Haiti: A dummies guide to opening a clinic.

Today in Haiti..teams left, new teams arrived. We have been doing all kinds of jobs - making video's, cleaning the new clinic, registering refugees, sorting supplies, creating the framework for a clinic.

The base here in St Marc, Haiti continue to be overwhelmed with people wanting to come help. They are trying to process as fast as they can...this is the joy of the YWAM tribe - a willingness to drop everything and respond to a cry for help. They need people who are flexible and willing to do anything - so a YWAMer by definition. People are arriving in from all over the world, moved by the scale of the need and a belief that each of us doing out little effort can change a nation.

Our efforts may be small in comparison with the scale of the problems in this nation, but we believe in a God who is in the business of using the most unlikely situations and people, and doing incredible things. I have to believe that each little thing we do is making a difference in someone's life.

Today Nadja, who is a pharmacist on our team, took on the job of sorting all the medical supplies that have been donated. People gave been generous, but it has been in need of serious sorting and ordering. I worked on creating admissions forms and patient records systems for use in the new clinic ... it’s a shame they don’t write a 'Dummies guide on how to start a clinic'!

Once the new facility is cleaned we hope to move the patients there over the weekend. At the moment they are still laying out and being treated in a sports stadium next to the base. Some of them have severe injuries - skin grafts, amputations, external fixators, head injuries and deep wounds.

The clinic is staffed by visiting teams of nurses and local Haitian nursing & medical students. The Haitians were in school studying, until it was destroyed in the earthquake. Now they are getting a different type training! They are doing a good job, but are needing oversight to make sure they are doing the right thing.

I was spending some time in the clinic this evening during evening rounds. There is one lady who has a badly injured foot. During the earthquake she was trapped under rubble. She had her leg in a splint, but with no other treatment. She only arrived here two days ago – it has taken her the past two weeks to get here. All her family were killed and she has no-one. The doctors operated and inserted internal pins. She is hooked up to and IV and is in constant pain. By being here in the YWAM clinic she receives food and shelter.

The YWAM Haiti team have had many long-term visions and plans for this city and nation. The earthquake has put on fast-forward many of these plans. It has been a good thing, but it has not allowed for enough structure to be put in place, so everyone is on catch-up. The staff here are doing an amazing work, but are exhausted by the speed at which things are moving. They need long-term staff, teachers, nurses & administrators to handle the scale of possibilities. The people of Haiti are hungry to hear the gospel and there is so much opportunity to share.

We registered around 700 more refugees today. It can be a tense process and we nearly had a couple of riots today. People are desperate for help and there can be people not wanting to wait in line or who are afraid they won't get a number for registration. But I think everyone got processed today.

Tomorrow is more registration and we hope to move to the clinic!! Please continue to pray for us ... I am just recovered from a 3-day migraine, today Becky had a headache and Kris's tooth crown fell out - we are now trying to hunt down a western dentist who can help her, as having seen the local dentist in action we are not so keen on him treating her!

Thanks for following. Jo & team. x