4/2/2008 – Wednesday
To the clinic again, however this time there was a transportation strike. We were delayed secondary to a strike taking place on the main road into town. We catch public transportation approximately 100 yards from the ILAC center. When we finally went to the stop that morning, there was burnt trash all over the road, and the locals said that they were using tear gas.
Oh how could I forget, we had cream of wheat for breakfast. It contained cinnamon and real cream. It tasted so good b/c Dominicans use naturally flavors and very little sugar. It’s funny because after every meal everyone is still hungry for sweets! J The little corner store down the road sells cookies for 6 pesos a pack (6 cookies in a pack) They are those good cookies that are vanilla or chocolate filled with frosting in the middle.
Today at the clinic was much better than the first. We spent a lot of time On the orthopedic floor. Here children are casted due to fractures or wounds. Do to the aggressive nature or Dominican boys, the children are often kept at the hospital to ensure that the child is running around, climbing trees, riding motos etc. So basically these children stay in bed all day.
I felt a lot like patch Adams today. We went to one room that housed approximately 8 kids. We blew up ballons and asked the children if they wanted to play. All the kids got out of bed and we begin hitting balloons around the room. The children were so excited to be out of bed and playing.
An interesting food we ate today was Quipe and bananas dulce. Quipe is a type of meet that is mixed with wheat and fried. It was brought to the DR by the Lebanese, and is enjoyed with ketchup. (A lil better then the Hagis that I hate while in scottland J) Bananas dulce is bananas cooked and caramelized with sugar. Much like bananas foster’s minus the ice cream.
This afternoon we headed to the Batay. Batay are Haitian refuges made by the Dominican republic to house Haitians during harvest and planting season. By Dominican law Haitians are allowed to come to the DR to work and must return after harvest season. This particular community housed approximately 1000 people. Understand that they may come and are not all guaranteed work. For example, 600 may show up to the fields for the season, and the Dominican Land owner may only need 300. That leaves 300 people to return to the Batay without pay for that year. Often times theses individuals will survive on a calories intake of a banana a day. In the Dominican Law also Haittians are to be transported in the day only so all can see them coming going. Several times government buses have showed up to the Batay at 5:30 in the Morning to load up the Haitian and buss them back to Haiti without pay. Needless to say this an area of extreme poverty. The are currently working with the ILAC center to better the community and its drinking water. The water is getting better, but is still contaminated with Lead and parasites.
Next we spit into groups and went out to treat family members of the Batay citizens that were in need. There we are sitting in a house containing 3 rooms and cement floors speaking with the Batay people. We evaluated a older man who fell 7 years ago while working in the rice fields (per the family members). The patient presents with the diagnosis of a stroke, but they are unaware of that term. He requires many family members for his care secondary to his decondition. He also has open skin lesions, something that looks like a dermatitis or scabes. How is he to heal, the water they drink and bath with is contaminated and he’s putting in on open wounds. After or PT intervention we return back to the center of the community where there is a dirt baseball field. There children are playing with nothing more then a pole, trash for bases, and a ball. It’s so hard to explain what it was like to be immersed in such a community. This is poverty at its worst, however children still can laugh and play. We will return next week here to administer parasite drugs to the children.
This evening was unscheduled, which was much needed. We have a small figure 8 track out back that is about 300 yards a lap. It isn’t anything more than running on a gravel road back in Omaha. But it was so nice just to put on my head phones and have some “ME” time.
Tonight at 9:30 we had mass again. I read the responsorial psalm that was “The lord hears the Cry of the Poor.” Pretty fitting due to the fact that we spent the afternoon in the Batay. Father Pat related his sermon to reason’s why we serve the poor and the differences and similarities of these different communities.
To the clinic again, however this time there was a transportation strike. We were delayed secondary to a strike taking place on the main road into town. We catch public transportation approximately 100 yards from the ILAC center. When we finally went to the stop that morning, there was burnt trash all over the road, and the locals said that they were using tear gas.
Oh how could I forget, we had cream of wheat for breakfast. It contained cinnamon and real cream. It tasted so good b/c Dominicans use naturally flavors and very little sugar. It’s funny because after every meal everyone is still hungry for sweets! J The little corner store down the road sells cookies for 6 pesos a pack (6 cookies in a pack) They are those good cookies that are vanilla or chocolate filled with frosting in the middle.
Today at the clinic was much better than the first. We spent a lot of time On the orthopedic floor. Here children are casted due to fractures or wounds. Do to the aggressive nature or Dominican boys, the children are often kept at the hospital to ensure that the child is running around, climbing trees, riding motos etc. So basically these children stay in bed all day.
I felt a lot like patch Adams today. We went to one room that housed approximately 8 kids. We blew up ballons and asked the children if they wanted to play. All the kids got out of bed and we begin hitting balloons around the room. The children were so excited to be out of bed and playing.
An interesting food we ate today was Quipe and bananas dulce. Quipe is a type of meet that is mixed with wheat and fried. It was brought to the DR by the Lebanese, and is enjoyed with ketchup. (A lil better then the Hagis that I hate while in scottland J) Bananas dulce is bananas cooked and caramelized with sugar. Much like bananas foster’s minus the ice cream.
This afternoon we headed to the Batay. Batay are Haitian refuges made by the Dominican republic to house Haitians during harvest and planting season. By Dominican law Haitians are allowed to come to the DR to work and must return after harvest season. This particular community housed approximately 1000 people. Understand that they may come and are not all guaranteed work. For example, 600 may show up to the fields for the season, and the Dominican Land owner may only need 300. That leaves 300 people to return to the Batay without pay for that year. Often times theses individuals will survive on a calories intake of a banana a day. In the Dominican Law also Haittians are to be transported in the day only so all can see them coming going. Several times government buses have showed up to the Batay at 5:30 in the Morning to load up the Haitian and buss them back to Haiti without pay. Needless to say this an area of extreme poverty. The are currently working with the ILAC center to better the community and its drinking water. The water is getting better, but is still contaminated with Lead and parasites.
Next we spit into groups and went out to treat family members of the Batay citizens that were in need. There we are sitting in a house containing 3 rooms and cement floors speaking with the Batay people. We evaluated a older man who fell 7 years ago while working in the rice fields (per the family members). The patient presents with the diagnosis of a stroke, but they are unaware of that term. He requires many family members for his care secondary to his decondition. He also has open skin lesions, something that looks like a dermatitis or scabes. How is he to heal, the water they drink and bath with is contaminated and he’s putting in on open wounds. After or PT intervention we return back to the center of the community where there is a dirt baseball field. There children are playing with nothing more then a pole, trash for bases, and a ball. It’s so hard to explain what it was like to be immersed in such a community. This is poverty at its worst, however children still can laugh and play. We will return next week here to administer parasite drugs to the children.
This evening was unscheduled, which was much needed. We have a small figure 8 track out back that is about 300 yards a lap. It isn’t anything more than running on a gravel road back in Omaha. But it was so nice just to put on my head phones and have some “ME” time.
Tonight at 9:30 we had mass again. I read the responsorial psalm that was “The lord hears the Cry of the Poor.” Pretty fitting due to the fact that we spent the afternoon in the Batay. Father Pat related his sermon to reason’s why we serve the poor and the differences and similarities of these different communities.
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