Trio nurse Haiti back to full health

Published 11 Jan 2012 08:00 0 Comments

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THREE Central Fife nurses who have provided emergency care in earthquake-torn Haiti are returning this March to help build an orphanage.

Lou Davidson and Elaine Stark, of Lochgelly; and Carole Hatten, of Kelty, are set to make their fourth annual visit to the destitute country.

In 2009, the three nurses volunteered to go to the island of La Gonave to immunise children and have since raised £25,000 for the poverty-stricken natives.

Although they were expecting to see poverty, they were shocked at the deprived conditions they saw, particularly in the orphanage.

When they saw the devastation caused by the 2010 earthquake first hand, they decided to set up their own charity, Haiti Help, based on the Fife accent 'hae tae help'.

Carole explained, "We were asked by a GP if we were interested in going out to help and we jumped at it. The first year we did 2500 vaccinations across two villages.

"We went before the earthquake and have made a commitment that we're going to go every year. We're committed to helping to build an orphanage and send money every three months."

The pals saw orphaned youngsters herded into a ramshackle building with no sanitation, limited supervision, shared metal beds with boards and no play areas.

Carole explained, "The only orphanage in La Gonave is called Splendid House - it's anything but. Last year, the kids were crammed into this ramshackle building.

"But our money has bought them their own clothes, sheets, blankets and toys, and even paint to smarten the place up a bit.

"One boy was taken to the orphanage because his mother was not feeding him. She and her new boyfriend were also physically and verbally abusive towards him. He was undernourished and very small for his age.

"He has been at Splendid House for a year and is noticeably taller healthier and happier."

However, the orphanage landlord sought to take advantage of the pals goodwill by putting the rent up each time any improvements were made.

And so they decided to club together with Lemonaid and an American charity to buy land to build one of their own.

Carole continued, "We will all be working together with an official committee looking at the construction of the building and the children's welfare. It is the most useful thing we've done so far."

She added, "There were 60 children in the orphanage but another 19 have just been recovered living wild in the mountains. The oldest is just ten and there are two 12-month-old babies."

On their last trip the trio stumbled across a Poor House which was home to destitute elderly people.

Carole said, "Old people go here when they have absolutely nowhere else. They receive very little help from outside agencies and often have to make do with a cup of rice a day as their only food.

"There were no nurses, no cleaners and sustenance food only. Through our contacts we sent them $260 every three months - enough to feed them for four months.

"One man rushed to thank us in his 'wheelchair'. He had fashioned a home-made device by cutting the legs off a white plastic patio chair and placing it over a pair of wheels.

"We asked the other old people what we could get for them and they all wanted shoes, because they had none."

The intrepid trio have raised thousands of pounds in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area thanks to the generosity of the public and they thank everyone who has supported them.

To donate to the trio's charity please visit www.haitihelp.org.uk.

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