Cange

Day 6

Sunday 22nd 

Cange

Getting close to 'Noel' and we're the only ex pats from the hospital left now. All the US folk and other nationalities have made their way back to the states or into the Dominican Republic for the Xmas break. The house which provides the catering for ex pat staff is still producing food for 40,  so with just 3 of us to feed, plus the security guard and one or 2 cooking staff, the other 34 portions must either being sold or used to feed the families nearby. 

A big problem for Bryan I gather, as the catering bill is way out of kilter.  But a dilemma as, if the large amounts of extra food are going to the local needy, then surely this is providing 'aid' for Haitian people? However, the funds for the hospital must be kept for the relevant medical expenditure.

We visited the huge man-made dam at Cange, built in the 50's by the USA & operational in '68, to see the massive hydro electric scheme which provides 2/3 of Haiti with electricity. There are problems with the Hydro scheme as the dam is silting up.

The area between Port au Prince and Mireblais is pretty barren, which looks strange as this is a tropical country with, theoretically, rich soil. The hills all over this inland area are bare and dry due to cutting down of all the trees for firewood. The result of this is that the top soil washes off into the rivers and then is carried into the dam. This has resulted in a build up of silt and debris at the dam wall where the turbines draw in water, and one of  the 3 turbines is out of commission. The Haitian gov have a team of Italian deep water divers trying to clear it and consequently, a decompression chamber is available at the hospital to treat these guys if they need it. 

The interesting thing is, that this complicated and highly skilled operation to clear the turbines, probably couldn't have happened quite so easily, if the hospital wasn't in situ...and the company contracted to repair the turbine are having private medical treatment at the hospital, which brings in good revenue. But this treating of private patients is a contentious issue, another moral dilemma. Should the hospital be strictly reliant on foreign aid (which is difficult to sustain) and for local Haitians only? Or should the hospital have some private patients which produces income and begins to make it produce some of it's own funds?

Again, I am being made aware of the massively privileged life we lead in the UK, with our National Health System, free Education (apparently 40% of Haitians have no formal education and the other 60% may only get 2 years of schooling, for which their parents have to pay!) and Social Security. People who whinge about how awful things are in relation to these, and petty comments about waiting 10 minutes for the phone to be answered at their local surgery, should be airlifted here and plonked in Mirebalais for a dose of reality!

Seb has made good friends with the local kids now and there are 2 boys, Damus and Dolph, who live next door, who are regular visitors. They hang out, play hours of football (Seb joins in with the constant calling of 'passe mois!')  They all love lying on the livingroom floor, adding to the big communal drawing on a piece of old brown paper, saved from some packaging...everyone adding something to the communal art work. 

Did I mention how dusty it is? White dust everywhere, worse when the kids have kicked all the dust up in the yard. Added to no running water (bucket baths...eek, or cold showers at the hospital), no washing machine (Nadege handwashes in the river, I use a bucket) no cooker (but we have a proper kettle and ironing board now!) and no internet...there are some things I'm looking forward to enjoying at the hotel at Xmas!