Fondwa

Today after morning clinic, we drove into Fondwa to visit the orphanage. Fondwa is up in the mountains, and we had a beautiful day for the trip. After parking in the town, we hiked down to the orphanage where we met up with Sister Carmelle. She showed us the buildings that were destroyed in the earthquake, and I believe that it was an emotional experience for us all. We went down to where the school used to be, which is now composed of tents since the buildings were destroyed. Sister Carmelle told us that some of the children walk for 4 hours each way to come to school each day which was amazing to us all! The children seemed in good spirits for the most part, but the stress and grief that they must be living with are unimaginable.

The sisters were kind enough to provide a fantastic lunch for us, and we spent time visiting and talking for much of the afternoon. Unfortunately, one of our group members, Katherine, had some knee pain walking down the steep hill into Fondwa...but she did get to experience a motorbike ride to get back up! I think it was a very exciting experience :)

We are all tired from a long day of both physical and emotional encounters; however I think that we are only able to see and do many things because of the close ties that Family Health Ministries has with the Haitian community. People have been kind enough to invite us into their lives and share their stories, and this week has provided many experiences that we will never forget.