My trip

Tomorrow very early in the morning, I'll be getting on a plane to head to one of my favorite places: Haiti. I'm going to be working with an organization called Olive Tree Projects in Jacmel. I've been to Jacmel once before and loved its laid back atmosphere. This will be my first time working with Olive Tree. My plane arrives in Port au Prince late Saturday afternoon. I will then catch a ride to the other side of the island with a team working at another organization in Jacmel. The last time I went to Jacmel, my family took a tiny plane for a scary 13 minute flight over the mountains of Haiti. The drive will be much longer, but I'm looking forward to the adventure (as long as I don't get car sick).

Drinking out of coconuts in Jacmel, 2006

The main function of Olive Tree is to provide safe and loving maternal healthcare. They also work alongside Haitians to improve the community through adult education and girls' soccer. While I'm flattered by people's kind comments of how wonderful I am for doing this, I have to be honest: this trip is purely selfish. One day I want to be a Certified Nurse Midwife and possibly own a birth center/home birth practice. Because I'm an American going into midwifery from the medical model (as opposed to a direct-entry midwife who was not a nurse first), the majority of my training will be in a Western hospital setting. This trip gives me the chance to work with a Canadian midwife in a third world country. Midwives are known for having hands-on skills that may be lost in the obstetrics model due to the technicalization of birth, i.e. the standard is breech babies are born via cesarean surgery and few obstetricians have ever delivered a vaginal breech baby. Midwives, especially in an out-of-hospital setting, tend to rely on things like measuring the uterus with a measuring tape to estimate fetal growth instead of using ultrasound (which tends to be inaccurate as the pregnancy progresses.) If there is a natural disaster in the states and we lose all the technology we depend on, what do we turn to if we don't have the basic skills of assessment and palpation? I am so excited to be a part of the daily norms of this maternity clinic for that reason. It will be a different perspective and set of skills that I look forward to experiencing early in my nursing career.

Short term trips do little to improve the lives of the people they intend to touch. My goal is not to make a difference in the day to day lives of Haitians. My goal is to learn and grow and be a better person and eventual clinician. My goal is to bring needed supplies and also the little things like mascara and chocolate to the woman who carries the burden of this ministry on a daily, long-term basis. My goal is to provide company and friendship and refreshment to the people doing the difficult work and actually making the difference. The type of missions that work are the ones that build relationships and intimately know the community's needs because they are a part of it. I'm simply attempting to come alongside those people, learn from them, and hopefully be a blessing to them.

There are six babies due in the month of June. I'm praying that some babies are born during my ten day stay. Not only for my own learning, but also so that it works out that Sarah, the midwife, has an extra set of hands around. I'm also praying that my travels are smooth and safe and that I can easily meet up with the people I'm getting a ride with. I'm praying that going through customs is uneventful and that none of my items get taken. I'm praying that my bags and all their contents make it to their final destination. I'm praying for health and energy while I'm there (no malaria, please). Will you pray with me? I don't know how much internet access I will have, but I will do my best to post updates and pictures. Thank you for your support!

Holding a half French, half Haitian cutie on the beach in Jacmel, '06