One of my favorite things I’ve been able to do this year, is help medical teams with their projects at Espwa. In the past four months, we’ve had: three groups of nurses, two doctors and a dental group visit. Each team tackles different challenges: public health education, oral hygiene education, dental operations and cleanings, and treatment … Continue reading
We really didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into when we boarded that one-way flight from Miami to Haiti almost three months ago. There was no way we could have known and we had minimal preparation and forewarning. We have spent the past three months really getting a feel for things and beginning to understand exactly … Continue reading
A trip to the dentist. The following adjectives immediately come to mind for most people: painful, uncomfortable, anxiety-inducing, and the-last-thing-I-want-to-do-8AM-Monday-morning. This weekend those associations have drastically changed for me in what I think will be a lasting way. At this moment I know a trip to the dentist can be empathetic, familial, and even profound. … Continue reading
Three days a week this summer, the kids filed diligently into the secondary schools for English classes. A line of students from the girl’s village and a line from the boy’s village met at the school with fading blue paint. In each classroom one of the older boys taught the students–pointing to the board and having … Continue reading
I spent four months in India last fall. That’s over 100 days and over 300 meals. I ate at dozens of restaurants in a few different regions of the country and found a place at the table in several family homes. Of all of the warm, spicy, flavorful dishes I ate, a few nestled their … Continue reading
Today is August 11th. It’s officially been 2 months since Kelsey and I boarded our two-hour flight to Haiti. I arrived first, June 11th, and made myself a little spot to sit on the carpeted floor by our gate. All the other seats were filled: occupied by Haitians returning from business, families traveling home from a visit to the states, and a … Continue reading
We walked on. I noticed, as I had around Cange, that many people we passed wore clothes from America, brand-name running shoes that had seen much better days and baseball caps and T-shirts bearing the logos of professional sports teams and country clubs. “Kennedys” was the generic name for stuff like that. Back in the … Continue reading
In the past week, the city of Les Cayes has had power exactly twice. Once for about two hours during the final game of the World Cup and again last night, for 7 hours straight (an attempt from the company to assuage a population in the dark). That’s about 10 total hours of power for … Continue reading
Here at Espwa, the kids have been watching the World Cup games everyday. They huddle around a tiny tan television on a stool by the dozens to catch glimpses of the matches. All throughout the day you can hear cheers across the property–especially when Brazil scores. It’s an exciting time of year and unifying for the hundreds … Continue reading
A few days ago, one of our good friends and a long term volunteer had her final morning at Espwa. The two of us walked over to the girl’s village together to hang out with some of the girls and give her a chance to say goodbye until next time. When we arrived the village was … Continue reading
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