HART III
Bill R said that 42 people, Club members, some of their family members and some medical personnel, went to the DR to offer some relief to stateless Haitians there. They collected thousands of items to distribute, some of which was donated locally but most of which was in the 83 50lb hockey bags they took with them. 800 hygiene packs, worth about $20,000.00 were distributed, 2 chicken coops were constructed, a basketball court was put up, domestic animals were purchased and donated and $15,000.00 was donated.
Bill said the the material things were valuable and needed but other values were brought to the table during the trip. Friendship, trust, love and hope for them and for the visitors. Emily Richardson had done a 90 minute presentation which she and Bill edited down to about 10 but it gave a good sense of the place and the team's accomplishments. They visited 3 villages and a local dump where the poorest pick and compete with cows for food. Stephanie felt this was the most eye opening - stepping off a bus into the heat, smells and flies and seeing people walking in flip flops or in bare feet who travelled an hour to be there. She commented on the cheerful, orderly behaviour of the recipients of the hygiene packs and the fact that they could be grateful to god and cheerful in the face of deprivation. We should be grateful for what we have and she feels they touched her life more than she contributed to theirs.
Bruce and Mike worked on the coops and felt that the, as it was the first such trip he had been on, he saw what people meant when they said life changing. The people he met were grateful, proud but ignored and he felt that the trip had helped them. Ralph worked with the dental staff and was amazed by the unbelievable condition of the teeth people had, from sucking on cane all the time. He saw a 5 year old brought in by a 7 year old. 50 people a day were treated, most with STD's. He commented that Steve ran the mission on schedule and at one point he and Phil were left when the bus went without them. It was a lesson which was softened somewhat when Steve sent a vehicle back for them. Aaron Ledlie said he'd heard the expression 'you can join Rotary but at some point you become a Rotarian' and he felt this experience was that point for him. He was part of a distribution of food and chickens but the chickens were late because of 'island time' and there was some intensity on the part of those waiting. Fred said he was asked if he felt safe and generally replied that he didn't even think about it but at one point he accompanied to young children who had arrived at the dental clinic, apparently without guardians, back to their homes and when he felt he had them back safely he realized he was lost in the maze of houses and roads and sewage channels. Fortunately using his rare language skills he found his way back to the church and from there to the camp. Roma assisted the dentist using a hand puppet which she spoke to in Spanish and when it obeyed the kids did too.
Ron said the Club and the Community feel proud of the accomplishments of all the members of the team and he thanked them for their efforts.
Next week the meeting is at the MCC and we will be hearing about the Keewatin and the week after that we are going to visit it for a brown bag lunch. May the 15 Ploy will present her story.