This is not the first time the medical aid group has been under criticism while working in a disaster area and ignoring local wishes. After the Indonesian tsunami it was widely reported that MSF urged donors to stop sending it money for Asian tsunami victims, saying it had collected enough funds to manage its own relief effort there and that donors should focus on donating to other MSF relief efforts. Meanwhile other aid organizations were scrambling for donations and rebuilding had barely begun.
When we discussed the video of the forsaken IDP camp on Highway 1, Keenan was incensed. "This should not be happening now!" The camp has no medical care, not enough tents, no food deliveries and little water. The only aid we saw there was a group of latrine builders from the Irish NGO, HAVEN.
It was good to hear Keenan agree with our assessment that aid is not being distributed equitably here. HAVEN was the first aid group we encountered at the Highway 1 camp, even though we had been mentioning their plight wherever we stopped and had stopped back on a regular basis to see how they were faring. HAVEN asked us if we had seen other camps without sanitation and took notes on their locations. It seems that the smaller groups and individuals like Keenan have a much better ability to grasp the enormity of what is needed. Perhaps it is because they are not afraid to move among the Haitian people and go to the locations where desperation is reaching epic proportions.
Keenan minced no words about planeload after planeload of missionaries flying into Port-au-Prince on American Airlines.
"This is nothing more than disaster tourism. Why don't they send money instead of people? Why are missionaries bringing builders? Haitians can do their own building."
Keenan funds all of her emergency relief work in Haiti out-of-pocket. More than once she has been told that her job in Bermuda is on the line because of her relief work. She was $15,000 in the hole until friends and supporters did a benefit for her that she says, "Brought me to about par."
This is a problem faced by doctors who work in disaster situations, let alone those who volunteer time for consistent charitable work in countries like Haiti. Jobs and family harmony at home are put at risk and personal income and savings take huge hits.
"You know that movie with Kevin Costner? Well I keep thinking if I continue building my dream here, it will all happen. I never know if there will be enough money, but I was finally able to buy an old truck for the clinic with the last of the money."
What is her biggest dream now?
If we could get 60 Blackberries, I could link all of the doctors and nurses here. Mobile devices are the key to communication, where travel is so difficult. There is a prototype--it is da-bomb--a digital stethoscope that you can attach to a Blackberry and transmit the information to a doctor here or in the States or wherever. Nurses could use it in rural communities where we cannot send doctors on a regular basis.
Image: Dr. Keenan discussing the possibilities of social networking with bio-surviellance expert Jim Wilson
Keenan recognizes that without a communications network to allocate supplies from central locations, relief workers cannot do their jobs. She sees social networking and mobile technology as key elements in monitoring of disease outbreaks as well.
Dr. Keenan, who has worked in Canada, Bermuda, Congo and Haiti, was first introduced to the village of Bod Me Limbe during a visit to the North of Haiti while working in the Capital, Port au Prince in early 2006. Haiti is a permanent part of her life now.
"I don't have children, so I guess you could say that Haiti is my baby."
After a week of witnessing despair like we have never seen, Dr. Keenan is a breath of fresh air, inspiration, and hope that individuals can make a difference.
You can keep up with Keenan at her blog and on Facebook.
That is, if keeping up with her is even a remote possibility.
Cross post with LA Progressive with Huffington Post(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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