Updates from Haiti

Over the last month I have had the pleasure of seeing Marlene (the head of the orphanage in Gantheirs, Haiti) not once - but twice! Before she left to go back to Haiti, I brought over the rest of the Crocs for her to take back to the children along with other donations I had received from friends (clothes, toys, hats, medical supplies, hand sanitizer, etc). As we were packing and repacking everything, her kids would point at the smaller shoes or clothes and say the name of the little girl who had the abscess on her cheek  (the only one who would fit the smaller clothes). Marlene and I joked that the little girl would be in heaven over all the new clothes and shoes that were headed her way. There is still a need for larger sized clothes and Crocs for the older children (more like adolescents) who are middle and high school aged. Shoe sizes commonly needed are mens 6-10 and clothes Young Mens (M-L).

She told me that K, my little helper, continues to ask her when "my Amanda" is coming to visit. I smiled and told her to tell him I hope to come back soon. Fabienne and I have been talking about heading that way sometime in December - but we will see when the times gets closer. Oh how I miss my little K! Here is a picture of him from the August HVC trip:

He is getting SO BIG!!

 While we were chatting, and I was struggling to communicate what the difference between Neosporin and Cortizone was to her (finally resorting to my Bing Translator on my phone - lol), she gave me the following updates on some of the kids:

* GREAT NEWS! Darlene has been reunited with her family and was very happy to go with them!

* 'O' is all healed up and is smiling beautifully! Her mother has recently been in contact with  her at the orphanage, and there are plans to reunite them in February. Her father died (I think in the earthquake), and her mother is unable to walk, so the government has been helping to support Oalguine since her arrival at CAD. Marlene told me 'O' has 7 brothers and sisters!

Taken by my friend Lauren on her trip in August.

'O' is on the right. Look at that gorgeous (toothless) smile!

Hopefully more updates to come in December!

Update: Haiti Trip #2 Postponed

The last month has been a whirlwind of events which have taken me on one emotional (and physical) roller-coaster! As my earlier blog entries state - I was planning to return to Haiti for the first week of August and couldn't wait to wrap my arms around little 'K' once again. After my first trip, I was having difficulty gaining the 8lbs I lost on the trip and went to the student health center for a check-up. When they heard I just returned from a trip to Haiti, the doctors ordered a FULL work-up on me. They day I went in I was having some mild pelvic pain and attributed it to girl issues. As a part of my work up, they did a pelvic exam and said one of my ovaries felt a little swollen. I was referred for an ultrasound a month later...


*Fast Forward*


Wednesday (10 days before I leave for Haiti): I go for my ultrasound. I knew something was off when in dead silence, halfway through the ultrasound the tech asks me if I have a history of Ovarian Cysts in my family? Not to my knowledge...
Thursday (9 days before Haiti): My doctor's office calls and wants me to come in to review my results... I get nervous and request the earliest appointment (which is the following day). 
Friday (8 days before Haiti): Doc tells me I have a Complex Ovarian Cyst called a "Dermoid" the size of a baseball on my right ovary. WHAT?! How did I miss that?! I'm referred to a "specialist."
Monday (5 days before Haiti): I see the "specialist" (AKA: Gynecologist) and he tells me I'll need surgery to have it removed and I'm at risk for it twisting and rupturing - which would infect my insides and possibly loose my uterus. My translation - no surgery, no babies... He also tells me he strongly suggests I DON'T go to Haiti. I reluctantly schedule my surgery for the next Tuesday and my pre-op for Friday. Holding back my tears in the office, I realize it is best if I stay and take care of myself and not risk my fertility and possibly my life going on this trip. It was probably the HARDEST decision I've made in my life... and I spent the next two days fighting it and trying to find loop holes and ways I could go and still be safe. Ultimately deciding I would make both myself, my family and my mission teammates highly anxious the whole time I was in Haiti.
Thursday (2 days before Haiti): I present about my past experience in Haiti to my Art Therapy co-hort. It was hard to focus on not only creating the presentation, but having to talk about my passion I'm having to put on hold. I got through it, but felt my emotions hindered my ability to accurately describe my experience and what I got out of it. 
Friday (the day I was supposed to fly to Miami): I go for my pre-op appointment with my Doctor and at the Hospital.. I'm told I won't know my surgery time until Monday afternoon. I rush off to the graduation lunch with the Art Therapy girls and celebrate their great accomplishment - and mine to come in December. I spend the rest of the day rushing around town gathering items, luggage, and packing the crocs I collected so that my best friend could bring them with her on the trip I was to go on as well. At 6pm I meet her at the airport and sent her off, wishing I could stow away in her carry-on...
Tuesday @ 4am: I wake up and prepare for my surgery, arriving at the hospital at 5am... The next week is a complete blur.

Start the Countdown!

T-12 Days til I'm in HAITI


I have collected ALL that I need to send to HOPE to cover my flight from Miami to Port Au Prince & the costs of food, transportation, water, & diesel fuel for the generator while I'm in the country. I'm mailing the checks off today! I'm still trying to raise money to cover my flight to Miami and additional food and expenses I'm bringing with me, but I have been surrounded by so many generous people that I don't see it being a problem to get there. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible!


Update from Haiti Team#2
The second team returned from Haiti this weekend and I spent a good 20 minutes talking to the Art Teacher who went on the trip. She had so many great things to say about the kids and the art she did with them - along with ideas for my trip. I am so excited to start planning my art groups again and can't wait to see the kids again!


God is so good... he has truly blessed me with an experience of a lifetime and the opportunity to do it 2x!


Much Love,
Mandy

FSView Article!

FSU student helps Haiti through art

Courtney Rolle • Staff Writer • July 5, 2010

Florida State University graduate student Amanda Sanders used art therapy to help children in a Haiti orphanage when she visited the devastated country in June.

Sanders was offered the opportunity through the charity HOPE Worldwide, along with 13 other participants from across the country.

HOPE Worldwide is a service organization that takes action in addressing crises around the world, such as bringing treatment to Africa for HIV/AIDS, placing schools and clinics around Afghanistan and helping to build Cambodia’s health care system, which has helped over one million patients get premium health care.

Sanders received an undergraduate degree in psychology at FSU with a minor in studio art. She began taking art classes as an outlet for stress during her undergraduate years, then realized at the beginning of graduate school that it was something she didn’t want to be without.

“I began my master’s degree in mental health counseling [College of Education] in fall 2008, but at the end of my first semester, I realized how much I missed doing art,” Sanders said. “I spoke to the art therapy program director about taking some of their classes and, after taking one class, I was hooked. We worked on creating a dual degree with my mental health counseling and art therapy.”

The idea of going to Haiti, which was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in January, was proposed to her by her professor, who suggested she visit and create a presentation on the experience for her semester’s final project. In order to fund her trip, Sanders began by collecting donations from her friends and family. In less than two weeks, she had everything that was needed for the trip. Once she arrived in Ganthiers, Haiti, Sanders put her Art Therapy degree to work.

“The first few days I used fun art activities that would engage the kids and get them excited about the art,” Sanders said. “I mixed paint with bubble solution and had them color paper by blowing bubbles on it, did ink blot paintings and free drawings.”

Sanders educated the older children on the color wheel and taught them how to mix colors to make other ones. She also shared her stress-relieving artistic practices.

“We talked about the earthquake and how it affected them,” Sanders said. “I let them paint their experiences and express feelings through the art. It was so amazing to witness the power the art gave these kids to really explore and express things they had been feeling, didn’t understand, or didn’t know how to express.”

Though the trip impacted Sanders in a positive way, parting from the children she grew so close to consequently proved to be heartbreaking not only for Sanders, but for the children as well.

“I had one little boy, eight years old, that seemed like my adoptive son for the week, and his smile could light up a room,” Sanders said. “The day I left, he cried and it was hard to leave him.”

Sanders said she feels pleased to have be able to give some attention to Haiti.

“It’s only been six months since the earthquake and they still have a very long road to recovery,” Sanders said. “There are still thousands of people living in tent cities without any place to go.”

Sanders said her trip made such an impact on her that she will be returning later on in the summer to continue her work with the children. She encourages volunteering or donations to HOPE Worldwide through their website at www.hopeww.org.

Haiti & Art Therapy Slideshow

A collection of pictures and short videos from my trip. I hope you can see how much God moved in my life and the lives of the children at the CAD orphanage in Ganthiers, Haiti. I taught art classes with orphaned children and they taught me how to truly live, love and laugh. I knew it would be an experience of a lifetime, and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to go. Miss you HOPE Volunteer Corps Team #1 and all the smiling faces I left back in Haiti.

XOXO - Amanda

FRONT PAGE NEWS: Florida State University student takes art therapy to Haiti

Helping kids just be kids

One child drew pictures of bricks tumbling off the sides of a building, landing on the heads of people below. Another, using thick paint and construction paper, created images of blood and broken bones.

Amanda Sanders admits she didn't know what to expect when she arrived at the orphanage in Haiti earlier this month. An art therapy graduate student at Florida State University, Sanders was there to work on her final project for school and help some of the 90 children cope with the destruction they have been living with during the past six months.

"I was trying to create a place for the kids to have fun. They were fending for themselves, growing up way too fast," Sanders said. "I wanted them to be kids.

"The ones who had been traumatized, I wanted them to be able to express themselves through art."

Art therapy has become an increasingly popular tool for helping traumatized children.

Marcia Rosal, a professor in FSU's department of art education and director of the art therapy program, says art therapy has become much more accepted as a way of reaching out to children since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Six months after the Jan. 12 earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas, the poor island nation is seldom a front-page story anymore. But make no mistake, Haiti is still struggling to rebuild its basic infrastructure.

Sanders, 25, a Chiles High graduate with an undergraduate degree in psychology from FSU, went to Haiti with a group of 13 from HOPE worldwide. Sanders' non-denominational Capital City Church does work with the international charity.

They flew from Miami to Port-au -Prince, a city still missing roofs on most buildings and surrounded by tent communities, on their way to the orphanage in Ganthier. Sanders was the only art therapist in the group of volunteers. She brought a suitcase teeming with art materials. What they didn't use during her eight-day stay, she left behind.

"I had to be really flexible. I had to be ready for whatever, to go with what the children needed," she said. "These kids have been through terrible, terrible things. One girl, her parents had tried to kill her."I let them show me what they needed to show me. They knew best. They just needed someone to spend time with them, to show them I cared about them. The art served to do that."Art therapy has been an increasingly more popular field of study at FSU. The university had a four-year program in Pass Christian, Miss., working with children whose lives were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. The university also has a relationship with a nonprofit in Bangkok, Thailand, where FSU students use art therapy with victims of a child sex-slave trade.

"Art therapy is a good, accessible treatment for children in particular," Rosal said. "It helps them find ways to understand and express the situations they were in, and hopefully find ways to cope with them."

Sanders, who hopes to graduate in December with a double master's in art therapy and counseling, was the first FSU art therapy student to visit Haiti in the aftermath of the January earthquake.

Rosal explained that Sanders wasn't in Haiti to "do therapy in the deepest sense of the word," but to give the children at the orphanage an outlet.

"We talked about the fact that the children would be traumatized and to be aware of that," Rosal said. "I told Amanda, who is just a remarkable person, to not open anything she didn't think she could change. Children with trauma need long-term support and care."

Sanders, who has done internships at Capital City Youth Services and at the forensic unit at the state hospital in Chattahoochee, is hoping she can go back to Haiti. She even learned some Creole to help her during future trips.

"The director said she saw the children change during the time we were there, that their attitudes changed," Sanders said. "They were more bright and more respectful of each other.

"I learned that you didn't need language necessarily to communicate. I saw it in action with the kids."

BY DOUG BLACKBURN • DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER • JUNE 25, 2010

Adjusting to "Real Life"

I've been back in the states for a week now... but it still feels like I left yesterday. When I first returned from Haiti, I was excited to share how much love and appreciation we received from the disciples and orphans during our stay. I was also eager to share how much I learned about God and was able to watch him move in my life.

My heart goes out to the children in Ganthiers and I had a harder time returning than I had predicted. I thought I might see things that would upset me and struggle with the images when I returned, but I think I am really just having a hard time returning to the classroom and not actively engaging with others to help brighten their day and/or ease their pain. Leaving with 'unfinished business' - per say, doesn't add to my helplessness of being so far away. I really wanted to collect rocks/rubble and paint them with the kids, teaching them that there is always a way to make something out of a hard or difficult situation. I didn't get to do that because I was really sick on the last day and slept on the roof all day trying to recover.

I miss 'K' and his sunny smile. I miss the simplicity of life where joys arise out of the smallest things. Being home, I've realized how disgusting greed and materialism is - and how I get angry when I hear people talking about wanting new things or better things that they don't necessarily need. I know it's a result of my own experience living off the bare necessities, but I don't know how to express that to my friends and family without being rude or emotionally driven (and then coming off self-righteous).

Recently I've decided to return to Haiti for the final trip in August and feel like I've weighed the pros and cons in making my decision, but I don't want Evan or Lorelei to feel like I'm abandoning them, or choosing Haiti over them, or that I love them any less. I'm going to take a few more days to think over my decision, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that this is how God wants me to use my gift for him... I just need to figure out how to continue my work including Evan and Lorelei and without having to fly 600 miles away. I know I have a lot to think about over the next month and I hope my friends and family understands my decision. I guess I jut have to pray that God lets me know if I made the right decision or not.

Being Published

Check out tomorrows paper for a brief story on my trip to Haiti! Also a preview online! So weird.

FSU student takes art therapy practice to Haiti | tallahassee.com | Tallahassee Democrat

One child drew pictures of bricks tumbling off the sides of a building, landing on the heads of people below. Another, using thick paint and construction paper, created images of blood and broken bones. Amanda

Sanders admits she didn’t know what to expect when she arrived at the orphanage in Haiti earlier this month.

An art therapy graduate student at Florida State University, Sanders was there to work on her final project for school – and, to hopefully help some of the 90 children cope with the destruction they have been living amidst during the past six months.

“I was trying to create a place for the kids to have fun. They were fending for themselves, growing up way too fast,” Sanders said. “I wanted them to be kids.

“The ones who had been traumatized, I wanted them to be able to express themselves through art.”

Art therapy has become an increasingly popular tool for helping traumatized children.

Read more on this in Friday's Tallahassee Democrat.