Adolfo Dominguez - Please help!

I spoke with my sister, Juana Maria, today. She told me that she heard that Aldolfo Dominguez, the famous Spanish fashion designer, was holding a donation drive for childrens clothing in Spain. I immediatley got on my computer and wrote a proposal asking him to help my orpahnage. We are constantly receiving new children and we are always in need of clothes for the kids... So I asked Mr. Dominguez to give us a helping hand; I was not sure if his donations were already promised to other children, but I figured- hey why not give it a shot!... Hopefully we recieve some type of feedback!!!

My request for donations

Hola,



Mi nombre es Elena Bargo, soy española y actualmente me encuentro como voluntaria en el Orfanato de Leogane, Haití. He estado aportando mi granito de arena ayudando a los huérfanos sobrevivientes de este orfanato y otros miembros de la comunidad de Leogane. Según tengo entendido su prestigiosa empresa ha estado captando donaciones a si como suyas propias y quiero aprovechar esta ocasión para presentar nuestro orfanato como un posible receptor de sus donaciones las cuales serian de mucho provecho a nuestros niños.



Pueden ver mi blog en la cual podrán palpar la precaria situación en que se encuentran mas de 80 niños, viviendo entre las ruinas del orfanato que antes era su hogar. Puede visitar mi blog en elenascamino.blogspot.com, también pueden contactarme al correo electrónico elenabargo@yahoo.com.



Estoy de voluntaria con una organización muy pequeña con recursos muy limitados y queremos apelar a su gran corazón. Espero su respuesta y muchas gracias por ayudar a Haití. Que Dios les Bendiga.

Are we hurting others while we are trying to help Haiti?

In my route BACK into Haiti this past Tuesday, after recovering from my illness, I encountered something that I felt was rather interesting... As usual, the ride started off well. We drove along the coast of the Dominican Republic and passed through its more rural cities. Now, for those of you who have never traveled from the Dominican Republic into Haiti (which I'm going to assume is a large portion ;) ) let me expalin.

There are two ways to get into the south border of Haiti coming from the Dominican Republic; one is going driving near Lago Enriquillo and the other is driving along the coast crossing through Barahona ( See Map below)

The only problem with the taking the route that follows the North border of Lago Enriquillo is that, due to its conditions, its very difficult to travel on it quickly. SO....in result, everyone who has been traveling into Haiti since the Earthquake has been taking the other route.

The other route is a single road that brings you directly to Jimani, the borderline entrance. Now, since the earthquake there has been more than 5,000 vehicles including; 16-wheelers, trucks, cars, busses, etc... using this road PER DAY! These roads were not prepared for this type of use and the results of that is begining to show.

We arrived in Cabral and this is where these effects were most evident! A once semi-paved road was now PURE dust and dirt. We were easy ridin' until we arrived here and found ourselves stuck at a home-made road block.

This picture only shows the road block constructed by the women! - Down the road there were apporximatley 3 other blocks, 2 of them made by knocking down an entire tree into the road! Not including the men guarding their post with shotguns and machetes.

The residents of this town were furious, yelling in rage expalining that they are suffering from all the dust and dirt being thrown up by the passing vehicles.

One poor women was crying saying that her little girl, who has asthma, was in the hospital due to a severe asthma attack... This was their form of protest! I guess in a sense, I can't blame them.

Evetually the line of vehicles that were in route to Haiti began to form... The authorities were called and so after that tanks and men with tear gas and shotguns arrived... All we knew was that it was time to get out of there...

My boss (a former soldier) jetted across with our vehicle, running over tress and branches and finally making it acorss... leaving the chaos behind... I'm still not sure of how the dispute was settled...

Drink and eat with caution

In Haiti we had one very strict rule: be careful. This rule was applied to everything; be careful with where you go, who you trust, what you do... But most of all with what you eat and drink. As you can imagine food and water in this area are scarce, but then to top of that you must be careful...

However, with my luck I had the misfortune of getting sick. I took all the medication which I wa advised to take, but yet my body still rejected all food and water. I spend 3 miserable days laying on a mattress that was placed on top of a picnic table, trying to feed my dry mouth crackers and water.... I was miserable! BUT I can admit that the only advantage of being sick while volunteering at an orphange is that I had 85 amazing little children taking care of me day and night. I have never felt so loved!

Everytime I opened my eyes I had 6 little hands rubbing my head trying to help me go to sleep...my little guys were always competing to see who could hold up the largest palm tree branch to help wave some cool air at me... They sung and danced around my outdoor bed to try to help me forget about the pain I was experiencing... Pure kindness and love.

Yet, all the love in the world was not enough to keep me sick in Haiti. I had left on the next trip back to Santo Domingo. I left Sunday morning and ended up in the ER Sunday night. The doctors laughed when I told them my symptoms, at first I was offended. It was when they followed their chuckles with - let me guess you were in Haiti - that I laughed too! It put me at ease to know that I was not the only one with this problem and that there was a way to cure it!! :)

I was placed on an IV and was given 'several' medications. Eventually they gave me permission to leave and told me that I would soon be back to my oldself! (Thank God!!!!)

I receieved a call that same day from my contact with Raidon International- they were headed back into Haiti and asked me if I wanted to join them...

I packed my things and headed back to Haiti!

Survival of the fittest…

Hi everyone, Elena was able to post the past few blog entries from Haiti and I´m adding this one that she sent me as well. I was unable to get through to her yesterday when I called. Hopefully I´ll have better luck tomorrow. In the meantime from what she wrote in her last blog entry it seems as if she´s doing well and working hard:

It’s amazing how in the moments of crisis reality turns into survival of the fittest… Those who can defend themselves end up concurring all and those who don’t have the power or the will to fade away…

We were working at a camp in Port-au-Prince and there was a distribution of food by the UN next door. The worst part about it is that I can’t even admit that it was a “distribution of food” it was more animalistic than that. The UN, in its attempt to help the starving people in Haiti, treated them as if they were barbarians. I can only express my opinion from what I was able to witness. I was not happy with what I saw, nor was I pleased with the end results. The UN packed up their truck and left thousands of people hungry and driving away with a truck full of resources.

I understand it’s difficult to distribute food under these conditions and I may be a tad bit judgmental, but all I can do is express my opinion.

What do you think?

Upcoming projects...

Hey everyone... Here is a quick update on what I have been working on and what I WILL be working on...

Currently I am located in Leogane working at an orpahange. We are currently executing a emergency evacuation plan for the kids and the staff. The area that they are in is dangerous for them to be living there, therefore we are relocating them.

I am going to be working on a MUCH bigger project in the weeks to come with the Haitian government, USAid, and also an American by the name Rain on International. We are working to move 5 refugee camps thats are located in Port-au-Prince and Leogane to safer areas. They are constructing new camps from scratch to ensure the safety and sanitation of the people living there. They are fully equipped with bathrooms, kitchens, medical services, as well as housing. Each camp that we are moving had 15,000 people or more... We defeintly have our work cut out for us... But Im excited and honored to help.

Updates coming soon...

Luna and Baby Elena!

Everyday since we have been at the orphanage we have been conducting a medical clinic. At this clinic we welcome everyone from the community to receive a medical consultation and we have also been distributing medication. We have been able to treat over 3,000 people in the past 2 weeks. However, there was one specific day that was a quiet unique compared to the others…

It was about 7 a.m. and our teams were wide awake helping the kids clean up the garbage around the camp… All of a sudden we all heard a women yelling as if someone had stuck a knife into her…little did we know that it was a women giving birth to a child. Her husband rushed her into the orphanage and she proceeded to give birth to her child, Baby Connie (named after our doctor volunteer) – Let me remind you all again that it was only 7 a.m.

We were all amazed! But, we continued to work and set up shop for the consultation. About 2 hours went by and the camp was already packed with patients waiting to be treated. There were 3 women who were pregnant who were waiting to receive medical consultation… but instead of receiving just a consultation they received medical attention!! Those 3 women ended up giving birth to three beautiful girls that day as well!

Now, I have never held a new born baby, let alone help with the process of giving birth to one!!! I was in charge of Luna. She was a 14 year old girl who was impregnated by an older man. She arrived at the clinic alone, but was eventually accompanied by her mother. Since our doctor was the only doctor on site she needed the female volunteer’s assistance in delivering the babies… Man oh Man did I not have a clue what I was in for!!! For a second I made a joke towards the other volunteers saying that after witnessing this first hand I was going to think twice about having children! But the reality of it was that it was a beautiful process… and in the end we were blessed to have had the opportunity to bring 4 beautiful girls into the world… Baby Connie, Baby Sonja (another volunteer who helped one woman), Baby Marie Sol (Our director who was in charge of another woman) and last but not least… BABY ELENA!

After that day I kept thinking how ironic things were… Here in Haiti an earthquake killed thousands of people, but he brought 4 more back to life that day…
I had the opportunity to visit Luna and baby Elena several times in the past weeks. They are doing extremely well and Baby Elena is healthy!

I will keep you all updated on their status!

In Haiti I shall stay....

Where do I begin…?

I would like to first apologize to everyone, between working on my projects and the limited phone/internet service it has been extremely difficult for me to communicate not only with my family and friends, but also to keep my blog update. I would like to first inform you all that I will be staying in Haiti. I have encountered several volunteer/career opportunities that I feel are a perfect match to my goals in life… helping others.

I’ve noticed that the small things in life are so meaningful. I have done things I’ve never imagined I would do, I have seen things I have never imagined I would seen, but when I lay my head down at night my mind is at peace… Haiti is unlike any other place I have been… Before coming to Haiti I heard several things about the violence and the poverty, but the key word is “heard”… Haiti is an amazing country with amazing people. It is a country filled with rich culture and deep roots. It is a country that needed the rest of the world to see its potential… and that’s exactly what I saw when I arrived. The Haitian people have the ambition to rebuild their country and to create opportunity…

I have been working at an orphanage in Leogane. This orphanage was built in 1981 and has been functionally successfully ever since. There are currently over 80 children here, some whose parents past away before the earthquake, some who’s past away due to the earthquake and others who were left there unclaimed and unwanted. Each child has his/her unique story, but better yet they each have a unique personality. Regardless of the hardships they encounter they are always smiling… which gives me life every day. There are about 12 staff members that maintain and control the orphanage, but the amazing part about all of the staff is that they were all previous orphans living at the orphanage. They understand the struggle and provide these children with as much as they, with the little they have… I ask God to bless their lives every day.

The Earthquake destroyed the whole orphanage (See pictures) and killed several children as well. Unfortunately, the building collapsed killing several children. Others were pulled out by the staff and some of the older children, some with minor injuries and others with major injuries. I am going to continue to work here and provide my support and services to the children and to the staff. I feel welcomed here and now feel as if this is a new home for me. Each day I have to travel to other cities I find myself missing all the kids, wondering if they are ok…

Mudha and Mosctha are currently working on an emergency plan proposal to acquire the funds and materials to move the children to a safer location with more efficient resources. We were able to send the proposal to several different banks and organizations. Since this is an emergency proposal we are looking to obtain the most necessary items: Tents, beds, sheets, blankets, clothes, shoes, medication and educational items for the children to continue learning. If you are interested in donating please contact me at elenabargo@yahoo.com

Thank you all for your support! And please continue to keep Haiti in your prayers…

More from Haiti

Elena never got to the computer to send me more updates, it must be incredibly difficult to do so there. I was able to speak to her again briefly in the past few days although yesterday she would answer the phone, but couldn't hear me so I was unable to speak with her.

She told me that she's well and that everyones main concern right now is that in about 5 to 6 weeks the rain season will begin and that the people in the makeshift camps that were set up as an aftermath of the earthquake need to be moved. The hygiene conditions are minimal, if not null and there is a lot of garbage in the streets that can easily contaminte the little water that they do have. There are over 20,000 people that need to be moved and Elena and the rest of the volunteers will most likely have to focus on that for the time being.

She told me that she would keep on informing me. I'll try calling her later and will let you know.

Staying in Haiti a little longer

Hi everyone, I´ve been without internet for the past few days which has made blog updates a bit complicated, but my internet is back up and running again so I can continue updating. I´ve been speaking to Elena quite regularly, as she now has a new phone that finally works! Although today my calls aren´t going through and the conversations are often brief because the call gets quickly disconnected. I guess I got too excited after speaking to her two days in a row, so much for the new phone, but I can´t complain considering where she is and that we are in touch as often as we are.

As her translation skills are highly needed and as she is doing such a great job, she has been asked to stay on in Haiti for a bit longer. She has been given a new role as Coordinator and is currently in charge of a group of volunteers that have arrived from the Basque Country in Spain and for now will not be going back to Santo Domingo.

She was quite funny when I spoke with her yesterday. Her co-workers told her that she has been working far too hard (considering that she wakes up everyday at 5 a.m and as for what time she goes to bed, I don´t have the heart to ask her so as not to remind her of the hours she must be working) so they decided to give her some genuine Haitian rum. When I spoke with her she had only had a small sip and said that she wasn´t going to have anymore because between the exhaustion, her terrible cold and the 92º heat that it had already gotten to her head! We were laughing at her inability to hold her liquor.

She said that aside from her cold, she was very happy and proud of the fact that they were making a lot of progress. The kids at the orphanage were doing well and things are slowly falling into place, but as always there is much more work to be done.

I will keep on calling and will let you know when I get through again. In the meantime don´t forget to check the MOSCTHA blog and Facebook fan page for recent photos.

I spoke with Elena today!

Hi everyone, I finally spoke with Elena and although we didn´t speak for very long she did convey to me that she is happy and doing well. Her plans are to stay in Leogan, Haiti for a bit more time. Although the original plan was for her to head back today she was asked to stay a bit longer to assist with translations and because of her fluncy in Spanish and English she can help communicate with the large number of US representatives that are in the area.

She´ll most likely head back to Santo Domingo on Wednesday for some R&R and then figure out the next step. She says that she´s happy in Haiti and wants to continue to contribute her time, love and help. They continue to be in the orphanage working with the children on everything from teaching them english to bathing and feeding them. She is even assisting with physical therapy with an amazing ten year old girl, Rose Michelle.

Rose Michelle was found and taken out from a crumbled building that collapsed after the earthquake. Her legs were crushed and she had been in under the building. She is currently in the orphanage receiving medical attention and MUDHA and their partners got her a wheelchair.

Elena says that what she finds to be the most amazing part of Haiti is the resiliance of its people, especially the children. Rose Michelle and so many of the children still have the ability to play, to smile and what´s even more amazing, to share. She says that although they don´t have much that everytime they have a snack or a meal that they always offer her something first. Their milk, their crackers, anything and everything they have. Some of the children even know that she loves mangos and climb the trees to bring her one everyday.

Her work continues with the MOSCTHA team. Aside from working in the orphanage, they also continue to look for people that may still be in the buildings, they do house visits with Doctor´s for people who can´t make it to their makeshift medical center and they continue to take a census on the over 2000 people who have lost their homes.

She says that there is so much more work to be done over a long period of time and that they are counting on continued donations and international assistance to help as many people as possible, but that there is a lot of red tape involved and it´s a long and lengthy process.

In the meantime, Elena and so many others continue to help. Let´s not forget to help as well.

Still in Haiti

Hi everyone, I got news that Elena is still in Haiti. She spoke with our cousin Marta (who by the way is doing a great job keeping tabs on our girl, thanks Mar we love you!) and she told her that she would be delaying her trip to Santo Domingo a few days. She may be leaving today or Saturday, but that she would be headed back soon and would call us when she got there. She plans on staying in Santo Domingo for a few days to rest and then possibly head back to Haiti to continue helping.

Marta told her we saw the clip of The Doctors and Elena said that she had met a military connection who somehow contacted the doctors and spoke to Elena about coming to their orphanage. She met up with them and was excited because they came with so many resources. She told Marta to let us know that she's doing well and that she has many stories to tell us. She says that it´s intense and that she can't wait to share them with us. Hope we hear from you again soon Elena...

MOSCTHA on The Doctor´s

Still no news from Elena today. Elena where are you? I´m going to make some phone calls tonight to see if I can get in touch with her. In the meantime, my mother sent me this link today. It´s from todays episode of the T.V. show The Doctor´s on CBS. If you watch it, Elena is on the left wearing a green hat and the yellow MOSCTHA t-shirt translating and as the show continues you can see her ontop of the boxes handing things out. Go ELENA!!!!!

http://thedoctorstv.com/main/procedure_list/1154

It´s been four years...

It´s been four years today since our Grandmother passed away and in remembering her all I can think about is the suffering and pain those in Haiti must be feeling to have lost so many loved ones. We lost our Grandmother, but how many lost their entire family? We lost our Grandmother, but how many lost their entire family and their homes? We lost our Grandmother, but how many in Haiti lost almost everything they loved and lived for?

Losing a loved one is never easy, regardless of who you are or where you are. That being said I would like everyone to take one minute today and think about loved ones they have lost. As time goes on and you get back to your "normal" life it´s supposed to get easier and for many it does. You remember those you´ve lost, but you still have many more that surround you. You have your home, your car, your work, your education and so many more things. In thinking about this I wonder, how easy will it be for those in Haiti?

I dedicate this blog today to our Grandmother and to all those loved ones that we´ve lost along the way. I would also like to dedicate it to the people of Haiti. Let´s support the people like Elena and so many others that are helping Haiti get back to a "normal" life so that hopefully someday things will be easier for them too.

As for Elena, no news yet, but she said tomorrow she would be going back to Santo Domingo so we´ll hopefully hear from her soon.

I hope you have a great day and please keep Haiti and your loved ones in your thoughts.

If you want to see some children smiling, despite their pain please go to the MOSCTHA facebook site. There are some great pictures!