By Dr. Chris Neuman –

Wednesday started in the usual fashion with clinic @ Cambry for the morning.
We then packed up at 11am for a trip to La Savane, one of the worst slums in Haiti.

Greg Adams and I rode in the back of Paster Lewis’ pickup with 3 translators as we went ahead of the crew to set up the clinic. On the way, I was taking pictures of what we saw along the road. Going through Les Cayes was not a problem, but when we hit the last and worst road to the “open air clinic”, three huge guys started yelling because they did not want any outsiders taking pictures.

The clinic was a large concrete room with tarps used to separate the waiting room from the “exam” room. We had no tables except one made of five gallon containers and old plywood. Kristin set up her pharmacy on a stage and triage was right at the front door.

I saw two children today whose mother stated they complain of severe stomach pain every day that makes them cry. The children looked relatively healthy, but small for their age. One was 10 years old and 56 pounds. The other was 5 years old and 25 pounds. On further history, I realized that their stomach pains were actually hunger pains. They ate once every one or two days. I explained to the mother that she needed to feed them more often, after which she broke down and cried. She explained to us that their father died 2 years ago in the earthquake and she had no way to feed them. A few of us came over and prayed for her and then Kristin slipped her $20 in secret so she could buy a one month supply of rice for her family.

What struck me most is that she never mentioned this until I confronted her and she still did not ask for a handout. Her children voiced no complaints and seemed relatively happy.

It really puts our wants and desires into perspective. Even my worst day is nowhere near as bad as their best.