Fwet Manje!!

Been here officially one week.  Seems like much longer than a week...in a good way.  I've been given the flexibility to just settle in, become familiar with surroundings and am gradually being oriented into my nursing role.  I think by the end of this week I will have a better idea of what my responsibilities and "routine" will be, though I am comfortable with the fact that it might not always be predictable routine. 

I will attempt to paint you an idea of what it might look like:
There are a number of different child living arrangements here at Children of the Promise (COTP):

One is the large "baby house" which has about 30 kids residing there, anywhere from about 1 year to 5 years old. Most of these kids are either matched to be adopted soon, or are here for a short time for health or social service needs until they can be reunited with their parents here.  Their day-to-day events (sleeping, eating, bathing, dressing, playing, etc.) are managed by nannies....usually about three kids to one nanny.  (All of these nannies are Haitian, some whom have worked here since COTP started over 10 years ago!  COTP employs many Haitians from the surrounding village).  Six of those kids have varying degrees of cognitive disability and special needs, which will be one main area of nursing care focus.  Two of the boys have nasal gastric tubes for their feedings, so they need to be fed three times a day.  All of the special needs kids, and a few of the other kids in the house, receive morning and evening medications as well.  Then there are the unscheduled random nursing needs that pop up throughout the day that the kids need to be treated for - diarrhea, constipation,  fever, skin issues, abscesses/infections, etc....

A second living arrangement, which is the vision for most of the children that have to reside here for a longer period of time, are smaller houses with "house parents."  So far there is one house completed and one still under construction, but will be ready for use in a few weeks.  It is literally a house with a "mom" and "dad" (two American couples are here to serve full-time in those roles) and about 6-8 kids have been placed in the house to live with them until adoptions can be arranged.  Unlike the Baby house, where kids are unattached to specific caregivers and they have little to no stranger anxiety, this living arrangement creates a healthier reality for the child of having a few caregivers (mom and dad!) and therefore not growing attached or comfortable with any and every volunteer that comes and goes, which is not very emotionally or psychologically stable. These houses require less nursing care since most will be provided by the "parents" however I will be available on-call for any needs one would typically take their child to a walk-in clinic for.

The final nursing involvement at COTP are "Gate Days" which happen three times a week.  This serves as basically a walk-in clinic for people of the community to bring their children for health needs or follow-ups.  There is a baby formula program, prenatal program, and Mamba (food for malnourished children) program which all happen on an "outpatient" basis to maintain health and essentially, hopefully, prevent a child from ever becoming so malnourished that they would have to come and live in the baby house for intervention.

So that's a brief overlook of some of the things I will be involved with to some capacity!

A few last things....

FWET MANJE!  Which means, cold food!!  Our little apartment received a fridge yesterday, so we can now broaden our food options because we have means to keep things fresh and cold.  Right now all that is in there is the chocolate chips that we brought from the states...priorities people! 

My roommate Rachel, aka Vanna White

 

 

Other happy happenings?  There was a kid in the baby house a few days ago wearing a Packer shirt.  If only he knew how much that made me smile. 

 

Oh, and I mustn't forget....PINCH AND A PUNCH FOR THE FIRST OF THE MONTH!