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I joined up with the 10 member group from MtVernon Church
[ MTVchurch.com ] being led by Tim Dortch and Mark Mckenzie. The team comprised of Two Doctors from Mississippi, Dr. Dunn, and Dr.LeBrun , Several medical professionals, Lanette Thrasher, Sherry Banks, Kristi Dickerson, Ashli Dunn, Paige Blankenship, Katie Leenman, and two church leaders, Lynn Robinson, and Al Wise.
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I was not really sure what I could add or what part I would play in this mission. Seth [my 13 yr old son] and I were talking about documenting these missions via video and photos earlier, but Seth was not feeling well and was unable to make this trip. Therefore I became the default Videographer.
On the first day of the mission we saw over 400 sick people and had two separate church services for each group where they were given the gospel clearly and understood that the medical healing they received was temporary and that God is offering them eternal healing through Jesus which will last for eternity.
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The process would work as several hundred people would spend the day walking some as far as 5 or 6 miles to receive treatment [all while not feeling well] and arrive at various times throughout the day. We would wait for the Church to get full, and then when the Church became full we would start a worship service and then teach a short Bible study explaining the gospel clearly. When the service was over the people would then be taken through a triage process where they would be asked survey questions to help streamline the visits with the Doctors. The vitals would be recorded and they would be assigned a number to ensure they would be seen that day.
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When their number was called they would go into the entrance of the Mobile Medical Unit and receive treatment and then exit the Mobile Medical Unit with a gospel tract in Creole, small gifts for the children, a lolli-pop, and any medication needed that was prescribed by the Doctor.
By the end of the second day over 1000 men, women and children had been treated. [This is 1/10th of the population of the town we were in]
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Anse-a-pitre is a border town located in the southeast province of Haiti.
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It is surrounded by Fonds Verettes to the North, the town of Thiotte to the west, the Dominican Republic to the east, and the Carribbean Sea to the south. It has population of approximately 25,000 inhabitants, RGPH [Global Public Health publication] 2002. Of that population the ratio is 97 men to 100 women, living in two areas---the village of Bois d'Orme and Boucan-Guillaume and the village of Banane. The population of the city of Anse-a-pitre is estimated at approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
The population breaks down as follows:
1. 43.1% - 0-15 years of age
2. 51.4% - 15-64 years of age
3. 5.5% - over 65 years of age
The most frequent health problems in the area are:
1. high infant/mother mortality;
We saw several small babies who were in desperate need of medical attention. One dear child just over a month old had not taken her mothers milk in four days and lie lifeless in the arms of her mother.
She was given treatment and I saw her the second day of the outreach and she looked like a new baby! Praise be to God!
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2. a high incidence of HIV/AIDS-TB
3. infant malnutrition due to unmet needs
4. pre-term labor
5. Malaria and typhoid [although it has diminished quite a bit thanks to access to potable drinking water provided by the Foundation for Peace].
Life expectancy for the population is 51 years of age for women and 48 for men.
There is no electricity, the highway is in a bad state, which does not allow for people who live in remote areas to access already limited health services. Deaths can also result from limited access to a center staffed with qualified medical and paramedic staff. On our way out on the first day a bad motorcycle accident happened literally behind/beside us. An NGO truck hit a motorcycle head on at a high rate of speed.
The young man was thrown from his bike, bounced off the hood of the truck, flew over the rear of our vehicle and then landed firmly on the blacktop. Our Doctors jumped from the back of our truck, proceeded to assess the needs of the young man, started an IV and the rest of the team tried to control the mob-like crowd while Katie, Kristi and I prayed for the young man and his family. Earlier this day we had a visit from the UN and we had just o happened to get a cell phone number of one of the men. One of the local pastors that was working with us ran and was able to call the UN who showed up clearing us of any misconception of the accident, and providing a way for the Haitian young man to be transported across the border to the nearest hospital in the DR.
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The team donated enough money to pay for his transport to a modern medical facility in the Capitol.
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In this town, there is no vocational school, and the rate of illiteracy is estimated at 65%.
We had the Town Doctor from Pedernales, Dominican Republic serving with us as well.
In America 7.8 out of every 1000 children born die before they reach 5 years old.
In Haiti 71.5 out of every 1000 children born die before they reach 5 years old.ancy
Life Expectency
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