Columbia Center The little things make us special.

April 21, 2010

While many of us watched in horror at the devastation unfolding in Haiti after the crippling January earthquake, Joan Schuetze, a nurse from Columbia Center, took action. She did not have a clear idea of what to expect when she stepped off the plane into the blistering heat on March 9, 2010, but knew that it would be an unusual call for her medical expertise and compassion.

Schuetze connected to this relief mission through her church group, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) Committee on Relief. The three main goals of this committee include helping victims of disaster, spreading the gospel and humanitarian relief.

After a long 6-hour bus ride from Santo Domingo, Schuetze, along with five other nurse volunteers and two project coordinators, stepped into the town of Jimani, Dominican Republic, around midnight of their first day. It is in and around the general vicinity of this city where they spent the next week.

The accommodations during their stay were modest, but better than expected by many of the missionaries. They were assigned to stay at a medical clinic in Jimani set up by the International Medical Alliance of Tennessee, which had a few large rooms set up with bunk beds. One blessing this lodging had was running water so they were able to take cold showers and wash off the heat of the day. Meals were prepared daily by the hospital staff and usually consisted of rice and beans.

Schuetze and other nurses spent their first days of work at the orphanage, “Love-a-Child,” which is run by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI). In response to the disaster, this location was turned into a tent city to provide medical aid to victims of the disaster.

Schuetze and the nurses were assigned to patient tents, which lined up in ten rows. “Two rows were unaccompanied minors and tent rows 3-10 were filled with patients with the greatest needs to the healthiest,” says Schuetze. They tended to patients through activities such as changing dressings, checking blood pressure, giving out medications, physical therapy and much more.

"Between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm the heat was unbearable,” says Schuetze. Working through the ninety-degree sweltering heat, many became overheated and on the verge of dehydration, but worked through it the best they could by continually drinking water and taking breaks.

With every patient she saw came a wave of heartache for the devastation the person had seen, but she also knew she was doing something good. One such patient came at night to the clinic where they were staying. The hospital staff informed the group that she had bad burns to her face and chest and would have to be treated there. Without hesitation, the nurses agreed to take turns pulling two- to four-hour shifts to monitor her throughout the week.

Adequately handing out supplies to the Haitian refugees was a particularly difficult task for the group. They each had 50-pound suitcases filled with supplies, but had to be careful with what they did hand out to always make sure they had enough. They handed out clothes, toiletries, towels and food.

The groups also helped with taking a census of people in a bordering village of Haiti whose residents were among the poorest. After this census, the group was then able to come later in the week with medical and humanitarian supplies and distribute them in an organized fashion.

Schuetze’s trip took place two months after the initial earthquake and she notes that there is still so many more that need help. “They need continual volunteers to help and continued care and physical therapy is much needed for many patients,” she says, “It’s going to be a long process to get better,” not only for the patients, but for the country.

With the help of compassionate volunteers like Joan Schuetze that dedicate their time and talent, the refugees of Haiti will be able to start to see a light at the end of a dark tunnel and Schuetze hopes that the Committee on Relief will go back soon. Through it all, Schuetze says that “the greatest gift is God’s love and compassion, which is exactly what I hoped to emulate during my trip to Haiti.”