Tina Lam reflects on her medical team to Terre Blanche in November 2018 and its lasting impact on her heart.
My nine days in Terre Blanche in 2018 with Haiti Foundation of Hope was one of the most remarkable and rewarding experiences in my life. My brother Fitz and I had no idea what to expect; what we found was a remote corner of beautiful, troubled Haiti, filled with love and hope.
On a sunny Sunday morning, hymns sung by perhaps 100 voices filled the church, as Pastor Delamy prepared to speak. On our first clinic day, people packed the courtyard waiting patiently for their turn, many dressed in their finest. Everyone from pregnant women to old people got exams and medicines. Some had been there since the night before. At school, bright eyes looked up shyly from overflowing plates of food at the lunch table, all wearing blue gingham shirts or dresses. In the late morning, villagers lined up for bread baked in the ingenious solar oven. At the trade school, women sewed small dresses and school uniforms. One day, we walked a short distance to a Ti Foyer (Little Kitchen), where mothers and babies gathered under palms to hear about good nutrition and share a hearty meal.
Evenings were sublime, all of us gathered on the clinic roof, talking about the day and praying as the dusk turned the clouds pink. One day, several boys guided Fitz and me on a hike past goats, mountains and a small river – a stunning green pocket of beauty. The smiles of Haitians and their good-natured laughs were inspiring and unforgettable. So was the accordion serenade and singing by a crowd on our last night.
Pastor Delamy and his wife Elvire, Joe and Linda Markee, HFH board members, along with many others, work hard to keep the clinic, schools and programs going strong without our presence. I wanted then, and have wanted ever since, to do what I can to help them.
Ti Foyer
Terre Blanche
School Flag Raising
Tina and her brother Fitz.
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