Haitian Diaries: Zanmi Lasante

Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Wow, what a day. Today was a dream come true. I finally went to Zanmi Lasante! Although, I shouldn't say "finally" since I only finished reading the book about it just over a week ago. My wish was granted much quicker than I thought.

First of all, the place is amazing. Seriously, I couldn't believe that a facility like that could exist in Haiti, especially in a remote mountainous area. Zanmi Lasante (zanmi = friend, lasante = health. Basically it's "Partners in Health") is located in Cange, which is a small village along the north side of a lake (made by a dam), but as far as I could tell, Zanmi Lasante is Cange itself, or at least half of it. As soon as we entered the village, I saw the sign "Zanmi Lasante," but we just passed by. I was thinking we should have gotten off there, but then I saw another sign along the way and realized that the entire left side of the street was all concrete/rock wall. I thought, no it can't be... But then it is! The whole thing that we just drove along is the hospital! The tap-tap stopped right at the entrance, which I suppose is the center of the village. People were going in and out of the main gate freely, and there were tons of people inside the walls. I was shocked. It is a citadel just like the book says.

I took a couple pictures inside before one Haitian volunteer stopped me. I was with Jude and Figaro, so they talked to him in Creole while I stood there clueless. Eventually the volunteer (I will call him Tim for his privacy/safety sake) took us to the administration building, but no one who could speak English was available. They didn't give us permission to take pictures or enter any of the buildings, so I was a bit bummed, but Tim showed us around for a bit. His tour was a bit superficial, so the only thing I was impressed with was the size of the place. They have all sorts of departments and are still building more. During the tour, a white lady waved at me from a distance as if she knew me. I thought she was being friendly and was welcoming a strange blan (which means white in Creole... ok, I'm Asian, but I'm still a blan to Haitians), so I waved back. She walked toward me and shook my hand and said "Anglais?" I said yes and laughed with relief. Finally, someone who can speak English! But then she said she thought I was someone else and walked away. She seemed to be in a hurry. Bummer. After the tour, we came back to the administration building because I told him (through Jude) that I wanted to know how I can volunteer there. We talked to another Haitian employee (or probably volunteer) for a bit, but he was still clueless or couldn't give me any information to help me. Just as Jude asked if we should go, they let me into the admin building to see a manager who speaks English. He was right there behind the door the whole time! And he speaks English! I will call him Dr. John. It was such a delight to finally talk with some in English. He is a very friendly Haitian doctor. I told him that I read Mountains Beyond Mountains and that I was inspired to visit Zanmi Lasante. I guess that really got him excited, so he decided to give me a tour of the place himself. He really liked the fact that I wanted to become a doctor to help the poor. We went to the same places Tim took us, but Dr. John let us inside the buildings and showed all sorts of different rooms. Then I was really impressed. The place gets electricity from the nearby dam, so it's well lit, offices are air-conditioned, and hallways and patient rooms are equipped with UV lamps. AND they have internet! Most people (including we) don't have internet even here in Port-au-Prince, the capital, but they have it up in a little village that's not even on most maps! I even got to see the office where Dr. Paul Farmer used to see patients. I imagined the events that I read in the book. It was so moving. I asked if I could take some pictures, then he said, "No pwobwem!" I was happy just to be able to take pictures inside Dr. Farmer's office.

It was getting late (about 3:20PM), and we had to catch a tap-tap and a bus back to Port-au-Prince before too late. Dr. John gave me his e-mail and Dr. Farmer's e-mail, then found a hospital car that was going to to Mirebalais, where we were to find a bus to Port-au-Prince. I was once again impressed, this time by his hospitality. It was definitely nice to ride in the hospital car, especially since it was covered (and free). On the way to Cange from Mirebalais, we rode in a tap-tap without a roof, so all of us got covered in dust while riding. This time the car was also air-conditioned, so it was nice.

We took a huge bus (autobus, they call it) from Mirebalais to Port-au-Prince. It's more like a big truck with a passenger car instead of a shipment container. The ride was quite amusing. They don't have a TV, but they certainly didn't lack infomercials. People would just stand up and start promoting random products, anything from branded paracetamol to alcohol that enhances your romantic evening to little snacks that's especially delicious to soap from China (which the seller thought was a candy at first, and I corrected him because it said "Soap" on the box).

One interesting thing about Haiti is that anywhere and everywhere outside is considered a toilet. Or maybe there is no such thing as public toilet (except I used one at the beach, which was just a wall with a hole, probably for tourists). The moment we got off the bus, I saw a lady squat down in the grass right next to the bus, and men were basically peeing right on the side of the bus, next to the ladies. You can imagine a man and a woman talking and walking down a path, and all of a sudden they step aside onto a patch of grass. The woman would squat to pee, the man would pee while standing right next to her, and they continue their conversation. This is Haiti. Even in Sierra Leone, I got scolded by a native for peeing on a tree behind a house (it was really urgent). Haiti is such an interesting place. It's so much like Africa. Or I could say it is a miniature Africa without the red dust.

I just realized that my computer clock is one hour earlier than my alarm clock (and every clock in this place, including cellphones). I guess Day Light Savings is supposed to start the first Sunday of April, which was the first of this month. So that means we've all been living an hour late this whole time? And no one realized it? Or does Day Light Savings even exist here? Even if it did, most people probably won't know the difference... You just have to get up when the sun rises, sleep when it falls. Now the sun have been down long enough already. Good night.