Jen Roberts, a third-year physical therapy student at Elon, traveled to Haiti in July to work with Hands of Light in Action, a nonprofit relief organization that recruits physical therapy practitioners and students to help with recovery efforts in disaster-stricken areas. Continue reading to view reflections and photos from her journey, which she shared with The Magazine of Elon.
I am not sure what drew me to volunteering in Haiti, but after spending nine amazing days there, I found friendship in the residents of Camp Hope Physical Therapy Clinic, camaraderie in my fellow volunteers and a fresh look at my priorities and my future.
I arrived nervous about the conditions I would find. Would it be as frightening as the images I’d seen on television in the weeks following the disaster, or had the country moved on to a phase of recovery? The first thing that struck me about Haiti was its beauty, even from the windows of the airport. The mountains are absolutely stunning. But while standing in awe of the landscape, one gets devoured by the intense heat and humidity; it’s nothing short of stifling.
From the airport, I traveled with three other volunteers, including Nancy Malone, physical therapist and founder of Hands of Light, to the Love A Child Village in Fond Parisien (approximately 30 miles east of the capital). In Port-au-Prince, while rubble has been pushed from the streets, it’s still everywhere. Cleanup isn’t happening. People are living in dilapidated, structurally unsound housing. It’s heartbreaking to even imagine what would happen should Mother Nature hit this nation again. But along the way to Fond Parisien, we also could see bustling streets, a beautiful landscape and the occasional tent city.
At Love A Child, more than 10 volunteers made the best of sharing one bedroom and one bathroom. It worked out fine, and I think it brought us all closer together. I have never made such good friends in such a short amount of time, but working for a common purpose gives everyone some common ground.
Each day, we walked 20 minutes, or took a bumpy truck ride, to the Camp Hope Physical Therapy Clinic. It’s an open clinic where patients would be waiting when we arrived; appointments were provided on a first-come, first-serve basis Monday through Saturday. The physical therapists arrived around 8:30 a.m. and we worked until about 2:30 p.m. We worked with translators and spent a lot of time demonstrating treatments. We had to get creative, as we didn’t have much in the way of equipment. I instructed a patient in functional mobility by using a water bucket, carrying it around the camp after filling it at the well.
The experience was humbling. We are truly lucky in this country and should be grateful every minute of every day to have a home and people we love. While the health care system isn’t perfect in the United States, and not everyone who wants care can get it, we do have emergency rooms. Access to services and practitioners such as prosthesists is not readily accessible in Haiti. That has a detrimental impact on the rehabilitation of the residents of Haiti.
The experience has strengthened my desire to work with underserved populations in underdeveloped nations. It also has helped me refocus my priorities: happiness found with my friends and family.
All in all, I would return to Haiti in a heartbeat.