Zanmi Mwen (My Friends)

Susan Arch and Alvarez (a boy)

If you read yesterday's blog, you know that two of my friends--Susan Arch and Rhonda Komes--are here in PAP with me.  I have been counting the weeks, then the days, and literally the hours until their arrival on Tuesday at 4:25.  It is so good to have people I know and who know me here.  I don't have to play "hostess" with them or always be on my best behavior or go through the "get-to-know-you routine" of new guests.  It's good to have a touch of home so close by.

It's also great to be able to share this place that I love so dearly with friends.  The only other person close to me who knows what I do in Haiti is my niece Michaela.  I now have three people who will understand the references that I make to people and places in PAP!

Jean-Daniel

We tackled lots of therapy tasks today.  We started by devising some large-handled spoons for the kids who struggle with feeding themselves.  We haven't perfected it yet, but we still have time.  Then Rhonda broke out the sewing machines so that we could start creating some splints for the kids who suck on their fingers.  Some of the kids suck on their fingers so much that it looks as if their fingers could fall off due to rot.       The staff have tried everything they can think of to get the behavior to stop, but no luck.  We (mostly Rhonda and a little bit Susan) created a prototype, and we put it on Valencia, the worst offender.  She didn't resist; I think she liked the attention.  We didn't have the Velcro on, so it didn't stay completely, but when we use the Velcro tomorrow it should work better.  The next trick will be to get the nannies to adjust it when she gets it to move!

Marise and Jean-Daniel

Jean-Daniel

Lunch feeding was another attempt to help the kids.  We pulled three of them aside--Marise, Jean-Daniel, and Maxo--to give them time, space, and practice feeding themselves.  Marise was a pro!  She liked the larger handle and the smaller spoon.  For some reason, she has a very small mouth, and the large spoons they use made it very difficult for her to feed herself.  She just eats slowly.  Maxo struggled with holding the spoon, but he figured out what he needed to do.  He's just new to seeing (cataract surgery a couple weeks ago), so his ability to find the food is difficult still.  Jean-Daniel made a mess, but he was trying!  That boy has a brain!  His muscles are very tight, so it's difficult for him to grasp objects and then turn his hand to get the food into his mouth.  He's also used to being fed by what I call the "baby bird" method--tilt the head back, open the mouth, and let the food be poured down the throat.

Getting started

House #1

Lovely, Wolton, and Kethia

Wolton--our natural salesman!

Fini!

The last big activity was handing out some of the hygiene packets around the neighborhood.  Thanks again to everyone who knitted the dishcloths, donated the hygiene supplies, or put the packets together.  Susan, Rhonda, and I decided to take some of the older kids with us so that they could distribute them.  The kids at the orphanage are so often the recipient of others' generosity that we thought it would be good for them to be the ones giving and helping others.  It was interesting to watch.  Of course, they became incredibly shy when having to talk to strangers, but they eventually stepped up.  Then, they didn't want to give away the first one (nervousness) or the last one.  I think they didn't want to give out the last one because they didn't want the walk to be done.