PJs and checkups
The week following Christmas we joined a group in Port au Prince who was traveling to several orphanages in Port au Prince. We were told that Haiti has approximately 200 registered orphanages and a few hundred more off the record. Often struggling for food and money, this group’s goal is to visit, bring some cheer and a needed boost of food to finish out a week or month.
I’ve found that most trips have a hallmark unpredicted event that makes everything worth it. Ours was Dr Olivier Calixte, a young doctor that just completed his residency and was supposed to be taking his vacation before starting his year of service at l’Hopital General in January. He welcomed us that previous week at the hospital and wanted to come along to our later visits to the orphanages. Now we had an intelligent Haitian doctor at our side to give kids their checkups, spot some serious cases of malaria and other disease, arranging for their admittance to the hospital.
Once the physicals were completed, out of the suitcase came the pajamas that many donated in holiday spirit back home.
Funny, no one asked at airport security why I was travelling with 67 sets of pajamas, a third of them sporting sponge bob.