http://nb.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nb_haitinb20040116

N.B. medical team helps in Haiti
WebPosted Jan 16 2004 02:57 PM EST

FREDERICTON  —  Twenty-four New Brunswickers are part of a 31-member
Canadian medical team taking their healing hands to Haiti and
bringing a new approach to rehabilitation with them.

The doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and other volunteers are
taking part in a project called Healing Hands for Haiti. Last year,
Dr. Colleen O'Connell organized a team from Fredericton to make the
first trip and is coordinating the Canadian team this year.
 
She says often children in developing countries like Haiti have
ailments that can be fixed.

"Generally, they might come in without a leg," she says. "But when
they leave, they'll be walking on two legs."

Nurse Amelia Maxwell and occupational therapist Liz McDonnell are
joining O'Connell's team. They're taking two bags each of medical
equipment and carrying only a backpack for themselves.

"There are teams that are going almost monthly now. They're reporting
back to each of the other teams to follow, indicating the needs so
when our team arrives, we're hoping to meet some of the needs.
Whether it be an artificial limb, wound care, dressings, any needs
reflected to us, we're hoping to meet those on our trip," says
Maxwell.

The team doesn't want the work to stop once they've left so they're
training others there to continue what they started.

"Many children with disabilities will often end up in orphanages. And
often the staff are mere children themselves with little or no
exposure to any formalized training so we work with the caregivers,
teaching them how to care for a child with a disability so to improve
that child's chances for survival and to be a member of the
community," says O'Connell.

But it's hard to ignore the travel advisories warning that riots have
made parts of Haiti unsafe. The team says they won't take any chances.

"There's no question in Haiti right now, things are not stable. There
are protests on a fairly regular basis. There have been road
blockades and there has been violence," says O'Connell, "It's very
important for us as a group going there to listen to the people we
work with in Haiti. If they tell us, no sorry, you can't go to that
orphanage today, it's not safe, we listen."

O'Connell and Maxwell have been there before but it's McDonell's
first time. She has her concerns but she says the potential to help
outweighs them.

"I'm still at the stage where I'm a little worried about being able
to be culturally appropriate there. To suggest and recommend things
that will work for them. But I'm hoping that in some little way, I
can make a difference for the children there."

The team will be in Haiti until Jan. 25

Copyright CBC 2004 All rights reserved
#####################################################################

All archives are now accessible via
http://www.ahadonline.org/lsIndex.asp
---------------------------------------------------------------------
This email is provided as a service to our internet "community" and
should not be construed as an endorsement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Serge Déclama
AHAD / Créole Connection
P.O. Box 158
Atlanta, GA  30009-0158
info@ahadOnline.org
http://www.ahadOnLine.org