pandara

Another story from Haiti.

I met a mama there named Ivrose.
Ivrose was from Port Au Prince. Her husband died in the earthquake. She lost everything material in her life. Her and her baby survived. When I met Ivrose her baby was in the hospital. He was 7 months old. He had very bad diarrhea. When the earthquake many mama's stopped breastfeeding because a rumor was going around that their milk had gone bad from the event. She was one of these mama's as were all the mama's in the pedicatric ward at the hospital. All the babies that day were in for diarrhea. The mama's were giving their babies rice water with sugar to keep them alive. Many of these babies will die. The water is bad and rice is not adequate nutrition for the babies. We tried to get the mama's to relactate and start nursing again. It was hard though. Superstition is strong there.

Ivrose taught me Kreole for two nights at the hospital.
Sak Pase. That mean's what's up.
Mwen pa pale kreyol. I don't speak Kreyol.
She thought it was funny to teach me Kreyol.
Ivrose had nothing left and she still laughed at me every night.
She had no phone. I asked for her number. It was burried under her bed in the quake.
She was not at the hospital on the third day any longer.
She took my book.
She saw that I paid an interpretor. Maybe that will be her role in the future. Who knows?
I hope for her some sort of survival.
I hope her baby survives.
She was so beautiful and kind and her baby was gorgeous.