It is beginning to rain here. Wanted to get this post out. Here is how we dried diapers and sheets this past week.
The river has gone down some. When it does this and it is still very “dirty”, with the muddy water, you can find small pockets of water that will come through the sand on the sides. Or you can did a hole into the sand and the water will come through. So we are OUT OF WATER as of today. We have about 1/4 of a tank full of water we are keeping in reserve to filter for drinking water. The picture below is of people in the village collecting water from a small whole in the sand.
We went out today and looked to see where we were going to get water for the 78 children and adults and the rest of us here. I hired three people to begin carring water from a water pool by the side of the river. Here is it below.
We have several people in the community help carry buckets in to fill up barrels. Here they are dipping it out.
Some of the kids helped as well.
Our only other choice is to walk about 1 1/2 hours and carry it down by buckets, or to use the dirty river water. The river still looks like this.
We fear with the hurricane coming in that the river will rise again and we will not be able to find any clean water at all. So we are doing what we can to find any water that is half way clean. (can there really be half way clean water)
The storm coming in around 2pm.
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Chachard died yesterday morning around 1am. He was talking and asking to be held all evening. He died in the arms of one of our workers. We bathed him and dressed him. I called his dad, who lives in town, and told him over the phone. He told me he was on the way here. He got here a few hours later, and was very upset his first son had died. He looked at him and then went outside and said he would be back. He went out and got drunk and then came back in. He was very upset and said he was going to kill himself. We tried to calm him down and then he said the mother of the child was coming to see the child as well. He said when she got here he was going to kill her. Actually he said he was going to cut her head off. While he was talking to the ladies we got his attention on something else and I got his cell phone. I started calling the last numbers on the phone until I got a hold of one of his brothers and told him what was going on. His brother ask that we keep him here until someone could come and get him. Eventually the family came for the dad about the same time as the mother of the child. The dad went in to view the body for the last time and was yelling at the child and keep telling him to get up, he was not really dead. It was a very emotional time for us and we had all love Chachard and all hoped he would live. His father came and held my hand and thanked me and all the ladies for all we did to try and save his child.
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NEW CHILDREN
These two girls are sisters. Natacha is 5 and weighs 23 pounds, she has Kwashiorkor. Lihana is 4 and weighs 22 pounds. Both and very weak and malnourished.
Natacha
Natacha
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This is Herode. He is 8 months old and weighs 8 pounds. What? 8 months 8 pounds. He also has Kwashiorkor. First kid of the parents.
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This is Eliodens. He is 3 months old and weigh 7 pounds. His mother died when he was a newborn. The dad has been giving him carrot juice and smashed up crackers mixed with water.
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CLINIC NEWS
Some kids were playing in the river and digging out sand. One was picking with a pick ax and one was shoveling the sand. They one with the pick missed the sand and got his friend in the heal. It went all the way through to the bottom of his foot. Ouch!
cut.
This is one of my major stress points now. This is the Rosaly with the infected foot that is staying in the RC. Her family has not been back for over a week, I assume due to the rain. We have to have someone from the family to take her to another hospital. This is the day her rotten heal fell off. Yeah, I know.
burn
I wanted to let you know I have two great volenteers here. They are helping me where they can and doing great. I am so thankful for them.
I love it when people send me scriptures…..so encouaging! Her is one I got this week
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.
Psalm 29:9-11
RHFH Rescue Center 