Short-Term Trip to Haiti, 2010

By Jim Killackey

Imagine a large country not far from America's borders and founded by Christopher Columbus in 1492 where voodoo temples are revered as hurricane shelters; where electricity is available a mere 12 hours a day; and where crops are successfully grown but many of the populace can't afford to buy food for themselves and their families.

Picture the most thickly populated and grindingly poor nation in the Western Hemisphere; where creole is the language and gourd is money; and where disabled youngsters often are left in sewers, along roadsides and in hospital courtyards.

The unemployment rate is 80 percent; chickens are used to pay for a child’s schooling; the minimum wage is $2.50 a day; needed imports come from Cuba, Venezuela and South Korea, and a recent missionary-veterinary team "saw young children lining up outside when we would eat a meal, in hopes that we would let them have any leftovers from out plates!"

Such is daily life in Haiti (pop. 10+ million), a country the size of Maryland, where Christians are scarce, veterinarians are hard to find, and the country is bereft of the basics that are taken for granted in the United States.

This is the island country that was the recent destination for Oklahoma veterinarians and Oklahoma State University vet-med students who were part of a challenging mission trip involving the Christian Veterinary Fellowship, and organized by Marlow vet, Dr. Lyndon Graf, and Oklahoma State University vet-med professor, Dr. Carolynn Macallister.  Five OSU vet-med students, all women, made the mission trip with Graf. Macallister planned the trip from Stillwater. The mission trips usually are 10 days to two weeks.  Helping the Oklahomans was Dr. Keith Flanagan, a 1978 OSU graduate who has been working in Haiti for more than 20 years.  “Haiti is a very beautiful country with very appreciative people. Unfortunately, the country is a very poor place,” said Graf.  Like all similar mission trips, it was designed for a Christian walk plus concentrated veterinary work.  In fact, Haiti is an extremely fertile ground for a Christian ministry and the veterinary needs are innumerable in a country where animals are greatly needed and prized for transportation and food.  “I’m not a preacher, but I can share my beliefs and reach out to others through a Christian love,” Flanagan said.  “I first went to Haiti on a short-term trip with Christian Veterinary Mission in 1986 and I was really impressed by the friendliness and happiness of the people even though they had so little,” said Flanagan, 61.  “I also saw how my skills as a veterinarian could be used to make improvements in their daily lives,” he stressed.

Nowadays, Flanagan, who is from the tiny Panhandle town of Texhoma, works with the Haiti Ministry of Agriculture to implement national vaccination programs for several disease that have a great negative impact on animal production. Those include Swine fever, Newcastle disease,  anthrax, rabies, and tetanus in horses.  “Vaccinating for these diseases can greatly increase income to the local producers,” he said.  Also, “some of the most rewarding work is working one-on-one with the rural Haitians to help them improve their local communities.  This includes repairing roads, drilling wells, and capping springs to give potable water,” Flanagan said.  He noted that the OSU team that came down helped with a summer camp for local youth. “We talked about animal health and treatment for parasites, and their role in protecting the environment and working to make their communities a better place to live.”  He described the OSU mission team as “very exceptional."  “They came with lots of enthusiasm and energy, and they were well prepared to teach various classes.  “Having an outsider come and show an interest is always an encouragement, not only to me, but especially to the Haitians. The young women from the Oklahoma State College of Veterinary Medicine were outstanding role models for the youth, especially the young Haitian ladies,” Flanagan said. 

Dr. Graf also graduated from the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 1978.  He moved to Marlow in 1979 and built Marlow Veterinary Clinic, a mixed-animal clinic.  Dr. Flanagan worked for Graf from 1980 through 1986, and then went to Haiti as a short-term missionary through Christian Veterinary Mission -- and has been there ever since.  Dr. Graf said First Baptist Church of Marlow “has a long past history of supporting mission work, both as support of missionaries as well as sending teams on short term mission trips.” At times, the church has been represented in six continents with members on various mission trips. He’s been on two previous mission trips; the first went to Peru on a medical-evangelism trip. 

The second mission trip was to Ecuador.  “About 1 1/2 years ago, I was asked if I would consider leading a group of veterinary students on a short-term mission trip to Haiti. I agreed and felt it an honor to be able to participate in a mission trip to see and work with my fellow classmate, employee, and very close friend, Dr. Keith Flanagan,” Graf recalled.  On Haiti, Graf noted, “There is no infrastructure that maintains roads or that takes any steps to keep their country beautiful.  There are approximately 8 million people in Haiti -- and many of those don't know when or where their next meal will come.” 

On the mission trip, his party spent one day training Haitian veterinary agents about proper techniques in giving injections as well as the correct injection sites to administer injections.  “We also trained them how to calculate dosages.  There was also a presentation given on the common intestinal parasites of horses, cattle, goats, and pigs which are the main livestock species in Haiti,” he said.  They also spent 3 1/2 days leading a camp for youth ranging in age from 15-22.  In the mornings a local native pastor would lead in music and a devotional, “then we would discuss animal husbandry issues.”  “We also had time for our team to give testimonies and share with the youth.  Of course their language is Creole, so our presentations and testimonies had to be interpreted by Dr. Flanagan or others who knew English.

In the afternoon of the second day, we actually had animals brought in to demonstrate simple animal husbandry techniques such as de-worming and vaccinating,” Graf said. There were enough animals so that many Haitian students got to practice giving injections. “On the third day, we traveled -- 45 people in three small pickups, standing room only -- an hour and a half to an orphanage where we de-wormed and vaccinated goats and cattle, approximately 60 head. The fourth day was spent with a final morning devotional session and delivery of students to various communities and then travel back to Port-au-Prince,” Graf said.  Graf formed this opinion on the country and Haitians: “The people of Haiti don't need a handout, they need training on ways to diversify their economy.  Educating Haitians in agriculture-advancing techniques, the importance of clean water in disease prevention, industry-growth development, and just the importance of diversifying.  From the outside looking in, it appeared that in any given community,  if one person starts making charcoal, then everyone makes charcoal and they all go to market to try to sell the same thing.  If one person in the community grows rice, then everyone grows rice and they all compete for the same commodity at their local market,” he said.

The OSU students who went to Haiti each had special memories of the Haitians and the vet-med-and-mission trip they encountered:

Carolynn Macallister: “The objective of short-term mission trips from Christian Veterinary Missions is to provide opportunities for veterinarians and veterinary students to use their skills, faith and abilities in Christian service alongside missionaries such as Dr. Keith Flanagan. The Haiti mission trip was important because it showed Christ’s love by serving the Haitian people by providing veterinary care and education – and all activities being Christ-centered and planting seeds of Christianity,” she said. “At OSU, the Christian Veterinary Fellowship (CVF) is involved with organizing, supporting and helping to connect students with opportunities to serve on mission teams. In the past three years we have participated on CVM trips."

Sheena Roles: “Our primary activities were focused on training and education. We hosted a three day camp for the local youth in which we educated them about parasites and control, drug calculations and dosage, and proper technique for various routes of drug administration in several species. The camp was a great environment in which we were able to share our testimonies and express Christ's love. We were also fortunate enough to be able to visit the children at a local orphanage and vaccinate the orphanage's goat herd. We were able to attend a local church and interact with children there as well as deliver school supplies. The biggest needs of the Haitian people seemed to me to be basic sanitation, food, health care and education, particularly in the field of agriculture and veterinary medicine. This mission trip was one of my first activities with our OSU CVF chapter. The experience was truly eye opening, and allowed me gain perspective on myself and the world around me. It was truly amazing to see people given difficult circumstances unlike what many of us will ever experience, and for those people to remain joyful and to continue to seek out the Lord and live for Him. The needs of the Haitian people can be absolutely overwhelming. At first I felt frustration at the great need and the seemingly impossible way to fill it. However, I experienced many wonderful people full of hope, and the joy of the Lord, who sought to make a difference in their own lives and those around them. Watching others bear their burdens with such a positive outlook was truly inspirational.”