SUNDAY SOIR

by Gloria Korta MD

Today is Sunday. Our church services began at 7 a.m. (seriously) at the former school basketball court.  The sacristy is all that remains of the church since the earthquake.  There are plans to rebuild, of course, but it all takes time and money.  Pere / Father Kerwin Delicat and his assistants performed the service and we sang in French but for the readings in Creole.  At the end of the eucharist service Fr. Kerwin introduced our team to the congregation. [With no notice Gloria rose to give thanks for the kind reception – in crisp clear French. – Ed.]  We then walked around the campus, toured the elementary and high school located in temporary buildings since the school came down 3 years ago.  We recognized the lessons in French, the algebra and the picture-filled posters on the walls. 

After lunch of a pumpkin-based Liberation Soup (so named for the celebration of the liberated slaves who had been denied the privilege of eating pumpkin before Haitian independence), we toured some of Leogane with Watson, a translator who is now a student in Port-au-Prince studying civil engineering.  We saw the remains of the Catholic Church.  They, too, have found a way to improvise.  We visited the nursing school in Leogane where young men and women are studying to provide to their people; it was very encouraging to speak with one of the first year students.  The yard was a former tent city, now home to several cows and chickens.  The walk lasted 2 hours, made more adventurous by the broken up streets that are mid-project of a storm sewer project by the Japanese.  We won’t walk there at night, too many open ditches.  Tonight, at dinner we will meet Dr. Alex LeBrun, our Haitian physician colleague to get us prepped for our first clinic tomorrow.