The Medical Mercy team arrived in Haiti on Sunday, marking a year in which Haiti has been on the hearts and minds of many. After traveling to Haiti three times in response to the January 2010 earthquake and the cholera epidemic, this team is well prepared to minister to the 1700 kids in our projects in northern Haiti.

Still, this trip brings back some memories for Dr. Beyda, our Medical Mercy director. Memories of another time, from which the purpose of this trip originates:

It’s an odd thing getting a glimpse of something you know well from a time somewhere in the distant past. That distant past for me was 32 years ago, when I spent several months in a refugee camp in Cambodia as medical director of pediatrics. How I got there, and how I got to finish my residency in a refugee camp is a whole different story. But happen it did, and I have been traveling the world doing third world medicine ever since.

What does all that have to do with Haiti and the team of 14 going again?

It’s the cholera thing. We had 2 epidemics in the Cambodian refugee camp while I was there: measles and cholera. On day one of the refugee camp opening (around Christmas day 1980), I lost over 100 children. Every day was the same as waves and waves of refugees came over a mountain range being chased by communist insurgents.

When the flow of refugees finally slowed down, the epidemics hit. Measles first – hundreds of deaths from measles pneumonia, something never seen here in the US.

Then it was cholera.

I learned about cholera quickly, and how to treat it. I didn’t have to use that knowledge again until a few months ago. Haiti brought back the memories. The deaths we saw. The glimpses of those times offer a valuable reminder that things sometimes don’t change. Poor sanitation, hygiene, and dirty water brings cholera to the forefront – and with it, its devastation.

And that’s why we’re going. After my assessment trip a few weeks ago, it became clear that we needed to go back and reinforce the education and prevention programs we put into place. We’ll be doing that, examining all the children again, and doing a nutritional assessment on all of them. We’ll put those who are moderately or severely malnourished into a comprehensive nutritional rescue program using Medika Mamba (a peanut butter paste). We’ll go to 15 projects and see about 1700 children.

Glimpsing the past does change the way you look at things in the present. I know what needs to be done. I’ve seen it and have lived it. The team is ready, and we are off to face the battle. Bring it!

In all things give thanks,

Dr. Beyda

We will continue to post updates from the Medical Mercy team here. Please join us in praying for the effectiveness of their mission during this critical time.