FRIDAY. AUGUST 3, 20Q7 U SUWANNEE DEMOCRAT/LIVE OAK PAGE 9B mission trip to Haiti Continued From Page 8B around 75 percent of education- al programs offered. Less than 65 percent of the children of pri- mary school age are actually en- rolled. At the secondary level, the figure drops to 15 percent. It takes an average of 16 years for a child to complete the primary school, of which 63 percent do complete. The JBA school in Bercy is a primary, with pre-K through 5. All children are fed two meals a day and given daily vitamin supplements with JBA funding. The JBA also pays the salaries of teachers, administrators and support staff of the school and orphanage. The entire operation is coordinated by a couple from Jacksonville, Rusty and Cheryl Merritt, owners of a family business.who underwrite entire- ly their own support and trans- portation expenses voluntarily to serve the mission. Cheryl Merritt said they often measure the progress of newly arrived children to their pro- gram by checking their hair col- or. The children enter the pro- gram with the orangish hair that. is a classic symptom of malnu- trition in black children. As the first few weeks pass, the roots of their hair turn black and the orange tips grow out, indicating they are getting the nourishment they need. We worked at this growing complex with a team of 14 from Shindler Drive Baptist Church, our former church before we moved away from Jacksonville. Six of the team members were teenagers who added tremen- dously to the mission as they in- teracted energetically with the resident children. The school's first graduation of fifth graders, a class of 14, was held during our visit and donations .,roin the Shindler church helped make it special by providing gleaming white caps and gowns and gifts of new Creole French Bibles. While other team members performed needed tasks at the school and orphanage, several of us ran the medical clinic. The girl with the 104.8 degree tem- perature was one of 255 patients registered and treated during three days of the clinic. We im- mediately gave this girl a large dose of clean water, fever-re- ducing liquid medication and antibiotics and a week supply to fight off a raging throat infec- TiHEEST Financing for tion. To my distress, we were unable to persuade the little girl to stay long enough to recheck her temperature and the narrow path back up to her mountain home did not permit us to con- vey her home in a mission truck. She insisted on walking back home. The mission pastor saw to it that the girl's mother got the week's medications to continue her treatment and to my relief, the girl returned to the clinic the next morning at my request and her temperature read 99.0. We all praised God for his healing powers. There were many cases of pink eye, scabies, ring worm and general malnutrition among the children who were not part of the orphanage or school. Blood pressure problems, fun- gal infections and sexually transmitted diseases predomi- nated among the adults. Also, with the help of a foun- dation from South Florida head- ed by Aaron Jackson, we were able to distribute medication to eliminate internal parasites, a pandemic in Haiti, to more than 200 people. We gave out month supplies of adult, children's and prenatal vitamins. Highlights of the week in- cluded taking the graduates to a beach outing on a beautiful Caribbean coral reef near Bercy, a touching Baptism ceremony in which Pastor Jessie im- mersed four new Christians, and a two-mile hike up the moun- tain to hold a church service in the rural mountain village where that ill little girl had come from. Her mother was at the ceremony and through an inter- preter said the girl was doing well. Again, we all praised God. All of us fell immediately in love with an infant boy who was left at the orphanage that week by parents who were un- able to care for him due to-psy- chiatric issues. One of the sources of much- needed financial support for the mission is through individual sponsorships of the children who live in the orphanage or at- tend the mission school. JBA links interested sponsors with photos and news of the children and encourages sending of sponsor gifts such as toys and clothing delivered by the associ- ation to brighten the lives of the children. Sponsorships are available at $50 per month by applying to JBA at jbahaiti.org. MEDICAL CLINIC: Liz and Bob with patient with 104-degree temperature during mission trip to Haiti. -Photo: Submitted Ce xw ADULTS GET MEDICAL CHECK: Linda checks onpatient. - Photo: Sub6itted While the'y last! Don't miss the UFA -savings you've been waiting for! 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