by Dr. Katie Wolf
The two week visit from Bob and Audrey Chase and Don Richmond from Elmbrook Church in Wisconsin came to an end this weekend with almost everything completed on the cabinetry for the clinic. The team worked extremely hard, taking only one day off, and made thirteen round trips to the clinic site up in the mountains. Most of the mornings were sunny, but there were frequent afternoon rains, so many of the trips down the mountain involved lots of slipping and sliding in the mud. They were real troopers, though, and maintained their energy and enthusiasm right through to the end. Much thanks to all three for their hard work, dedication and expertise on behalf of FHH and the Haitian people we serve. And a special thanks goes to those who prayed them through each day.
Here are some highlights from their final week of work:
In addition to organizing all the desk, cabinet and drawer parts, Audrey varnished the drawers and shelves. Here she is hard at work with her paint brush.
The Medical Records/registration room has a window that is accessible from the outside and two large desks. Patients will register here and get their charts at the beginning of the clinic day.
Each of the three staff offices will have a desk and wall cabinet above it. Here is a nearly completed desk and cabinet.
Each of the 4 examination rooms has a sink with counter and a small writing desk in addition to a large cabinet that will be put up on the wall above the desk. The Emergency Room/observation area will have these cabinets along the wall, covered with a counter top. They’ll provide ample room for supplies to use in taking care of our ill patients.
Bob was busy putting finishing touches on the cabinets in his last few days of work. He built the cabinets at his home workshop in Wisconsin, then took them apart to ship down to Haiti and put them back together down here. Fortunately all the parts were numbered and Audrey made sure they all went in the right place!
Don Richmond helped with the sanding and varnishing in addition to getting to know our two young clinic workers Adrien (left) and Guy-Johns (right). Both young men are from the area and have been willing helpers both in the clinic and in the construction work. They helped us paint inside the new building in preparation for installation of the cabinets.
On our final night together, Don presented Bob with a Haitian machete! Here is Bob with his new gift. Audrey doesn’t look like she trusts him with it!
AND OF COURSE THERE’S MORE CONSTRUCTION!
As the visitors were busy working on the clinic furnishings, the Haitian workers poured the roof of the outdoor patient latrine. Here are some photos from September 16, 2013:
Pouring the latrine roof
A small version of the “bucket brigade”.
Masonry foreman Mackenson stood on top of the clinic roof, supervising the roof pour and giving instructions to the workers below.
This week the workers started laying blocks for the residence quarters, on the second floor of the lab/xray/pharmacy building. This new phase of construction is a very exciting one for us because completion of the residence facility will allow us to stay up at the site and have the clinic open five days a week. Thanks to all who have contributed to us financially so that this new step can be taken.
Before being able to lay the concrete blocks, they first needed to be transported up onto the roof. First, they were brought one by one from the area where they were made up to the area in front of the lab/xray/pharmacy building
Then, the blocks were handed up an assembly line on a ladder to the roof where they were cemented in place.
Here are the masons laying block walls on the second floor residence quarters
Five rows of block are in place along the front of the building
Workers bringing mortar in buckets up to the roof where the blocks are being laid
View of the new walls going up after the first day of work
As always, thank you for your prayers and encouragement for us and our Haitian workers.