Hey,
Don't know if anyone is still reading this blog, because since returning I haven't really posted, but just in case, a little plug:
LECTURE/SLIDESHOW/FUNDRAISER this Tuesday, March 16
7pm at Mugshots coffee shop 21 and Fairmount in Philly
speaking with me is Adam Cooper who was the doc in charge of the Emergency room on the Naval ship COMFORT.
Hope to see you there
Pete
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Fwd: Tent city clinic 1
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Pete Sananman <piatromd@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Subject: Tent city clinic 1
To: Pete Sananman <petesananman@gmail.com>
Sent from my iPhone
From: Pete Sananman <piatromd@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Subject: Tent city clinic 1
To: Pete Sananman <petesananman@gmail.com>
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
2nd to Last Haiti related email. :)
Hey,
I do apologize for mass emailings.
Just got back from Haiti safe and sound.
Anyhoooo, my good friend Jill Fink is holding a fundraiser for Haiti at her coffee house,
In short- Adam Cooper and I will be speaking. Adam was the doc in charge of the ER on the USNS Comort.
100% of the proceeds are going exactly where they are supposed to. 100%-- See below if you want more info on this**
DATE: Tuesday March 16 @7pm
LOCATION: Mugshots Coffee shop corner of Fairmont and 21st st
$5 advance, $10 @ door includes light refreshments and beer
I don't want you to feel pressured to come, but I'm sure the poor starving children with broken feet would want me to pressure you. :)
kidding.
Anyway, I would really love to see you there. It's a good cause, should be fun and interesting. Invite your friends.
Thanks
Pete Sananman
(see below for more info)
FURTHER DETAILS:
1) direct link to donate: (find the button with my name on it)
http://www.housingworks.org/donate/haiti/Everyone who gives to Haiti via this link under my name, will receive a tax receipt (via email and regular mail)
2) Mugshots calendar for time/location
http://www.mugshotscoffeehouse.com/events_calendar.cfm
3) verbose explaination of how I've designated the money to be spent and why this is a good way of donating if in fact you wish to donate:
Jill has allowed me to select the recipient of the proceeds which will be HousingWorks, the organization with whom I worked in Haiti.
HousingWorks in turn has agreed to specifically earmark 100% any money raised at this event for the cause of my choice.
Having been on the ground, I feel very comfortable in selecting the following 2 goals:
1) Purchase of specific medicines at a hugely discounted price from WHO with whom we connected. Shopping list is written, meds are available
2) Paying Hatian translators who are volunteering there time to translate for the non creole speaking health care providers. a quick quote from my own blog (too lazy to rewrite it)
The payment of actual wages to these young, hardworking, educated translators who have all been displaced from their career paths and are now volunteering there efforts in the aftermath of this rediculous devastation is a donation many times over...you are providing a crutial link in the healthcare chain---most medical services right now are by non creole speaking "foreigners", you are putting food in the mouths of the translators and their families, and you are providing legitimate employment in a country with 70% unemployement and no "industry" to speak of, furthermore you are empowering a self motivated group of young people who may very well be the future leaders of haitian infrastructure.
Given the well deserved cynicism one may have about donating money to large organizations or money being "taxed" through a corrupt Hatian government, if you still have a granule of desire to give toward Hatian relief, and are looking for a place to donate money that you know will go the right way, I am personally vouching for this. Given the fact that I refused to take cash from everyone (except my mom and nandita) before I left because I dont' want to be responsible for anyones money getting wasted, this should be reassuring.
p
SIGNING OFF-
Back in the old reliable coffee shop in Philly, snow on the ground, bowels settling, and about 36 hours of sleep under my belt. Amy pointed out I should put a "final thoughts" entry which she's right about. Only problem is I don't have a specific final thought.
Here are a few thoughts:
I didn't realize how tired I was until I got home. I thought everything was fine but I was deeply deeply exhausted. Partly from the stimulation, pushing myself extra hard to make the [effort of getting down there]:[what i accomplished] ratio work out in a way that left me feeling good (I felt bad after my trip to amazon bc i felt that ratio was way out of whack and I could have done more good by donating the money i spent on airfair direclty to antibiotics for the Achuar-- felt like a weird type of tourism that left me feeling unwholesome and unfulfilled)
I am going to focus on this upcoming fundraiser at MUGSHOTS Coffee shop March 16th, 7 pm (plug!) http://www.mugshotscoffeehouse.com/ (21 and fairmount)
this is how I plan to guard against the "post bar mitzvah blues" that I can so easily succumb to. even though it probably wont raise too much money it will raise something, and I know exactly where it will go so that will feel good. But in addition to being a good practical way to use my energy to help a little more, I think psychologically it will be good for me to have a specific place and purpose to consolidate my thoughts on the experience and process them and publically share them rather than simply abruptly transitioning back to philly life without any remaining connection to this powerful experience I just had.
BTW the money will all be donated to purchase of antibiotics and other key meds from the ProMess WHO depot in Port au Prince and to pay local Hatian medical translators. The payment of actual wages to these young, hardworking, educated translators who have all been displaced from their career paths and are now volunteering there efforts in the aftermath of this rediculous devastation is a donation many times over...you are providing a crutial link in the healthcare chain---most medical services right now are by non creole speaking "foreigners", you are putting food in the mouths of the translators and their families, and you are providing legitimate employment in a country with 70% unemployement and no "industry" to speak of, furthermore you are empowering a self motivated group of young people who may very well be the future leaders of haitian infrastructure. so if in reading this you want to donate before the event, there should be a "pete fund" link on the HousingWorks.org website and they are in support and able to earmark any money in this fund to this purpose (thanks Andrew Greene and Charles King)
I am concerned that life here will drown out any long term connection to Haiti and the relief efforts. Perhaps I'll get boring here or perhaps I will get infatuated with another disaster elsewhere or a new rediculous project. I would like to find some way that I can continue a relationship in a manageable way with housing works and haitian relief. the establishment of a Telemedicine consultant system btwn Penn and HW or Gheskio would be great, though bedevelling little details such as Gheskio is affiliated with Cornell or internet connection is spotty or any of a thousand other tiny details could derail that seemingly simple yet useful project. so any ideas or feedback on that would be welcome
Thoughts on the wilderness training I've had. They say everything you learn comes in handy eventually. Having taking a million BOSS and NOLS and Tom Brown classes and all that stuff, having leearned to flint knap (poorly) and make fire by rubbing sticks together all that stuff I can boil down 2 lessons I learned that I think were on my mind daily while I was there. 1) having lived in the desert and alaska with no food, water, shelter matches or gear taught me how to feel very comfortable with nothing. living in the camp felt pretty plush. I was never concerned about my physical needs at all. having the basics Food, Water, Shelter so readily availabe, evertyhing else, Iphone, electricity, clothes, a Chauffeur! all that stuff, really didnt feel like roughign it. that was learning from BOSS 2) from NOLS, they call it EB meaning expedition behavior. when in camp in cramped or difficult situations, share your food, bring extra water, clean up after someone else do that stuff, it makes everytone get along better. I tried to do this (acting against my own very powerful lazy tendancies) and was fortunate that my 2 colleagues were both wilderness guides and implicitly did the same and more. thanks guys
Solitude: I cant describe it but I want to talk to people and share this experience and catch up on their lives but I also just want to be alone for a while
ok,
this has clearly gone on too long.
signing off--- hope to see you March 16, 7pm Mugshots coffee house philadelphia; 21 and fairmount
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