June 2

I was met with another cold shower this morning. There is no hot water here. Why should I complain...most don’t have any water...

We headed to City Soleil, about 10 miles away. I have read that some think this is the worst place in the world. It is just out of Port au Prince. We are visiting the Haiti Clinic which is an organization that we donated a generator to about 16 months ago. It is ther only means of power for this clinic.

When we arrive just outside the village, we are met with the head of the clinic, who escorted us to the clinic. It is not safe to travel by ourselves here. The prison, which is a short distance away, was ruined in the earthquake. There are 4000 convicts roaming this area.

When we arrive, the children run to our vehicle. They are yelling "Americans...Americans". They don’t have visitors often and they are excited. Most aren’t wearing clothes as they cannot afford them. The minute we exit our vehicle, they touch us and want to hold our hands.
My heart is an open sore at this point. They are so beautiful and I want to feed and clothe them all.

I hear the sound of the generator which is just next to the front door of the clinic. The building, which has 4 rooms, is a vacated space by a drug lord. There is an office/exam room, a waiting area, a pharmacy and a surgery room. The surgery room is lit by one dim lightbulb hanging freely from the ceiling, which we are powering. The room is no bigger than a cubicle. The pharmacy is run by a gentleman named Bobo, who is so proud to show us his area. He smiles widely and hugged me.

The clinic is open 10 hours a day and is run on our generator the entire time. They see 50 to 60 patients a day. They ask where they can get an air filter for the generator. I tell them I will send a case. I cannot help myself.

We also visited a school up the street. The Director of the school died last week from illness. He could not afford the $2500 to travel to the Domican Republic to have a sugery. He leaves behind 3 children and a wife. The children at the school are sad. We also visited an orphanage that had 17 children and no electricity. I will send them a generator. I cannot say no.

On a lighter note, I spent about 30 minutes with Jimmy Buffet lat the hotel, istening about his work here and the new school he is building.

He inquires about a generator for the school. I tell him we will help.

He is kind and generous. He spoke to the embassy about getting our gens out of customs. He wants to help us. I told him he should think about playing our stage at Summerfest :)