Throughout this entire trip there has been a common conversational topic among the volunteers: how can we really help 'heal' Haiti. I often wonder the type of impact that we are making here and what things will be like once we are gone. The nurses seem to be educated poorly and I find to hard to say that quality healthcare is being given here. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they don't even have the supplies they need. A majority of the patient care work in this hospital is done by the patients' families. They help feed their loved one, bathe them, clean out their bedpans, and change their linens. scheduled meds are often skipped or forgotten about because the ordered meds cannot be found. the nurses stations are cluttered, disorganized. It is a very frusterating work environment and even more unsettling that no one is trying to change it and things will probably continue to be this way.
In the big picture the issues in the hospital are a result of poor structure, a structure that resembles the broken government of this country. Even this week we heard talk of riots breaking out at other hospitals bc the current president is planning to transfer power to another person instead of doing a democratic election. But even if another president is elected, the long history of corruption makes me believe that there is little or no hope that we can rely on the government to help their own people. The people here are loving, kind, and wonderful - but they lack the right resources and organization to help rebuild their community. And if Haiti is relying on NGOs and donations to rebuild itself, the process is going to be even slower because resources are running out.
So what are we accomplishing by being here? The week that I have been here, it feels like most of my actions address the problems at hand; like putting a boo-boo bandaid on a busting pipe ( or whatever that expression is). There is no real sustainable plan for these people, not in this hospital, and not in the country. everyone just keeps coming in and trying to help fix the piece that is broken and then leaves. The people deserve so much more than that. They are the most loving, kind, sweet population of people that I have taken care of.