Tuesday from Jana

After a night of very little sleep (apparently rooster in Port-au-Prince get up at around 3am) , and then a breakfast of papaya, mangoes, pineapple and bananas 5 of us (Michael, Dan, AJ, me and Carolyn) packed a van and set of with our driver, Jean-Jacques, for Les Cayes. Between his broken English and AJ's broken French they were able to communicate quite well. In Jean-Jacques words: "Driving in traffic here is very complicated." That is an understatement. Traffic here truly laughs at all the road safety rules we know! As we were driving through the devastation that the earthquake brought to Port-au-Prince, it was heart breaking and gut wrenching and hard not to wonder where all the relief money went! We were all taking pictures non-stop: I think in a way to cope with what we are seeing and processing it through the eye of a lens somehow makes it easier. Pigs, goats, cows, dogs and donkeys mingling with the people between the earthquake rubble and tent cities, the burning garbage and the roads lines with plastic bottles are just some of the images that stood out. But there are also the signs of hope: music everywhere, smiling faces, vendors selling their goods, little LOTO shacks in the rubble and the school children - all dressed in colourful, super-neat uniforms and ribbons in their hair. We also saw quite a few open air schools along the road. When we got to Les Cayes after a four and a half hour drive, we unloaded and jumped to work. Caroline started doing physical therapy pretty much as she stepped inside the clinic. The guys sorted a bit, and then managed to cast six new amputees and do a few adjustments in the afternoon. One 5 year old girl stole my heart - Florika. She lost her one leg in the earthquake. After dinner, the guys came back to work on some casts they took earlier, and I was given a sewing machine to make some shower curtains with fabric I brought with me for the rehab clinic. I was in heaven! We are all getting around the language barrier and have two wonderful interpreters. It is an amazing experience... we have a lot of pictures and I will upload them if I get a chance. Today we are right back at it at the clinic. I am doing lots of organizing for them and learning about soft casts and shrinkers and knee braces. There a two babies here today with turned in feet: AJ has been casting them while teaching the local personnel how to do it. We are also working with Isarak, who is deaf, and helps the guys out in the clinic. It is just amazing to see the spirit of co-operation that exists! June and Karen who runs the clinic are wonderful and everyone just works so well together.