News Update

Hi Everyone:

Yesterday was relatively uneventful, Sam, my assistant Nene and I spent most of the afternoon compiling a list of needy families is the village that we could help. We receive protein enriched rice packets monthly from the Mission of Hope, and often do not use all of them. As this food is donated, I feel that it should be used to help those who are in the most need. We usually have at least seven boxes of food left at the end of the month. Each box has 36 bags of rice in it, each bag will feed a family of 4 for a day. So using seven boxes of food, we could feed 36 families for a week.

At 5:00 pm, Nene went home as usual, he returned at 6:30 pm being helped by his family after being shot in the chest and face with a shotgun. Luckily the shooter had been too far away and the pellets only slightly pierced his skin. After removing pellets and dressing his 134 wounds, he was able to return home under his own power. He was at home today recovering.

We have no idea who did this or what their motivation was. He is a loving, hard-working family man who is extremely reliable. The feeding program was his idea, and he spends countless hours helping out friends and family. It just brings to the forefront how difficult it is to work here in Haiti. I was recently informed that a number of the motorcycle taxi drivers that transport people up and down the very bad road between the highway and Simonette, hate me because I have not fixed the road. There is a prevailing attitude among many people here in Haiti, that it is the “Blanc’s”  (white people) responsibility to look after them. Help is often expected and received with very little gratitude. Because I am white, it is believed that I have access to unlimited funds and should spend those funds on them. They also get jealous easily if one of their neighbors appears to be “getting ahead”. Nene speaks very good English and because of this often works for NGO’s as an interpreter or as in my case as an assistant. This places him in a position of which other’s become jealous. I pray that his employment with us has not put him in danger. The police are now involved and I have asked our Security chief to do an investigation as well.

I know that some people question why we do what we do. It is a reasonable question that I even ask myself, working somewhere that is dangerous and where some of the people don’t want you. The answer, however is quite simple; God has called us here. God never said his work would be easy, in fact he says the opposite . ( John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”) I gave my life to Christ many years ago, as he gave his life for me 2000 years ago. He has overcome the world and we will overcome this with his guidance and love!

God Bless

Frank

The Starfish Story

The following is a story written by Loren Eisley:

The Starfish Story
Original Story by: Loren Eisley

 

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. 

Approaching the boy, he asked, What are you doing?

The youth replied, Throwing starfish back into the ocean. 
The surf is up and the tide is going out.  If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.

Son, the man said, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? 
You can’t make a difference!

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf.  Then, smiling at the man, he said, I made a difference for that one.

As you know, King’s Kids Worldwide had a program called the Starfish Program. It’s name was derived from the above story. You may also know that King’s Kids is closing it’s doors and starting the process of merging with Starfish Ministries based out of Lynden, Washington and Langley, British Columbia. Their name was derived from the very same story and uses the very same philosophy to provide help to those in need. 

We are aware that there are millions of needy and marginalized people all over the world. We are also aware that it is impossible to help them all. We can however make a difference to that one, and that one and that one… It is very easy to become overwhelmed with the visible needs around us. How could I possibly make a difference?  Not all of you can become missionaries or go to a foreign land to help the needy, but each and every one of you has the capability to make a difference to “that one”.  It can be accomplished with as little as volunteering at a homeless shelter, or giving up your daily Starbucks or Tim Horton’s habit and donating the money to a worthy cause. Don’t get me wrong. I am not asking for your money. If God wants you to donate to us, he will put that on your heart without my help. What I am asking is to become “ENGAGED”. Get rid of the “What can I possibly do?” mindset and replace it with a “What CAN I do?” mindset. Become that little boy and make a difference to THAT ONE!

God Bless

Frank King RN, Tytoo Gardens Orphanage

A Busy Week Again

It has been a busy week here at Tytoo. On Monday, I had to drop off our new friend, Phillip at the airport for his return to Texas. It was Phillips 1st trip to Haiti, and like most people who visit here, I think his life was changed. He and Lindsey toured Simonette and met with many of the villagers. He worked with the kids and as a youth pastor, was able to forge a good relationship with many of the older kids. On Sunday they had a Carnival party and we are still recovering from the glitter. They had a dance competition with the kids, who really got into the fun.

On monday afternoon, I returned to the airport to pick-up Ted Hughes and Ron Barrons. Ted is the son of Tytoo founder Ed Hughes and Ron was Ed’s best friend. They were here for a short 3 days, but it was great to see them and watch as they reconnected with the kids. They also brought down some Canada Grade A steaks, which were delicious. It sometimes gets frustrating to work down here, but knowing there are so many people back in Canada and the US that are praying for us, makes it easier.

On Tuesday morning we returned again to the Airport to drop off Lindsey at the airport. Lindsey is helping me while Esther and the girls are in Canada. She had to buy a return ticket when she arrived in August and had to use the ticket or she would lose it. She is using this opportunity to see family and talk to her supporters about what we are doing here in Haiti. Esther is doing the same thing in Canada.

On Tuesday afternoon, I arranged with my friend Del Grooters, to use his house to have a beach party for all the kids. It was a great success. I often forget that even though we live on the ocean, the kids love going to the beach. Tytoo does not have a beach, and most beaches here charge a fee to use them. It was great to use an awesome beach and not have to pay anything other than the cost of drinks and a bag of Cheetos for each of the kids.

On Wednesday, Ron went with my assistant Nene to Simonette to take pictures. He has an amazing camera and let me download every picture he took. It will take me a while to go through them all and post them so you too can see some of the images we see everyday.

Thursday was sad when we had to say goodbye to Ted and Ron. We came back to Tytoo and I had several people waiting at the gate to see me. It has become common knowledge that I have been helping people with medical care here and I am seeing an average of 4-5 people a day for a variety of health problems. For some reason, the mosquitoes population has boomed here recently, so malaria is becoming more and more common. I have seen 4 cases this week alone.

Yesterday was far quieter, I was able to get some repairs done on the truck and finish building our little motorbike trailer. We receive 25 food boxes every month for senior citizens that have little or no support from family. many of them live in out-of-the-way places, where our big truck can not go. Sam and Nene usually deliver these boxes and have to carry many of them up very steep and rocky paths to give them out. Each box weighs about 40 lbs. These paths are however negotiable by motorcycle and we built a small trailer to help deliver them. Our first attempt only lasted for one delivery because the wheels sort of bent inward from the weight. We had to reinforce the trailer but ensure it was still light enough to be pulled by a motorcycle. My engineering skills and welding are improving, I think this version will be able to handle the terrain and weight. I will let you know when we do our next delivery.

I know that this may not be all that interesting to some of you, but remember that the support and prayers you give, truly makes a difference here. We can not possibly hope to help the people here without the support of people like you.

God Bless, Frank King RN, Tytoo Gardens Orphanage.

Beach Day

This week is Carnival week in Haiti. It is a week long national holiday and all the kids are off school. We got the opportunity to take all the kids to my Friend Del Grooters private beach for swimming and a picnic. We also have our good friends Ted Hughes (Pitit Tytoo), Ed Hughes son and Ed’s best friend, Ron Barrons here visiting for a couple days. A great time was had by all!

The Little Kids, Cheetos, sun and Surf

 These are two pictures from our beach day.

Relaxing

 

 

 

THANK YOU LORD!!

I need to start this blog with a little story from the past. As all of you are probably aware, Haiti can be a dangerous place to be at times. In the middle of september, my friend Chad agreed to drive me to the airport for me to fly back to Canada. As with most trips into Port Au Prince he planned several other things to do, while there. One of those things was to get Esther’s computer fixed so it could use a wireless internet stick. He also went to pay several of his bills. About 15 minutes after dropping me off, he was stopped on the road by about 25 men with automatic weapons. They stole all his money, his cell phones and Esther’s brand new computer. They also beat him up as well as another friend that was with him. He was very shaken up and immediately went to the nearest police station to report it. The police told him that there was nothing they could do as the criminals were far better armed than they were. A police report was filed and we decided that we would avoid the area of the robbery at all costs.

Fast forward to last week, when I received a call from Kris in Canada stating he had received an email from a computer technician that had a laptop with all of Esther’s documents on it. He had made a back-up copy of the files and saved them on his computer! I called him and he explained that the person that had brought him the computer to “fix” was a police officer. I must admit that I jumped to conclusions and assumed that the police officer had something to do with the robbery. Today we met with the computer tech that had fixed the computer to pick up the copy. He was a young man of about 25 that worked for the Nazarene Church in Pationville, a suburb of Port Au Prince. He was a strong Christian and told me that when he found the files he knew it belonged to a Ministry and quickly copied the files. The thing that had been lost in translation in our earlier conversation was that the Police officer was also a strong Christian. The computer had been retrieved by the police the day after the robbery, but because Chad had his cell phone stolen, there was no recorded phone number to call. They had waited several months for someone to claim the computer, and when no one did, it was decided that he would take it to his friend to reformat it and they could use it for their police station. I have an appointment with the police on Sunday to pick up the computer. I am still absolutely amazed that we are getting it back. I would be amazed in Canada if this happened, but when it happens in Haiti it is a miraculous event. THANK YOU LORD!!

Who Knew?

We often get so caught up in things that we often don’t see the obvious. Recently I have had a steady stream of young mothers coming to Tytoo for me to look at their babies. These babies all have several things in common, the mothers all state that they have Fivre (Fever), Gripe (Cold and runny nose) and cry a lot. They were also all between 3 and 8 months of age. Hmmm…. Is there some sort of flu virus at work? Colds? I am always looking for the big ones, Cholera, typhoid, etc. but this fit none of the symptoms. Then yesterday I had a Eureka moment and almost laughed. All these kids were teething, most of the Moms were first time mothers and often very young. It was so refreshing to be able to give them the reassurance that these children were all healthy and going through a natural process that causes these symptoms. The looks of relief on their faces was wonderful.

We often take for granted that people have access to what we consider common knowledge. A good many of these ladies have never seen a health care provider in their lives. They are often given misinformation based on myth or superstition and often do not have any role models to look to for advice. Many have no formal education. The people of Simonette have come to look at Esther and I as their source of information and help when it is required. Public health information and teaching is desperately needed here. It is common for us to see mothers feeding their 3 month old babies rice and beans. It is also common for parents to take their children to the Voudou priest (that is the correct spelling, not Voodoo) for medical care because they can’t afford to pay the Doctor the required 100 gourde ($2.50) to be seen. Huge amounts of money sent here is not what is going to help this country recover. What is going to make it recover is education and accessible healthcare.

Frank

Another Emergency

Shortly after publishing my last post, another crisis struck. A small Eight year old girl was brought to Tytoo by her mother. She was obviously in a great deal of distress, having trouble breathing. I quickly brought her into the clinic for an assessment. She was very pale and just barely conscious. I listened to her lungs and attached our oxygen monitor. Her lungs were wheezy and her oxygen level was well below normal. I put her on oxygen, gave her medication to open up her airways and arranged to take her to the Doctors at Mission of Hope. We arrived at MOH and the doctors quickly gave her more medications, but it was soon clear she was not responding well to treatment. Both the doctors at MOH felt that this young lady needed more help than they could offer, they arranged for her to be transferred to St. Luc’s children’s hospital in Port Au Prince. By the time we arrived at St. Luc’s, she was again in severe respiratory distress. I turned the child over to the Staff at St. ‘s, but I have not heard what her current condition is. Please pray that this young lady has a full recovery.

A Busy Week

We had an extremely busy week here at Tytoo. Earlier last week in the early evening a woman came to Tytoo complaining that she was bleeding. I soon discovered that she was in the early stages of pregnancy and was almost certainly having a miscarriage. She had lost a great deal of blood before coming to me and desperately needed help. By this time it was 8:00 PM and even though I never want to drive at night, I decided that she required further medical care at a hospital.  The nearest hospital to Tytoo is Mission of Hope a short 15 min away, however they close after 3:00 PM and do not open until 6:00 AM. Beyond that, the next closest hospital is in Cite de Solei, one of the most dangerous places in Haiti (Especially at night). I knew that without help this poor woman was going to bleed to death, and if I did not take her, no one else would. We drove to the MSF hospital only to be told that they would not take the woman because it was a gynecological problem and not a trauma. (This assessment was done by a security guard who would not even let me speak with a Nurse or Doctor). I did not know how to find another hospital that would accept her without driving all over Port Au Prince. The family decided that we should try to take her back to Tytoo and find a hospital in the morning. We took her back to Tytoo where I watched her closely and desperately tried to stop the bleeding. It was an extremely long night and I thought on several occasions that I was not going to be able to save her. God helped me stop the bleeding at about 4:00 AM and we brought her to Mission of Hope at 6:00 AM. The doctor there quickly decided that she needed further emergency care and transferred her to a maternity hospital in Port Au Prince. Thank the Lord that as I write this she has almost fully recovered.

The Next Evening, one of the older boys came to me saying that he was having severe vomiting and diarrhea. Even though I had never seen a case of Cholera, the symptoms were very clear. I know that Cholera strikes quickly and can cause death within hours of the symptoms developing. I quickly loaded him into the truck and took him to the nearest Cholera Hospital in Bon Repot. The doctor quickly confirmed my diagnosis and he was started on IV fluids. Cholera is extremely contagious but fairly easy to control with good hand washing and cleanliness. I went to the nearest town and bought out 2 stores of their supply of bleach and cleaners and returned to Tytoo. Well into the night everyone was busy cleaning every surface with bleach. I received a phone call early in the morning saying that Nanal was OK and could return home. I was amazed that just with the administration of a couple litres of fluids, he looked like he hadn’t even been sick. I gave him the recommended dose of medication to prevent a recurrence of the illness and he made a full recovery in less than 24 hours.

On Sunday morning, our on site missionary, Lindsey, who is helping me while Esther is in Canada, came to me saying that she had been vomiting and having diarrhea all night. Again it was clear that it was Cholera and I loaded her into the truck to take her to the Cholera hospital. This time however the reception was different. It was Sunday however and being Haiti, there were no Doctors there. They were however able to give me IV supplies for me to treat the illness at home. We returned to Tytoo and I attempted to start an IV. By this time Lindsey was very dehydrated and after 2 attempts I was unable to start the IV. Graciously, Cory a Nurse practitioner from Ohio agreed to come and start the IV. Again the results were amazing, Lindsey quickly recovered and was hungry by dinner time.

As you can see, life here is never boring. We have to rely on our Lord to give us the strength to continue our work here. Please continue to pray for our safety and effectiveness.

Frank King RN, Tytoo Gardens Orphanage.