Sometimes we just have to give away our own food


Had a long talk with On-Ground Coordinator, Jim Doucette. Supplies continue to be extremely limited. We bought $500 worth of food in PaP. It might last 1 or 2 days. "Sometimes we just have to give away our own food," Jim reports. 


Today, a man came to the Clinic with his baby daughter. The man hadn't eaten in 15 days and the child hadn't eaten for over 24 hours. We fed the man and gave his child formula. They went away with a sandwich bag of rice.


Another case. A boy arrived at the Clinic yesterday with severe scabies. Scabies is a very contagious skin disease caused by tiny mites. It causes rashes, sores and abrasions from scratching. We have run out of elimite (a very expensive ointment--$110 p tube--more is on the way tomorrow) so he was treated with bacitracin and the wounds on his feet, hands, and head bandaged. He returned this morning and the bandages were changed. Jim says, "The boy sat there while the nurse cared for him with a huge smile on his face." It was the best we could do for now.


In the midst of all of the care we are providing others, Jim is constantly reminding our volunteers to take care of themselves--especially by drinking water to avoid dehydration. What a terrific job Jim Doucette is doing.


By the way, the Yale-New Haven doctor and nurses (supplied through the United Haitian American Society) have fit in perfectly. They even arrived with Y-NH Hospital T-shirts which everybody is now wearing. A nice little moral boost.