Another day in intense heat.

All is well here. After a long night without mosquitos but with nightmares (hate those things - they should be forbidden!) I woke up to a sweaty morning and fun "activities".
We went back into the mountains to the (one of) Ti Foyer, the "little hearth", where I went last week. Again the mothers were there with their 2 yo children and again the children sat on the center mat and were fed a variety of foods. And again there was not a grain of rice left. There were 7 mothers: one new and the other six had been there many times. Free food! The food is provided by an international food donations organization from, I believe Switzerland (they do an amazing amount!) They have strict rules, that sometimes do not quite meet the rules of other organizations, leaving some kids/adults hanging in between. At any moment an officer can walk in to check and if the rules aren't adhered to, the funds are withdrawn. Another enigma. Where does it leave the poor? Can it be run differently? Why no exceptions when a child is dying> So much is so great and so much makes no sense.
I took some more pictures of the really almost dead-looking baby. The mother didn't look better. I gave her one of Keri's really soft blankets and a pair of premie shorts. Two years old - a bit too big for him. I asked Erlantz why they were letting the baby die. He laughed and sad "THAT baby will be fine. He is skinny because he has not reached the oedema stage and is caught now, in time. That mother has been here with all her children. They are all malnourished but she just doesn't do what she is told. He will be fine." That is so sad to watch. And to understand. All the mothers received a soft blanket and something to go with it: a pair of baby socks, a rubber duckie, pacifiers- whatever. I feel bad acting like the benevolent white woman. But the light in their eyes showed that it didn't matter where it came from: someone cared and this was their day.
I always make sure that they know that the came from friends. More people who care.

Last night we all went swimming in the lovely pool, a left-over of great plantation days and the only thing the staff could not live without here. Everything else can go, but that luxury is needed. Two of my friends and I jumped in clothes on (since none of us remembered a swimsuit) when the med. director came to swim. He kindly told us that he didn't think it was hygienic. But we told him, truthfully, that we have reserved one pair of clothes for this activity. No way we give up that water when it starts cooling off!
The entire 'campus' used to be, as I said earlier, a huge coffee plantation. Yesterday I took an hour to walk around and see how far it had reached and what there was. I counted over 40 buildings and structures, including the oldest part of the hospital. There are walls everywhere, double walls about 2 feet high, that once held soil and lovely plants. Some are still there. It includes an extensive irrigation system to water everything- all of cemented field stone. Some of it can be kept up, but there is absolutely no money to pay workers to do the work needed.
Such a shame. It is also great to see how much Mrs. Mellon loved plants. There are very unusual plants and trees here, all gathered from around the country, in part to show the people the vareit of food and fruits available.

I had a long discussion with Erlantz last night about the (reasons for)poverty and lack of structure in Haiti. Erlantz comes from an "upper-class" family and has a better (?) view of the situation from a historical point of view. (The ? re..who really knows?)
He said that during the time of Papa/Baby Doc EVERYONE was working. Everyone had jobs to do and the country was as peaceful and stable as it ever was. haiti was the first - buy far - independent nation in the Caribean and its history is not always one of poverty and despair.
I asked him about the Ton-Ton-Macout, the Uncle's Army. He said that many of his family members lived out in the country and saw what happened there. Heis family also knows Edwige Danticat and says that her stories are great but, sadly, either untrue or too many written about a single event. That these stories (by the govt) were at times circulated to frighten people into work and fairness. That this was the only time that corruption among the lower govt. employees was at an all time low. (We can humpf about that...but look at us!!)
When I asked him about the involvement of the USA he said that the USA has done wrong things, but that their help and support has by far outweighed what they and other nations have done that harms Haiti.

I listen to all that, look at what he does with all his heart (excellent pediatrician and public health worker) and cannot understand the opposite poles of what one hears, sees, reads and discusses/
All I know is that each starfish saved is a saved starfish.
Love you all.