Jilian and AliceMarie just hanging out
"Making a difference is an action -
not an idea"
By Katee McClure
The above quotation is on the entry door to the only surgical room in a small town called Ouanaminthe in the northeastern part of Haiti.
Local Nurse Practitioner AliceMarie Slaven-Emond took that saying to heart and went to that small town to help care for the injured children who were taken there after the January 12, 2010 earthquake disaster at Port au Prince, Haiti.
AliceMarie went to Hope for Haiti's Children Center after hearing that the orphanage was in desperate need of medical practitioners to help care for the victims of the earthquake. She made the trip a little more than two weeks after the quake.
AliceMarie and another nurse showed up at the Durango Airport on January 31st, 2010 with sixteen suitcases between them. Fourteen of the suitcases carried much needed medical supplies. Normally that amount of extra luggage would have cost a small fortune, but when the airline saw the tags on the bags, and where they were headed, they were only charged for one extra bag.
That kind of generosity has been echoed across the entire United States to help Haiti. Americans are generous, plain and simple. When disaster strikes, either on our own shores, or on foreign shores, the American people give, and give a lot. We should be heartened knowing that is the American spirit. In needy times, gone is the division of politics or religion or gender, because, in the grand scheme of things those issues aren't important when our neighbors or us are in trouble.
AliceMarie's trip was solely financed by local contributions to the tune of $8,500.00. Even after the trip expenses and costs for medical supplies, there was plenty of money left over to give to "Hope for Haiti’s Children Center." The center will continue to use those funds for medical supplies and to feed and house all the refugees that have come there as a result of the quake.
AliceMarie was the perfect fit for the Haiti situation. Not only does she have medical skills, she also has maternal skills and instincts. She not only dealt with physical injuries but more importantly emotional injuries of the children who had lost their parents.
The children instantly bonded with AliceMarie. Those in the orphanage called her either Mama Alice or Auntie Alice. AliceMarie worked the night shift, from 6:30 pm to 7:30 am. She and a few other volunteers attended to fevers, gave deworm medicine, washed scabies away, soothed bad dreams, changed diapers, dealt with diarrhea and vomiting, rocked away sadness and much more. AliceMarie also took time to play with the children and they, in turn, decided it was time to do her hair up right by adorning it with multiple red scrunchies!
Country singer Tanya Tucker was there as a volunteer along with AliceMarie. Tanya brought the children something precious...mirrors! The kids had much fun looking at their own reflections. This simple gift was considered a luxury.
I asked AliceMarie what was the most challenging thing she had to deal with while she was there. Her answer was simple, FLYING TARANTULAS. Yikes! Her most rewarding experience was being able to use her skills as a parent, grandparent, and nurse. "I did what a parent would do if the parent were alive and present - my strongest medicine was hugs and laughter."
Besides caring for the children, she also cared for many of the volunteers who fell ill to what AliceMarie termed "the cruds." She herself fell victim to the "cruds" right before returning to the States as was evidenced by a stitched wound on her forehead. She cut her head after a particularly violent episode of vomiting.
By midnight February 15th, she was back in the United States and off the plane in Durango. Would she go back again? Emphatically she replied, "Yes! They’ll need to have help to set up the new clinic that is being built and then the new hospital at the Center in the next couple of years."
AliceMarie would like to thank everyone for the support of money, supplies and, most of all, prayers!
If you would like to learn more about the Hope for Haiti’s Children Center visit: www.danitaschildren.org. AliceMarie would be glad to bring her pictures and visit with any group that she can. Call her at 325-6938 or email amse2@advantas.net.
Family Preparedness Training
March 6, 2010
Aztec Library 8am to 5pm
San Juan County Office of Emergency Management and the Aztec Library will be presenting a FREE one-day family preparedness training on Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 8:15 to 4:30pm. Lunch is on your own.
Contact Karen at the Aztec Library 334-7695 or Michele with OEM at 334-4719 (mtruby@sjcounty.net) to register.
You can also go to (www.sjcoem.com) and follow the menu - community - family preparedness to fill out a registration form.
For full details, go to http://local.nixle.com/alert/1113918/
Aztec UFO Art &
Writing Contest!
The Friends of the Aztec Library are holding their 12th Annual Art & Writing Contest in conjunction with the 13th Annual Aztec UFO Symposium (a fundraiser for the Aztec Public Library).
Why not make this a creative project for your classes?
CASH PRIZES for all 1st place winners!
Deadline for all entries is Friday, March 19, 2010.
Themes
Space Exploration, Our Solar System, Stars & Constellations Identified & Unidentified Flying Objects, Extraterrestrial Life. Open to everyone of all ages!
Categories
*BOOK MARKS - Design a bookmark about space or anything you can imagine
( Bookmarks measure 7" x 2")
• K - 3rd Grade • 4th Grade - 6th Grade • 7th Grade - 9th Grade
(Bookmark category is only open to grades K-9)
*ART EXPRESSION - Drawing, painting, mixed media, collage & computer-generated, bookmarks, 3D objects.
*WRITING - Poetry, essay (fiction/non-fiction) 3 page limit. *VIDEO DVD / VHS 10 minutes or less.
*UNLIMITED OPEN CREATIVE - Plays, short stories,
songs, etc.
Judged by school grades as follows: Grades K-3, Grades 4-6, Grades 7-9, Grades 10-12 and Adult
PRIZES – First, Second & Honorable Mention
DEADLINE: March 19, 2010
Mail entries or drop off at the Aztec Public Library 319 S. Ash Aztec, NM 87410
We look forward to your participation!
If you have any questions please contact: Beth McClure – art coordinator - at 505-419-0649.
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Send check to TALON, POB 275, Aztec NM
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