Medical mission to Haiti

Mike and Hernby help a baby   Bob Diamond photo

I recently went on a medical mission to Haiti sponsored by the Providence Road Church of Christ in Charlotte, North Carolina.

I had to be inoculated against typhoid fever and Hepatitis A. I also had to begin weekly administration of anti-malarial medicine.

We treated almost nine hundred people in five villages. We were also able to fit about two hundred people with eyeglasses. Due to the heat humidity and living conditions, it was some of the most grueling -- yet satisfying -- work that I have ever done. Even though conditions were harsh, when it was over, we wished that we might be able to stay just a few more days. There is so much that needs to be done.

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We flew from West Palm Beach, Florida to Cap Hatien, Haiti in a DC3 that was older than just about every one on it. It was not air conditioned, had no flight attendants or TV screens, but it did it's job very nicely just the same.

The red truck was our only source of transportation. We called it "the Chiropractor" because of what it did to our backs. 

This muddy road was our main travel route. We had to travel on it to get to just about everywhere we went. The day before this, we had been choking on the dust that flew up as we traveled the same road.

While we were setting up at a vaillage one of the local church leaders and one of the members of our team would have a short devotional. It would help to calm the people down and help us to get organized for the medical screening and treatment to follow. 

The little girl with the sucker in her mouth is Wendelyn. She is in the Cap-Haitien Childrens Home, an orphanage near our compound. It is hard to believe that she is eight years old. She may have a small body, but she has a wonderful spirit. Wendelyn is a little older now. I understand that she is still available for adoption.

The lady in the white dress is balancing a five-gallon bucket of water on her head. Most of the people we saw were hardworking and proud. 

Voodoo is not as dominant as it once was, but it still permeates the society, even in some Christian communities.

It was really all about the children. Their lives would have so much more promise if they had just been born a little further to the North.

We do these trips each summer and are always looking for medical personnel; doctors, nurses, pharmacists, EMT's and people that just want to help!

One of the most important lessons that we learned in Haiti we learned from the people themselves; even though they have practically nothing, their prayers are always filled with thanks to God for all of the things they do have. That is so humbling.

If you would like to know more or if you might like to volunteer for one of these missions you can contact me at DiamondRN@gmail.com