ROBYN COUPER
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Robyn Couper went to Haiti in 1976 and returned to New Zealand in 2009. Her experience has included nursing, teaching,administration and church work including children's work, Bible teaching, prayer and counselling ministry.She worked with the Evangelical Church of Haiti.In January 2010, after being home for only five months, she felt it necessary to respond in some way to the problems being experienced in Haiti following the earthquake. Her knowledge of the country and experience in Cap-Haitien meant that any help offered would be channelled in and through the community that she knew and trusted. As a result Hearts and Hands for Haiti New Zealand Charitable Trust was formed to provide assistance on a short term basis. |
News from Haiti
October 2011
Hello Everyone,
You may be wondering where we are at and why the silence. It has taken me some time to get myself organised as far as the internet is concerned. The house is like a prison and the door downstairs must remain shut so it has made access to me difficult for people, though in a way this has been beneficial. It is very hot. Not so humid but hot at 29-33C. We put up mozzie nets last night for me and Fi as I finally got bitten - I told Fi they smelled her blood as there weren’t any last week.
Jean Claude has started his blog again on the same page as a continuation. Good reading but the pictures are not for the squeamish. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
What have we done?
1: Jean Claude got a rapturous welcome back and is in full swing.
2: Fiona arrived. The nurse physios have been asking for courses!!!!!!!!
3: We have visited the very impressive, amazing facilities at the Baptist Convention where, over the past year, 1.6 million US dollars have been spent. The Cholera Centre is also there housing 200 inpatients as at today. There is a water filtration plant donated by France and their programme is immense. They are hoping to send three people from the spinal unit/paraplegic unit to the Para Olympics in London to participate!!!!!!! They have obviously raised a lot of money on top of the UN grant and I will be sending a compressed folder with the photos I have taken. Truly wonderful.
4: On Friday Fiona and I will meet with Dr Moise Fritzgerald who works with Healing Hands for Haiti in Port-Au-Prince and who has specialised in physical rehabilitation. If you go to their web site you will find it most interesting and that there has been a fair bit of training in Port au Prince. He has encouraged the haitian end of this project to keep on with the vision and apparently would lend some teaching help!!!! The aim of meeting with him is for Fi to sound out some curriculum ideas etc.
5: We have had discussions with quite a number of other people involved in the proposed establishment of the physio school but there is still much to do.
Take care everyone
Thanks for your love and prayers Robyn
March 27th 2011
Dear Everyone,
I think it might be a very, very hot and sticky summer. The past two nights I have had three fans going at once, (I have never done that before) no sheet to cover me and still been hot; it saps all your energy away.
This week has had a couple of nice surprises. It would need to after hearing of the deaths of a friend’s grandson and of the GP who was so good to me at night times when I was in hospital and had my coronary. He died this past week of heart problems at the age of 54. He was the only one who didn’t seem to be afraid of where I was at and was so gentle and kind. I have asked for him heaps of things since I have been back and then found out on Thursday that he had died. However on the brighter side, Andy, a wee boy with a brain tumour that seems to be in remission, has had a special walking frame made for him. The finished job…minus the paint is a cracker. .For the first time his feet were flat on the floor. Wow. Not sure Jacques’ and my handling of his walking was right but the girls will attend to that. We just wanted to make sure it fitted and can’t wait to go back to see his eyes when it is all painted and nice. Tuesday is D day. We are hoping someone that Fi referred with a cerebral palsy child will come and see if it would be suitable for him too. Jacques can then go into business eh????
Then Miss Audate got Elcie, a burns patient at the hospital, up and walking but that lasted only one day!!!! Oh well- it will be a “try again” thing. On the 15th the nurse physios will have their first Stroke Club day. At this point they have 16 stroke people they have worked with coming to a combined session and this will probably be held every month or every six weeks. I think they still have to work out the details but Fi encouraged them to do that without her. That is a super step in the right direction.
The election results were postponed till tomorrow night. Lots of street talk but the peoples’ choice seems to be Mickey Martelly. However tomorrow night all will be revealed. It will probably be late at night.
Well, 10 days left and lots to do. Have a meeting Monday night, need to see some more people during the week and a meeting again next Monday night before leaving on the Tuesday morning the 12th on my way home. A lot has been accomplished and this has been very satisfying.
Robyn
March 20th
Last Sunday was Election Day so we spent most of it at home after going to church early morning as usual. I spent some hours translating some of Fiona’s notes into French. I used the Google translator which really messes things up but then went through and corrected it and that is quicker than my slow thinking. The errors have been minimal and mostly minor grammatical mistakes. Sony told me she would give me 8/10 for my translations.
The elections were quiet…well relatively so. A few arrests here and there and some notable ones that at least made you think the law would be applied to everyone. There were a couple of deaths but overall, compared with what I thought might happen, it was quiet. However the rhetoric on the street is not. The north is for Mickey Martelly, the singer but the professional, educated and a lot of others are not convinced of his capacity to run this country. Some find it hard that an entertainer could be chosen and certainly someone who has been rather uncouth in his on stage performances. Some have thrown their vote away by not voting at all, and others are definitely for Manigat. It appears that CNN has published some provisional results that show Manigat in front by a large majority in two provinces and smaller majorities in 4. Martelly has three provinces and there is one more in question. I have tried to find the same information to see it with my own eyes on CNN but have failed. I think that, for the most part, this election is relatively free of fraud.
Fi leaves two days early because of flight changes. Tomorrow is her last day at work. Audate said this morning after church she would be very sorry to see her go. I went to the hospital with her on Friday and Elsie our lady was busy milking pus from her burns dressing and collecting it in a small plastic dish. I had had enough by then ( see further on) and decided to go as I had only gone to tell Elsie to keep her end of the bargain with me, that if she did her physio she would get a new dress to go home in. Anyway Fi did get her to stand up and I am sure that Claire will be very pleased about that. There is a ten year old with horrific burns too. The fractures from motorcycle accidents are unbelievable. One lady has compound fractures of both legs and another lady who is pregnant has a fractured leg, a bad laceration on the other and an x-ray that Fi has decided to ask the orthopaedic surgeon about. Ross, Jean Claude and Steve would be very interested to see the new emergency dept being constructed in front of Maternity and opposite the side wall of the present operating suite. It is on sort of pylons things and is a prefabricated unit but will watch the progress this week.
Mme Mauclair is doing better from having had a stroke and will go to physio tomorrow, Rosita has a job in a week or so at St Raphael as a nurse. Bernadette has started crying at regular intervals because the time is going by so fast about me leaving to come home and she has a mountain of problems. Anyway we’ll all take one day at a time.
Fi didn’t get to go to Labadee yesterday for her last Saturday as I had a wedding at 9am (Not to mention that Eberle, the groom was at the 6am service today!!! He left his wife at home!!!!!! ) and the person who was going to take us was the best man at the same wedding and others had a funeral to go to; so in the afternoon we went to Plaine-du-Nord and Bois Caiman, where the first movement for the independence for Haiti was started. It is of historical and mystical importance. James and Charlie took us. But, oh boy, the roads out of Cap going south are something else !
Today Fiona pleased everyone in church with her Creole, giving a lovely slow clear rendition of her introductory sentence. It was brilliant! She’s leaving some clothes here for a next time so isn’t that great, especially as there were some difficult moments! One of my friends just loves listening to the news and told me there is a strike tomorrow, apparently because of the increase in the price of petrol and changes to tariffs for camionettes and buses. Fi just hopes it doesn’t affect her leaving! I reassured her that it wouldn’t or maybe I should say shouldn’t.
I have meetings this week and next regarding the physio school and so the last little while here will be busy.
March 13th 2011
Dear Everyone,
I have spent much time thinking about earthquakes and had a message to prepare for Sunday. I found it strange that I preached the Sunday after the earthquake in Christchurch and here I am doing it again after the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami. I don’t know how to describe how I felt; all I could think of was Daniel, my nephew who lives in Sakarta and well you can imagine the rest. I am sure not one of us has felt at ease all this past week. The pain the Japanese people must be going through-all one can do is weep for and with them.
In spite of all that happened last week, Pastor Megy, Dr Genna, Dr Myrlande, Fiona and I met to discuss the prospects of the physiotherapy school and we will meet again on Thursday afternoon to plan the curriculum and possible ideas for implementing this. The plans arrived today, so Megy has them and I have one copy also. It has been quite difficult teaching the girls with a certain level of disinterest and their dissatisfaction at administrative things bubbling over into how they feel about everything else. It all just makes having a proper curriculum and school more important than ever, whenever and however that comes about. I met with the Evangelical Church of Haiti on Wednesday morning to talk about the property at Riviere Salee and plans for the future.
We have now lost two patients who have left because of pain and gone to seek the help of a witchdoctor. The latest had severe neck and breast burns.
On Saturday I borrowed a friend’s car and we went to Fort Liberte, a dusty historic town near the border of the Dominican Republic and visited the Fort there, built in the early 1800’s. It was a nice drive and exploring the Fort was good. We did not go for a swim. Too cold for me and Fi so our togs weren’t even in our bags…… After visiting friends we came home.
Every time we come home we go to the net for news of Japan. We have talked a lot about the future and where things are at in this world. Much prayer is needed and lots of telling people how much they mean to us.
Take care Robyn
March 6th 2011
Dear Everyone,
Another week has gone by and it is Mardi Gras season now until Wednesday evening so there are lots of groups out on the street and it is going to be a very noisy few days and nights. There is also election fever for Mrs Manigat or Mikey Martelly on Sunday, Election Day!!!
I have had a busy week talking to people and listening to the devastating problems some are facing is gutting. I have thought lots about earthquakes and the psychological trauma that goes with it. I can’t help but think of one of Babe’s friends that I can’t help and how he has or has not coped with the loss of his family and his girlfriend who was literally cut in half. I think of what is happening at home and everywhere else and I think of the future! God is still in control, even when it seems things are out of place.
Fiona watched an operation along with the other physios. Dr Pierre Louis asked me later where I was so I will be there for the next one. He also filmed it for Jean Claude. He operated on a very stiff knee of a young girl, that I think Chris had also seen, to allow flexion of the knee. Fiona found it interesting and the photos are great for those who like to look at tendons and muscles. No blood anywhere, so nice and clean!!!!!!
We have spent some time searching for a patient with some paralysis, after a stab wound to the neck, who discharged himself from hospital. He believed it was a ‘mounted knife’ and left to get help from the witch doctor. On Friday I spent an hour and a half just trying to get his address and phone number. When I finally got the address it just referred to a zone - not much good as it is a large area. Then I tried the phone number. But no good either as this week there have been scare tactics of ‘zombies’ ringing people and you are supposed to die if you answer the phone. So guess what? Some people won’t answer their phones. This guy obviously thought my number was suspect and though I sent messages as well there was no reply. We would like him to come to the centre or to the spinal unit at Carrefour La Mort (Rather an unfortunate name meaning The Crossroads of death but lots of people have died at that junction!!!!). Finally, today, I found someone who knows a pastor in the area where the guy lives so hopefully we can find him and get him to the right centre. It has been quite a job getting this far.
I took Fiona to the Communal Home and Children’s home yesterday run by Catholic brothers from the Missionaries of the Poor where there are 120 adults and 50 children plus 20 families living. There are 19 brothers from the Philippines, India, Uganda and a couple of other countries and they do a great job. It has been closed to the public since November as 7or 8 of their people died from cholera of whom 6 were children. They decided, until the cholera level goes way down, not to allow people to bring food or to visit. Our church group can no longer visit once a month. It is a beautiful place and Fiona will go back one day to see if there are any children needing some physio so she can teach the brothers how to help those challenged by disabilities.
Fi has been busy and also coping with some difficult teaching sessions. Apart from walking all the way in the heat of the day through the market ( clothing etc), to an Art gallery yesterday and to the ‘Asile” I think Fiona got a ‘feel’ for the rubbish and dirt in the streets, the clogged roads and everything else. We got a taxi home!!!!!!
We have Tuesday and Wednesday off for Mardi gras. It will give us an opportunity to meet with a couple of the doctors and Pastor Megy. Each day of challenges leaves both Fi and I feeling that the importance of formalised training is a must. However that means a lot of thinking and planning and discussion.
Thanks for being a part of all this.
Robyn
February 27th 2011
This week will be unforgettable. On Monday night both Fiona and I rang our mothers to wish them a happy birthday for the 22nd as they share the same birthday. Fi rang first and then an hour later I rang Mum but in between time Chris received a text from his fiancée telling us of another earthquake in Christchurch. We were stunned to say the least. At 10pm I was out on the street to buy cell phone top up. I must admit I had a wee sit down on the way home and shed a few tears in the darkness of the night. We are here and New Zealand is there and it seemed a déjà vu to be thinking of people AGAIN, who might be hurt. A third time round!!!! Haiti, NZ, NZ!!!! All of our thoughts are with everyone at home and to me it only underlines the similarity of Haiti and the New Zealand situation minus the problems that are here. It is gutting and it also makes me think of what the Bible says about the end times. Lots of prayers for everyone and it has been a relief to hear from some friends in CHCH that they are OK. Some I haven’t heard from yet.
Tuesday was Chris’ last day at work and Wednesday morning saw Chris get the bus for the Dominican. It was a delight to find Santia going to the DR as well. God had worked everything out. When they got to the border they found it closed and the buses from Haiti couldn’t get through and the Caribe Tour bus from the DR couldn’t cross Haiti. The DR side had shifted to their new headquarters and the Haitian side didn’t know apparently and so there was a few hiccoughs and Chris and Santia who should have been through the border by midday left the border at 5pm, arriving much later than anticipated in the DR. Santia rang me and so I was glad she was there as she looked after Chris and filled me in when she came home last night. Will wait to hear what Chris understood from what had happened. He told me he is home safely but didn't mention his adventures. We are grateful for both his and Claire's contribution.
The week has flown by and Fiona coped by herself. . She went to the hospital on Friday but one of our burn patients is very low. She lacks adequate food and medication and it is distressing to think she may not make it.
It seems there are not enough hours in the day to do what I want to. I also had an opportunity to preach this Sunday and was asked to preach again in the second service, so today has been a busy one. Yesterday Fi and I had a quiet Saturday. Well, I slept till 7.30 and Fiona a bit later but it is very noisy in our neighbourhood so it was not a long lie in. I had been asked to trace the route of the Exodus to a group and didn’t have all the maps I needed to put the place names on, so I did what I could and finished preparing my sermon. Fi spent the day doing physio prep and reading. We have spent all week thinking about CHCH and at every opportunity checking the internet for news. Many people have expressed their sadness and solidarity with New Zealand at this time. It has been amazing and as I have said, this is a community that more than understands.
February 20th 2011
Time for update, #6. Monday saw us in the rain, saying goodbye to Claire. Over the past few days it has been quite heavy but it has been great to see the drains that have been constructed around our street are working and the water flowing out to the sea with no flooding. However the debris that has been washed out is another story.
Rosita told me that the cases of cholera, even if not a lot, have started again in her area and the rain is definitely a factor in this occurring again. She worked last week voluntarily and will be doing so again this week. That is real sacrifice in difficult economic times like this.
This week Fiona went to an orphanage out of town run by an American missionary because there are a couple for disabled children there and Sharyn had been hoping for a physiotherapist to help her. As all children are CC or CKs for Fiona, (cute children or cute kids) she was in her element. She will go back again on Monday and make contact with someone here who can maybe follow through later.
On Thursday, Fiona and Chris spoke to the hospital staff about the role of Physiotherapy and they gave a fantastic presentation. Hopefully it will result in earlier referrals and, while I think a lot more education and motivation will be necessary for a deeper appreciation of the role of a physiotherapist, they did have an impact. They also complimented the girls (the 3 RN /physios) on the work they have accomplished. Chris leaves on Wednesday for New Zealand but the contribution they have made has been great.
Yesterday we drove out to Rivière Salée where we had a look at the building that may feature in future plans but because of the rain it meant no other visits around because of the mud and water logged soil. Friday night we went to a restaurant as we had a meeting with another physiotherapist here in Cap. I hadn’t been feeling a 100% so chose bouillon. As I neared the end of the bouillon, a small piece of bone must have been in the sauce and got stuck in my throat I couldn’t swallow and couldn’t get rid of the bone and forgot all about eating a piece of bread…after all it was my throat!!!! Never mind we ended up at my GP’s place where I was handed some bread and water and of course it worked and I shouldn’t have panicked at the restaurant but I did! Was a bit scary, really. My throat was sore yesterday but OK today!!! And it won't stop me eating....
As usual there have been some interesting patients. I looked back over my video filming and have some good pictures of the work the team have done so that is good. Fiona filmed some of the Citadel for me when they went as I can’t go there again because it is too steep and difficult for me to make the walk. It is worth seeing but it has been about 18 years since I made my one and only trip there.
It has been a busy week and Chris will be cramming in as much as he can before he leaves.
The election campaigns have started and so the two candidates for the next round are putting the pressure on. Maartelly, as a singer, sang, so Mme Manigat hums a tune!. There are very strong views on either side of the fence and there is a group that will vote for neither. I think this could be a very volatile situation before it is all over. Aristide has his passport to return and with Jean Claude Duvalier here there is a lot to take in. So please pray lots for the future of Haiti.
Robyn
February 13th 2011
Today Claire and I are at home as she is not quite on par. The others have gone to Labadee Village to swim and walk around. It is a quaint fishing village directly opposite the Labadee beach, formerly Coco Beach but now developed for tourists. As Haitians can no longer use the beach, since the latest developments, neither will I go there with visitors. Labadee Village is more interesting and you cross over the water on little outboard motor boats that are very colourful and really the more natural environment is better.
This week I went to the hospital with Claire in the place of one of our interpreters who was not available so it was an interesting experience seeing patients with Claire. There was a cute kid who had been badly burned and was now well on the road to recovery and Elsie who had horrific burns on her legs but six weeks later still has a long way to go. The little boy, I found out, is the nephew of someone I have known for a long time and so it will be great later to find out how he progresses after discharge. Jacqueline gave me a cute teddy for my birthday but I decided to name him Charlie and have this cute kid take him over. At least I got a grin out of him when I asked where Charlie was- hidden under the bed to keep clean to take home but the next morning Charlie was sitting there watching Jamesly have his physio. He was not a happy chappy and no amount of bantering would help dry the tears. However when given some money to have his favourite breakfast of rice and beans he knew exactly what was in his hand and there was no letting go. I will include the photo of Charlie watching Jamesly.
There are lots of political discussions going on around the merits and demerits of the two presidential candidates for the second round of voting and lots of discussion re Aristide, Preval and Duvalier. I have been reading a book about Haitian history that is certainly most interesting, intriguing from the various points of view given and relevant in light of recent events and the portrayal of what has gone on before.
One different kind of event this week was meeting up with a couple of new missionaries that had come to Cap to get some things from customs. They are settling in the south of Haiti. It was incredible to discover they had come to Cap with only a GPS to guide them and no one with them that could speak Creole!!! They had broken down so I got my former mechanic to come and help and then another missionary friend appeared and she offered them a bed. We decided innocence and little knowledge makes people bold and unafraid. They certainly left at times to travel and over territory that we seasoned people would definitely NOT do!! However Pat and I both appeared at the right time to help them out and as I haven’t heard further, the protection from above that they received here has also kept them safe on the way home. It was sobering to think about that alongside someone whom I have known for a long time who shared how her husband had been kidnapped at the gate of their home. Last night another friend told me about six bandits that broke into her home last Sunday morning at 3.30 am!! Lots of problems! And again another told me of her friend’s daughter who lost the lower part of her leg in the earthquake. Her leg was trapped by a falling beam, crushing the bones and trapping her. Using a knife they cut off the lower part of the leg, bandaged the stump and rushed her to hospital. She is progressing well and returning to normal life. Sometimes I feel like it is information overload.
The cholera treatment and education programme in the north has been very effective and many of the centres are closing down but people need to be vigilant still. I am not sure what the statistics are country wide.
Last night I took Claire, Fiona and Chris out to see the Baptist spinal unit at Carrefour La Mort. It was interesting to see what progress they had made since last year and also to hear of their wonderful assistance in the cholera epidemic and their plans for the future. Fiona was delighted to see the rehab centre they have for disabled children. Fi will benefit from Chris’s presence this week to have an opportunity to visit a couple of disabled children in an orphanage just out of town and help the USA nurse who runs that home with exercises for them.
Claire leaves Monday morning for the Dominican Republic and will arrive in NZ Thursday. Chris has a further 10 days to go. They have certainly seen some different cases. You can read Chris’s blog for the technical info!!!!! http://www.chrishiggsinhaiti.blogspot.com/
Until next week, Robyn
