Daniel Swanson ~ Today was the first day of the dental clinic that we are holding in a village up in the mountains near Fond Parisien. The drive up was long and rocky, but the views while driving through the mountains were absolutely beautiful. When we arrived we set up a clinic in the chapel of that village, and by that time there were already many people waiting for us both young and old. Once finally getting set up we ended up treating eighty-three people, most of whom needed multiple teeth pulled. While the dentists did this we helped clean utensils, prepare syringes, and have trays ready for them. It was amazing to see how much of a need there was for the dental care given to the people who lived in the mountains as it is something that we often take for granted. Near the end of the clinic today we were also able to give some of the children who were still there balls, bats, and candy that we had brought for them, and although we were not able to communicate with them easily, we could see how thankful they were for them. Overall, the first day of the clinic was long, but was one of the first things we were able to do here that I could tell was absolutely needed and the people of this village were truly grateful for. Being my first trip to Haiti, this has been a truly eye opening experience to be exposed to this level of poverty, but I do not regret coming in the least bit. I look forward to going back to the village for the next three days and hopefully being able to serve just as many people as we did today.
Terri Swanson ~ We arrived in beautiful Haiti to beautiful weather. Nothing but sunshine. It is very hot. All the prayers from family and friends and our parish family are pretty good prayers! it looks like the cistern is going to be built. Tomorrow morning we meet with someone from Gift of Water to talk about chlorine water purifiers for the village. Today was our first day of dental clinic. It went very well. It is always a privilege to be here. I am grateful for the opportunity.
LaVina Dise ~ It is beautiful here in Haiti. We also have done so much already, and it is only been two days. Yesterday, we visited “Love a Child” and met the man who will work with us on putting in the cistern in LeRoche. Looks good. Today we had our first day with the dental Clinic and had 83 patients. Also, we talked with Father Lalande and he is a wonderful man. I do want to thank all my family and friends for all the prayers. They are working, I am so thankful to be here.
Bob Swanson ~ It has been a good trip so far. Yesterday we had a successful trip to LeRoche with Love a Child. It seems they are now committed to assisting us with getting a cistern built in LeRoche. This has been a long time coming and it is nice to things start to come together. The first day of dental clinic was today, and things seemed to go very well. We saw 83 people. The two dentists here are amazing. They really work had to do an amazing number of extractions. The weather here is very hot. We are sitting around the table here now and it is really hot. I feel blessed to be a part of this trip, and I am hoping do some work that can give the very friendly people of Haiti a better life. Everyday here tells me how very blessed we are and how well we have it back in Michigan.
Hannah Swanson ~ First off, this trip has been amazing so far, but dang it’s hot! We seem so busy since the day we arrived. Going great with the occasional hiccup along the way such as the group ditching me on the airport tram (just kidding, my mistake) or leaving a piece of luggage at the airport. Today, the dental clinic went great and was able to watch the benefit we had among the community. Getting up close and personal was no problem for us as we held the hand of a women getting four of her teeth pulled. The gorgeous view on the way up to the village was just a topper on the amazing feeling it is to help so many people that are in need. Truly blessed.
Haiti Needs You Blog 