Welcome to Graham and Tania's chronicles of our adventures, travel and life in general. Graham and Tania are currently in Bogota, Colombia. We hope that every post captures our reflections on where we are and where we are heading.
"MIREBALAIS, Haiti — The family from a nearby village arrived at the small hospital here vomiting and with uncontrollable diarrhea, at first glance maybe a typical case of consuming bad food or water. But the fluid loss was tremendous and unstoppable; two of the three brothers were already near death, and within hours the entire family would be dead. Meanwhile, a nightmarish stream of patients filled the small reception room, as doctors and nurses scrambled to rehydrate them. It was the evening of Oct. 15, 2010. Cholera, the doctors with the Cuban medical mission that treat most of the patients here would soon confirm, had arrived in Haiti."
This is the opening paragraph of a New York Times article that highlights the work of the Cuban medical mission in Haiti. The Cubans as well as countless other NGOs have been fighting the Cholera outbreak for over a year now. On top of all the post-earthquake hurdles, this past year was packed with unexpected complications including hurricanes, the return of an ousted president, elections violence and more. However, none of these events had a bigger impact than the Cholera outbreak.
Photo by Moises Saman / Magnum for Time Magazine
Looking back, experts had been issuing warnings for the spread of waterborne diseases ever since the earthquake itself in January, 2010. Yet, six months later, when Graham and I arrived in Haiti, we often heard humanitarian workers say with relief that "at least there have been no major disease outbreaks."
Four months later when the first cases of cholera were officially reported, Graham was working with the Haitian Ministry of Health and I had found a job with a medical NGO. The government had to draw up a national strategy quickly and my co-workers had to prepare a response plan for our camp. The first outbreaks were reported about 50km away and we were told it was only a matter of days until it would reach us in the capital. Time was in short supply.
This was Graham's team of drivers when he was working in Haiti. They really liked working with Graham. Actually they love Graham. Every time I run into them our conversation goes something like this:
"Hello Madame Graham (yes, that is what they call me!). - How are you? - Fine, thanks. And you?
- I'm well. How's Mister Graham?" - How's Mister Graham's family?" - Have you talked to Mister Graham today?" - Is Mister Graham Happy where he is?" - When is Mister Graham coming to visit?" - When is Mister Graham coming back to Haiti? - When he comes, will he stay here for a long time?" - Tell Mister Graham I say hi. We miss him"
Colombians have so many days off every year, but only Canada and the US celebrate my favourite holiday: Thanksgiving!
I try to celebrate it every year regardless of the country I'm in, and of course I celebrate in October which is when Canadians have theirs. Wikipedia says that "the first Canadian Thanksgiving celebration was not for harvest, but in thanks for surviving the long journey from England through the perils of storms and icebergs. On his third and final voyage to these regions, in 1578, Frobisher held a formal ceremony in Baffin Island in present day Nunavut to give thanks."
And on that same spirit, my housemates and I had a wonderful dinner the second week of October. A few of us said our Thank Yous out loud. I let them know I was thankful for their support through the very difficult last few weeks, their kindness and understanding. I am also thankful for having Graham in my life, my family, wonderful friends, and all the opportunities and experiences I have had over the years. I am very lucky, and have a very happy life and for that I like taking at least one day a year to say Thanks.
So Thank YOU! My friends and family and friends of friends that check these posts months after months, even when we go weeks without writing. Your comments, love and support mean a lot to me (and to Graham, who is currently very busy with school, internship, conferences and a few more things he manages to fit into his very long days in DC).
For some reason I didn't manage to take any photos during our candle-lit, patio dinner, but here are the links to the recipes we used for our Haitian feast:
Shepherd's pie (No turkey available, plus a handful of British/Irish housemates made this a wonderful substitute!)
Sausage, apple and cranberry stuffing (apples brought from my hotel in Miami the weekend before, and dried cranberries purchased during my last visit to Vancouver!)
We also served some peas, bread and a simple salad. Our guests brought beer, wine and delicious Swiss chocolate that we had as dessert. Overall, a meal and an evening to remember!
