A little help from our friends

Today's email gives a glimpse into what it takes to keep a clinic running in rural Haiti.  The problem started last Thursday when the microscope broke.  This put the lab out of business for performing some of the most frequent tests.  A serious problem.  Also a real worry because it's not uncommon in Haiti to not have parts for specialized equipment and it can take weeks to ship things in.  Our administrator took the scope to Port-au-Prince knowing he could have trouble finding someone to fix it.  But one reason he is so invaluable is his resourcefulness.  Here is his email.

Last Friday afternoon, I got to the National Lab where they repair microscopes, it was too late to repair it,so they told me to wait until Tuesday as tomorrow is a hero's day(Dessalines) so it's a public day. As I could not wait until Tuesday, I beg the electronic man to do that this week-end. We took an appointment for today this Sunday as he has the key of his office and uses to work on Sunday here.  I'm here with him at Delmas 33, I went to pick him up to come to his office, he's now repairing the microscope as you can see in the attached. I don't know how much they will charge us, but I hope to negotiate a convenient charge."

Happily, the most recent email reported a successful outcome, although it didn't mention the charges.  Of course, we won't be offended if someone wants to cover them by clicking here