were sleeping in a church on some church pews and a concrete/dirt floor. Waking up at 5:30 to the sound of roosters, we set up our clinic and began treating over 450 kids which took over 6 hours without a break! We headed back into Montriouis and began preparations for tomorrow!

We visited three families in our goat program. The mission MANNA goats were the healthiest goats on the mountain. Franckel, the goat community health worker is doing a great job. Also, Rosmela, the CHW in Fond Baptiste was present at clinic today and is taking excellent care of the kids up there. If only we could expand the program to include more kids…

We head to the mountains today and will return to Montrouis tomorrow. No electricity up there. We will see kids in Ivoire and Fond Baptiste.

Although I have participated in the fall trip to Montrouis now for five years, I am still moved by the beauty of the country and it’s people. Although they live in poverty with minimal sustinence they manage to maintain a dignity and grace that is impressive. 
Today we saw over three hundred children and while some of them were obviously sick and a few malnourished, the majority looked pretty healthy. Always nice to see! Becoming familiar and comfortable with some of the children that we see year after year is for me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of our yearly trek here.
Tomorrow is a more local clinic here in Montrouis. Then its up into the mountains for our clinics in Ivoire and Font Bsptiste with a final clinic back in Montrouis on Friday. 
The week will fly by, we will be changed by our experience and what we see here, and although we will have an impact on the Haitian families that we regularly see, it will seem minimal compared to the impact that this experience continues to have on me!! Val

Side work (for you former waitstaff). Robert and Sam in action!

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We treated over 320 kids yesterday!

Today is the nearest clinic to home base and is in the neighborhood of one of our community health workers, Eddy Prophete.

Later, some of the other trip members will blog.

Busy clinic today in Piyat. Annie and Tom on heights and weights, Robert, Becca, Jen and Derek at the doc stations, Laura, Sam and Amy as the worm- girls, Virginia handed out vitamins and AK-1000 and finally, Val and Chris in the pharmacy. What a team! And we do it again tomorrow!