Done with the treatment, what next?

Over the last weeks Mike and I have spent a good amount of time in the tent camps on the hospital grounds with the amputee patients. These patients have amazing stories to tell. Once we got to know them, they opened up and told us about their life here in Haiti. They tell us stories of the moments from the big earthquake and how they were trapped, trampled on and within seconds became homeless.
These stories are so horrific that they all seem unreal. Unfortunately, all the stories are real.


When we ask them about the hope for the future, their hope is lost. All they want to do is to survive the present. A young man came and sat next to me yesterday afternoon. Most of the time when people come over they are hungry or thirsty and want me to help them out with food or water. And sometimes they ask for money.
This young man did not ask for any of this. All he asked me was if I wanted to be his friend. He told me that he does not want to ask me for any of my money, just my friendship. Then he continued to tell me about how all his parents and relatives passed away during the earthquake and how he was a lone survivor. Now he is living on the streets and is looking for things to do or a job where he could earn some money to survive. He does not have a tent or a tarp and sleeps under the sky. He told me that he thinks something is now wrong with his head and just wanted to talk to me.




Every day we hear stories like this one. People carefully approach us and want to tell you their story. It seems like there is an urgent need for therapy down here in Haiti. And what makes things even more difficult is the traumatic stress people are experiencing with the still ongoing aftershocks on a daily basis. Waking up in the middle of the night by 4.7 rumbles and hearing people scream and running outside is not a pleasant experience.



The people of Haiti are suffering and have a long way to go to a “normal” life. Their stories need to be told and the rest of the world needs to help and support them for a long time to come. Their biggest fortune is their attitude and friendship. They are caring for each other and are always ready to help one another and the foreign volunteers that are here to help.