Sa tan pou AYITI (This time for Haiti)!

I'd like to preface this blog with saying that Shakira's song "Waka Waka" has been stuck in my head all day. I change the words to Creole and make them about Haiti instead of Africa, but oooh I cannot get this song out of my mind! It makes me want to dance! In fact, this whole culture makes me want to dance... :) Sometimes I happen to go into the childrens' rooms when the nannies are playing music and dancing a bit-- I like to show them white girls can dance too!!!!

A few nights ago a nanny asked if she could braid my hair! Well who am I to tell her no! So we sat down and had an incredible chat while she braided about love, life, and everything in between-- IN CREOLE! I am not fluent in Creole, by any means, but I definitely enjoy the joy of being able to communicate and laugh with the Haitians very, very much! My hair is pretty legit, let's call it.... I have corn rolls (spelling?) on the top half of my hair. Now I'm used to having the messiest hair possible, so it is a bit of a change to have it braided as tight as it could possibly be. I don't think Haitians really go for the messy look!

My roles here at Children of the Promise have changed. I added on the very important role (wellllll, maybe unofficially..  and I still have some competition with Jenn) of resident hairdresser. I cut another staff member's beautiful hair today... can't say I ever finished it before we had to get back to work. BUT I received reports that it was at least pretty even! :) Whether or not I'll ever be asked to cut hair again, I just don't know....



The bonding the with other girls on the COTP campus has truly begun! I'm beyond excited about that! I love having friends to joke around with everywhere I turn! There are 4 other girls my age here who are all very uniquely fun. When it was time to draw up meds for the next two days earlier today, we all gathered in the pharmacy to have a good ol' time listening to music and talking.

Today hosted one of my favorite things. An IV!!! Now I truly wish that no kid ever had to get sick enough to need one, but I realllllly love the whole concept of IVs! When giving morning medications this morning, I noticed that a baby had become extremely dehydrated- his fontanel and eyes were sunken in, skin dry, and body "stiff" (for lack of better word at the moment). We first put a nasogastric tube in him to start the hydration while we placed an IV in his tiny little foot! By later that day, he was doing much better and drinking well. Kids can get extremely dehydrated here between vomiting and diarrhea. We generally use a oral rehydration serum first, but sometimes have to place an IV before the condition gets worse if they don't improve with just the serum. Especially with tiny babies, hydration is of utmost importance.

My newest project with be helping expand an existing formula program serving the community. If a baby has people who are able to take care of them but just sick and isn't gaining weight (mother isn't able to breastfeed, mother died, etc.), we will enroll them in our formula program. They come every two weeks to have their baby checked up and to exchange their empty can of formula for a new one. We are able to monitor their health status and weight gain. In the next coming months, Nikki and I will be putting together an education component for this so that we can teach the caregivers about vaccines, when babies can eat solid foods, and other essential topics that are not discussed with them often. I would also like to do an assessment each time the babies come in to make sure we are ending up with healthy babies. Yesterday a mom came in to seek help for her baby. The tiny girl was four months old and weighed as much as a new born. She had dry, extra skin around her thighs and had almost no fat on her. One look at her and I immediately fell in love! This precious, tiny life was so innocent, yet her whole body grieved her with renments of scabies scars. Sores or not, she was GORGEOUS! I asked if I could hold her and the mom was happy to allow me. I cannot describe what it is like to look into the eyes some of these malnourished babies... or to be able to hold them in your arms! I LOVE IT! This tiny girl just weakly held on to my finger with her whole hand and blinked slowly with her dark eyes. Precious beyond words. We get to watch babies go from sick and skinny ones, covered in scabies and sores, to healthy, fat babies!

Aside from the formula program, I've been fortunate enough to learn the basics of nurse role at Children of the Promise. Amy never ceases to teach me such incredible things and I'm so thankful to be working with her. I can now officially draw up medications for all the kids who need them-- which is no small role! We have a lot of oral medications that the kids are on 2-4 times a day, so we have to draw up all the medication for two days every other day. There are always children needing assessments, and quite often people at the gate waiting to be seen and treated medically. I get to perform dressing changes for burns, stasis ulcers, and MACHETTE wounds! Sometimes when people come in for other ailments, we have to do our best to diagnose them with what we have to work with-- there is often a lot of research involved. Any free moments are almost always spent with babies in our housing who need to be fed, changed, or just soothed--- not counting the 40 some children in the "baby house" who desperately need to be held! If I ever have a free moment, I try to get out to the "baby house" to just cuddle-- which just so happens to be my favorite thing in the world!!!!

Speaking of cuddling and relaxing, I need to sleep. Sleep is a precious commodity around here, so I better get mine for the short time my "little roommate" will allow me tonight. Some nights I miss my pretty solid sleep schedule of the past and the staying of late and watching movies with Tess.... but I just read this verse tonight that I hope to someday day with confidence:   "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content." -Philippians 4:11-12