First of all I want to thank you for all of the support that you have given me over this last year. It has been full of incredible growth, as well as incredible difficulty. As many of you who have read my blog know I have been through a series of difficult and growth-filled events.
In summary of my time in the Dominican Republic before earthquake, I spent most of my time working with the Foundation for Peace. I had a wonderful experience, working with communities around Santo Domingo, helping with water systems, teaching first aid, organizing their warehouse, helping foster community, and coordinating between Cure International’s hospital in Santo Domingo and Foundation for Peace.
I also worked closely with a young man who was severely injured in a motorcycle accident, acting as his advocate and helping him with daily dressing changes and clinic appointments. I had the wonderful opportunity to become a part of a new family in Santo Domingo.
Lovely, Luckson, and Luke
After the Earthquake I went with our team to the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where I received a crash course in hospital administration and disaster management. From January 16th th until March 2nd I worked at the Buen Samaritano Hospital in Jimani, Dominican Republic. As the hospital closed down I took a break and went back to the United States. At the request of a good friend of mine I went back to Haiti for a month to work at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in Carrefour (Hopital Adventsite d’Haiti). Now I have come back home to prepare for my next step.
As my original plan was to start applying for medical school this spring, I found myself exhausted and at a crossroads of opportunities. I could go forward with my formal education, or I could continue on in the capacity that I found myself in, coordinating disaster relief and learning about healthcare issues from the people themselves. Needless to say the need is great, and, as I have made many contacts and built strong relationships, I decided to take another 6 months to continue my work in Haiti.
Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti
Going back on July 5th I will be working at Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti in Carrefour, which is the main medical center for about 400,000 of the poorest people in the Port au Prince municipal area. It is also in one of the areas hit hardest by the Earthquake with building collapse at 50-60% (Most of the buildings still standing are not suitable to be lived in and have not been evaluated by engineers). I will be raising general support for food, transportation, language tutoring, and emergency needs. I also have college loans that several close friends and family will be helping me cover. The hospital will be providing housing in the form of giving me a place to pitch my tent. Adventist Health International will be covering my travel insurance, and I will be working directly with them, coordinating American medical volunteers, and pitching in with whatever needs to get done. When I am not working I will be studying French Creole and French, as well as preparing for the MCAT’s and GRE’s.
My plan for my return on December 20th is to apply to masters programs in Global health and to medical school. Having spent time in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Haiti, I have learned that the health needs of each of these countries is immense. Even though Seattle Pacific University prepared me well for life after undergrad, I find myself at a loss in the face of all the need that is here. There is so much that I can do now, but there is still so much that I need to learn. Spending this initial time in the Dominican Republic and Haiti is giving me the base and the context so that I can finish my education with a perspective that will best enable me to return to serve the developing world.
Working with the Foundation for Peace was a great experience, and having the support of family and friends back home has been invaluable. All the prayers and support enabled me to reach people in ways that I never thought possible. Even with all this support I still found my experience to be extremely difficult without a home support organization that could help coordinate my logistics when I return to the United States.
Foundations Ministries is a local Wenatchee discipleship ministry. Mike Rumley-Wells, the director, has been a mentor for me for the last 12 years. One of the things that I really felt was missing from my first 8 months of working in Latin America, was a support organization. As much as I was sent by family, friends, and my church, there were times where I was seeing so much that I didn’t really have anyone I could share it with. I needed guidance and feedback and even more so a sounding board. Mike was that for me informally. As I have been back I’ve spent a significant amount of retreat time with him and his family in the mountains above Wenatchee. As I have been getting ready to go back it just made sense to have support from my sending community in a much more tangible way. I will be raising my money through Foundations Ministry and they will be guiding me through discipleship as well has helping me with financial accountability.
The situation in Haiti after the earthquake is still extremely dire. While everyone now has shelter in the form of tents and most people have access to some form of aid, much of the rubble remains where it initially fell. A few days before I left in June, we had a young boy come in whose leg had been crushed when the weight from the rain caused a wall, weakened by the quake, to collapse. Six months after the earthquake we were still seeing fresh earthquake victims come in. The day before I left, 70% of the patients in our orthopedic clinic were earthquake victims, several of which had fractures that had not been treated yet.
As hurricane season is upon us and the rains are becoming heavier and heavier, I can tell you that I leave again with a little apprehension. I do not know what the future holds, and I do not know what the next six months will be like. I do know that I need your prayers, thoughts, and support more than ever. So I please join me through my blog and updates that I send on Facebook. If you would like to make a general donation to my time there you can send a check to Foundations Ministries (see attached page), all of which will go to my support. If there is money that comes down above my general expenses, it will go to the hospital to help create jobs for local Haitian workers.
Sincerely,
Luke D. Davies
WEBSITES TO FOLLOW:
Blog: www.lukedaniel.wordpress.com
Foundations Website: http://www.foundationsministries.net
Adventist Health International Website: http://www.adventisthealthinternational.org/
Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti Blog: http://www.haitibones.org/
Foundation For Peace Website: http://www.foundationforpeace.org/
