Day 4

Monday, March 15th, 2010

"Canada!" We hear John Thomas calling us from outside our tent, "It's time."

3:00 am. We were up & packing the bus to leave in an hour. At least, that was the plan. But we were in Haiti & so we must work on Haitian time. So even though we were all ready with the bus packed with our bags by 4:00 am, the driver still had to fill the tank with diesel & do other tasks that contributed to the delay. And so by 7:00 am we were on the road.

Waiting for the bus

Don Abbey & John Thomas

As we waited, the line for the clinic at the compound grew

This was a challenging day, to put it kindly. A bus designed to hold about 20 people somehow fit twice that amount. We packed ourselves into that vehicle with unyielding determination, but with the likeness of a clumsy elephant into a rusty, colourfully painted thimble. Each two-seater bench crammed in four bodies of students, instructors, medical professionals, & interpreters. Awkwardly placed limbs & strained faces pushed tight against the windows, walls & each other. Knees were flush against the seat ahead & feet atop bags of supplies stuffed into the isles. Our lungs tight & breath stifled as we were wedged snug into every bit of space available until there was absolutely none left. Needless to say, if you didn't know your neighbour, you quickly became acquainted with them after this bus ride.

As much as we kept our spirits high with the excitement of working in a mobile clinic, the ride itself was strenuous. Giant cracks from the earthquake cursed the pavement, leaving the already pot hole-ridden roads even more damaged. The driver would maneuver the bus from side to side to avoid these imperfections. And when the bumps were unavoidable, he would slow down to go over them, then immediately speed up afterwards, almost as if to make up for the interference. Moving from side to side, up & down, & slow to fast had gotten us foreigners, not used to this erratic driving pattern, quite ill. After a couple of hours into the ride, it almost seemed as if something had to give, & a flat tire was a welcome break for all of us.

Happy to stretch our legs & get some fresh air

One love bus

A true test of

The rest of the drive went from manageable perseverance to a very trying, & almost unbearable, commute. And it showed. Students had resorted to having to throw up out the window, just to attain that immediate & much needed relief. Two people needed IV therapy to prevent further dehydration from vomiting. Everyone was feeling sick & nauseated from the rough bus ride. And we were all becoming tired & frustrated after being told that it would only be a few more minutes to get to our destination each time we took a break, when in actuality it took much, much longer. A five hour bus ride turned out to be a nine hour one. And by that time, we no longer had enough sunlight to hold any clinic that day. We were sick, exhausted, but most of all, we were disheartened that we missed a full day of work. It was explained to us that because they had not expected the bus ride to take the entire day, there would only be one clinic day on Tuesday where they would bring people from Limbe & Plaisance to join those from Cap Haitien. Wednesday would then be an entire travel day back to camp. The bright & blushing eager group from the morning had turned into a pale, sickly, & disappointed crowd. And the three nurses from Canada, who only had a half day of clinic after four days of being in Haiti, were thinking of the long line-up of patients back at the compound that morning & were beginning to question what they were doing here.

Multiply this by nine hours

Enter Solomon Halim, a volunteer with the Union group. Actually, in the days past, it was hard not to notice the energy that Solomon would emanate among the group, getting laughter out of everyone he met, while handing out candy. In fact, throughout the bus ride, he had been advocating for each & every person in the group who needed help. He made sure the people were well hydrated & had something to eat, on top of keeping spirits up. And he had requested the bus to stop a few times when people could no longer take it anymore. But at the point when morale was at its lowest, & the three of us were at our wit's end, it was Solomon who came over to see if we were okay. Although we may not have wanted to hear it at that point, we really needed him to remind us that even though it had been a tough day & not what we expected, we had come here to help & that's what really mattered. What had happened this day was already in the past & all we could do was work with what we had that present moment. With a smile, & of course some candy, he picked our deflated selves us up after being at the end of our own ropes, & helped us remember to make the very best of any situation.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you Solomon. You probably do this for many people, so it may not have been a big deal to you... but it was for us.

Solomon Halim

So that evening, with a renewed sense of purpose, we helped organize the pharmacy & prepared for the following big day ahead.

After a long day, it's time for bed