The journey home from Haiti

The Journey Home

After 10 days on the ground in Haiti, I ask to return home. Many new people have shown up at our camp so there seems to be plenty of help on the ground. There is a car leaving on Tuesday so I would have a ride out of the country back to the DR. I like the idea of traveling with the Dominicans back to the DR for security reasons. I check with our leader to see if it is OK that I leave and he gives me permission. I leave the next day.

It takes us 2 hours to get out of Haiti and then another 5 hours to get to Santo Domingo once back in the DR. There were many military check points on our return home but we had no problems.

Ithas been quite an experience. Something I'll never forget. When I responded to help after Hurricane Katrina, I had no idea what to expect and that experience has changed my life. Being in Haiti has done the same. The devastation and the pain and suffering that goes on after a disaster is extremely sad. But, I've been fortunate enough to be one of the people on the ground who can physically go to help.

The challenges I went through being on the ground in Haiti (for example, no electricity, the language barrier, no running water, etc..) are nothing compared to what the people of Haiti are going through now and even before the earthquake. My heart hurts for them.

I think that as time goes by and things get more organized on the ground in Haiti, we'll be able to accomplish more and more each day. I was honored to go and would be honored to return if needed. I want to help in any way I can.

On the ground in Haiti

Our first morning there we wake up early at 6:00 am. The sky is already full of activity. We work on getting organized. A venture like this takes alot of organizing, planning and good timing. I worked with Angel to stock the medical supply box. We have injectable antibiotics, Vitamin B injectable and a gel for Sarna (mange). We also have bandage materials, Betadine, suture material and fluids.

While waiting to go find animals, we watch as trucks come and go through the gate by our camp. The UN is filling them up with donations of food. When the trucks leave the gate, there are swarms of people in the streets surrounding the trucks wanting to get some of the food. When one truck left an onlooker jumped in the back of the truck and threw out a big bag of rice and the crowd went crazy! They were all scrambling for that rice. It was very sad to watch.

On the first day we were supposed to meet up with the people from WSPA and IFAW but we had some trouble communicating and locating each other. When we finally did, Dr. Thomas, the local Haitian Veterinarian, was with them. He is a wonderful man and speaks perfect English. He is going to be a wonderful asset. He knows where to take us and knows where it is safe. He can go with us to the tent cities and talk to the people and make sure that they welcome us into their place to treat the animals.

Our plan is to go into the tent cities and meet with the leader there to get permission to come in that day or the next day to treat the animals. We tell the leader that helping the animals helps the people too and helps prevent the spread of disease. As we drive around looking for the tent cities, we see so much destruction and the streets are FILLED with people. People everywhere! They have no where to go. The buildings are flattened and many are frightened to go into them.

We are welcomed into every tent city we go to. The people are grateful for the help. We treat the animals with Ivermectin for internal parasites and skin problems (mange) and give them a Vitamin injection to give them a boost. In some cases we are giving injections of antibiotics. We also treat minor lacerations and injuries. Skin problems and very skinny dogs are the most prevalent. Every day we would treat anywhere from 10-65 animals.We show the Haitians how to apply flea powder and the gel for mange. A crowd of people always gathers every time we arrive at a location. It's heartwarming to see their smiles and hear their 'thank you's'. We are glad to show them how to properly handle their animals and they are very grateful. We are a role model for them. People literally come out of the woodwork with their pets for us to treat. Dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, goats, etc... Smiles on their faces. Amazing after what they've been through. The human/animal bond is unbreakable!

One dog we treated, named Dick, had obvious neurological problems since the earthquake. Dick was found buried in the rubble 1 day after the earthquake laying next to his 7 year old guardian, who was killed in the earthquake. He was obviously traumatized. We gave Dick an injection of Dexamethazone for his injuries and made arrangements to return in a few days to repeat it. The guardians were so happy. They loved Dick and we were glad we could help.

Inside SONAPI, we were told by Dr. Thomas, that there are some dogs belonging to a guy named Hector that need treating. We arrive at Hector's to see many, many dogs. He trains them to be rescue dogs and guard dogs. One dog, a schnauzer, has a laceration on his neck.Hector says it's probably from a dog fight because he was not able to get to his dogs for 3 days after the earthquake and they were probably fighting for food. We are able to clean it up and give meds for later. Another dog, a german shepherd, who had been missing since the earthquake (2 weeks) had a huge hole on his back and his right rear leg was badly injured to the bone. We cleaned him up and gave Hector antibiotics. We asked Dr. Thomas to return to treat him further.

One day we went to the Bolivian UN station to treat dogs that were living on their base. They were dogs that lived on the base when they arrived and they had befriended them. They were grateful for our help. They requested spay/neuter of the dogs and we told them that we hoped to offer that option soon.

During my time on the ground in Haiti, a young boy named Joseph befriended us and came to our camp every day. His family lived on the street and they didn't even have a tent. We would feed him and give him anything we could that would help him and his family. He would clean our camp and joke around with us. He did a great Michael Jackson impersonation.

Setting up Camp in Haiti

Setting up camp

As we sit and wait for our campsite to be secured, we watch the UN troops let in groups of Haitians through the gate in front of us to hand out food to them. There is alot of pushing and shoving going on so they have to keep the groups to 30-40 people at a time. They line them in the street and try to keep things as calm as possible. There are many UN soldiers around with guns trying to keep things sane. It's crazy to watch. Outside the gate there are hundreds more Haitians waiting for their turn. We watch them from our secured area. Very intense!

Once we are allowed into our space, we pitch our tents and setup camp. We are camped on a paved, dead end road. There is an outhouse down the street with more UN soldiers standing guard close by. There is alot of activity around. The sky is very busy, full of helicopters. The Dominicans have 15 or more mobile food units parked near us and they appear to be feeding thousands of people. They load the truck up with meals and head out hourly. We ended up having many meals with them over the course of our stay.

We were able to get a sponge bath in the first night. We had a big tub filled with water and used cups to pour the water over us. We used the side of the big truck for our back drop and used the back doors for our shower curtain. Luckily it was dark out so our audience of soldiers down the street couldn't see too much. :-)

Since I'm traveling with 9 Dominicans the Spanish is flying so I don't always get all that's being said but we find our way to communicate and understand each other. I'm sure my Spanish will be much better by the end of this trip. After dinner we all went to bed wondering what our first day on the streets in Port au Prince will bring.

On the road to Haiti

On the road to Haiti

I was told it was about 7 hours to the border but we made it in 5 hours. We arrived in Jimani about 6pm and went directly to the 'Command Center'. The Red Cross was there along with a Civil Defense group from the DR and many volunteers. There were tents pitched in an open field and there were 5 or 6 mobile food trucks parked nearby. We checked in with headquarters and were given some paperwork to fill out. We would be staying the night in Jimani because we will be going in to Haiti tomorrow with a convoy for safety reasons. They leave twice a day, at 6am and 2pm. We will be joining the 2pm convoy.

We proceeded to put up our tents. My new Dominican friends had never pitched a tent before so it was fun showing them how to set one up. They learned quickly and were happy to help. They seemed to find pleasure in learning something new. They were tent experts by the end of our trip.

We heard that there was a shortage of tents for some of the Haitian refugees that were in Jimani, most likely they had family in the hospital there and needed a place to sleep. So, we donated our tents to them for the night and ended up staying in a waiting area in the hospital.

We were up early and proceeded to get our supply truck organized. We took everything out and reloaded it. We labeled boxes and separated food and water from supplies. Marcos of SODPRECA had setup a meeting with a group of epidemiologists in order to get further permission to enter Haiti and work with the animals. The group is called SESPES and they have something to do with the Department of Health. We were given permission by SESPES to proceed so now all there was left to do was wait until 2pm. During that time we were able to treat a Civil Defense Service dog that was extremely thin. We fed him and gave him a Vitamin injection. They agreed to remove him from the field and let him recuperate for a week or so before working him again.

At 2pm we got in line for the convoy and left around 2:30pm. There were many cars and trucks. We crossed the border without any problems. We weren't even asked for our passport. Because our group was so well prepared before leaving we sailed right through. Right at the border there were makeshift shops everywhere selling a little of everything. I understand it's a place where people from the DR go to buy things cheaply and then take them back to the DR to sell. The border sits on a huge lake that extends from the DR to Haiti. It was actually very beautiful.

The first part of the road to Port au Prince was very rough and extremely dusty. The mountainside had collapsed down onto the road and you could tell they had to clear the boulders out of the way to open it. It took us 2 hours to get to Port au Prince. We didn't see much devastation on the way because there is not very much there. We passed through several small towns where things seemed to be normal. Once on the outskirts of Port au Prince we began to see massive destruction. Masses of people in the streets, chaos on the road, different humanitarian groups visible and crumpled buildings everywhere. We stopped at the airport where there were some US troops. There were helicopters and planes, huge tents and equipment and soldiers everywhere. Tbe sky was very busy and it was so noisy.

We continued on into Port au Prince and found the location we were supposed to stay. It is called SONAPI and it's a Haitian free zone where businesses can setup tax free and create employment for the people. UN troops were everywhere as well as The Red Cross. It felt safe right away. In SONAPI there was an area there where the Dominicans had setup their mobile food trucks so we decided to stay in there.

Now more waiting until they secure our campsite.

Preparing to go to Haiti

Hola mis amigos!

I am safely back in the DR after a 2 week trip and 10 days on the ground in Haiti. It is so hard to put into words how this trip changed my life. I just have to say how proud I am to have been able to go help the animals and the people of Haiti and I thank In Defense of Animals for making that a possibility.

I am posting several short blogs that I wrote about my experience. They in now way express all the feelings and adventure and experiences I had but they will give you an idea. You can also check out postings on IDA's website at www.idausa.org and SODOPRECA's FaceBook page at www.facebook.com/sodopreca about our time in Haiti.

Please, let us all be thankful for everything we have every single minute of every single day.

Saludos, Connie

Preparing to go:

When I got the email from Matt Rossell of In Defense of Animals (NW Director - www.idausa.org) on February 15th saying that IDA was looking for a representative to deploy to Haiti and he wondered if I might be interested, my first reaction was "YES! I want to go help the animals in Haiti." I have had Disaster Relief Training, I am a veterinary technician and I was on the ground after Hurricane Katrina so I felt I was prepared in that respect. But, as I learned more about the situation in Haiti and the dangers with after shocks and security, my feelings would switch back and forth between feeling anxious, scared, proud, apprehensive, excited, etc....

During the days before my deployment I was always in a state of being somewhat nervous about the trip. What to expect, where would we stay, would it be safe, who would I be traveling with..... I would be leaving behind all the security blankets I am familiar with and that are my contact with the outside world - my computer, my phone, my family, my husband. I would be going into Haiti with SODOPRECA (Sociedad Dominicana para la Prevencion de Crueldad a los Animales), an animal welfare group out of Santo Domingo, to assess the situation in Port au Prince and that's about all I knew. But, I was glad and proud to be asked to be part of the team.

Before leaving I was sure to fill out information about my trip to Haiti online with the US Embassy. I consulted friends of mine who have done disaster relief missions before about what to bring. When my husband Steve and I left for Santo Domingo on January 21st I felt I was as prepared as I could be. We arrived in Santo Domingo and met with 2 representatives from IFAW (Internation Fund for Animal Welfare) who had been in Santo Domingo meeting with SODOPRECA and other members of ARCH (Animal Rescue Coalition Haiti) setting up logistics for our trip into Haiti. They filled us in on what had transpired so far. Our plan was to leave tomorrow evening.

The next morning I went with SODOPRECA to get our uniforms. We were fitted with t-shirts, pants and boots. I met 3 of the other people we would be traveling with and I liked them very much. I returned to my hotel room and waited with anticipation. I realize to plan something like this takes alot of time and organization so I was glad to know they weren't rushing in before they were ready. My husband was very supportive of my choice and helped keep me calm during the 'waiting'.

I received a call from Marcos of SODOPRECA early evening saying that we would be leaving tomorrow morning instead. They just had not had enough time to get everything together. I was somewhat relieved and liked the idea of leaving in daylight instead of at night.

The next morning I received a call at 8am that we plan on leaving at 9am. I was met at our hotel by 2 of the others traveling with us and they rode with us to the meeting place. Slowly the rest of the crew showed up (remember, we're on Dominican time). By 11:55am we were ready to go. We were 10 people, 2 cars and a truck full of supplies. We were on our way to Jimani, a small border town in the Dominican Republic, with a crossing into Haiti. I reluctantly said goodbye to my husband and we were on our way.