Wet beds

Let me start of by saying very frankly that this message comes from a place of discouragement, so please forgive me if it seems like a "half-empty" type of post.

People, words cannot describe how freakin' terrible conditions are in Pinchinat right now. I know you're tired of hearing it. I am sadder and sadder every time I go. I called Nick on the way home today in tears. I have lived in Haiti for over a year now and I've seen a lot of need. I've lived here through the earthquake and all the terror that brought. And everyone just keeps saying that the real problem is going to be that rainy season is coming and to expect outbreaks of disease.

What everyone feared would happen is happening.

It's horrible.

And no one has anywhere to go.


Every single time I go (every day) moms tell me about how their kids have diarrhea and have stopped eating. Out of the 80 babies we've distributed diapers to in the past 7 days, 60 (SIXTY) of them had diarrhea. Yesterday I pulled up just as an 11 month old baby was crawling in the mud (diaperless) spewing diarrhea all over the ground. And I thought about my most recent rant about MY kids having an outbreak of dysentery. Yeah, I have diapers. And wipes. And a mop. And bleach. And clean water. And a roof over my head. And a mosquito net and a fan. I am going to shut my complaining mouth now.

Seriously, this is SO much bigger than anything we can do. Today dozens of tents all over Jacmel were washed away after the crazy flooding last night. When I picked up Guernia for work this morning I asked her how things were last night in all the rain. She told me that she had water running through the bottom of the tent. All her bedding and sheets got wet. She (like everyone else there) hung them out to dry this morning, but by 9 AM it was raining again, and nothing had the chance to dry today.

Pray for the people of Haiti tonight, specifically the 1.5 MILLION people living in tents and going to sleep in wet beds.