Carline Morney, a midwife working for CARE©Sabine Wilke/CARE

by Sabine Wilke

 Her first life was that of a teacher at a nurse’s training school in Port-au-Prince, teaching skills to make sure that women have a healthy delivery. Today, Carline Morney spends her days in and around the earthquake-stricken capital of Haiti, helping expecting and young mothers to cope with the difficult situation. She is one of more than 70 new CARE staff members who have been hired in addition to the existing team to ensure a timely and efficient emergency response.

You can tell Carline, 29, is a born leader by the way she handles a conversation and how she manages her schedule. A strong leader in the best sense – Carline takes her job very seriously and she does not easily give up. This early Sunday morning, she spends half an hour on the phone with her counterpart in the local mayor’s office to make sure that her visit to Carrefour will not be in vain.

The camp site is called “mon repos”, which means “my rest, my peace”. Needless to say, the agglomeration of bed sheets and tarps on the muddy soil is everything but a peaceful place to rest. Carline is immediately surrounded by a group of mothers, all holding small babies in their arms. She talks to the women who are about to deliver and those with new babies. Depending on their situation, the women receive a so-called safe delivery kit or a newborn kit. Those contain a handful of necessary items such as sanitary gloves, razor blades, soap and napkins. A small relief in these dire circumstances, when many women do not even have a clean surface to lie down once they go into labour. And there are many of them here: Women like Auguste Rosemanette, who has just given birth three weeks ago. Luckily she made it to the hospital for the early delivery. Now she’s back in the camp, holding her tiny baby boy close to her heart. And there is Jacqueline Pierre-André, who gave birth on the day of the earthquake. “I made it out of the hospital, but then I fell and was hurt. We have nothing left. We need everything.” Carline listens to their stories, asks about their needs and then hands out the kits. She explains their content and use, insisting on basic hygiene rules and making sure every woman knows where to get help.

What is the most difficult part of her work? “There are always needs that we cannot respond to immediately. That’s something I find hard to handle”, she says. But then again, there are special needs we can take care of quite well, she explains with a grin on her face: “Despite the earthquake, of course people will still make love. That’s why we also distribute condoms and talk about family planning.”

But where does Carline get help for herself? The earthquake has affected the whole population, regardless their wealth, age and status. As most CARE staff, Carline is a helper and a victim at the same time. “I had already left the school when the earthquake happened”, she remembers. It took me two hours to walk home, passing dead bodies and car wrecks left and right. It was a scene out of a horror movie.” Her school has collapsed, killing many colleagues and dear friends who simply weren’t lucky enough to have left the building early that day. Carline’s close family also suffered a severe loss: Her cousin was about to graduate from university the next month, now his body is buried underneath the faculty building. He was only 22 years old. “The worst thing is that my aunt cannot start mourning as long as we have not retrieved his body. She is desperately waiting for news about him although we know that there is little hope.”

Carline herself received two mattresses, a tent and a kitchen set from CARE. “Last night we could not sleep because of the heavy rain. Tonight, my sisters will be very pleased. At least we will stay dry.” Their house is not entirely destroyed, so the family can at least go in there to take showers with buckets of water they get from a nearby hospital. “But of course we always do it as quickly as possible, I am constantly worried the building might still collapse while I am in the bathroom”, says Carline.

It’s hard to imagine, but are there moments of happiness, even now that her world is shattered to pieces? Carline contemplates the question. “Every night, my nephew comes running at me and gives me the sweetest welcome hug. I thank God that he is alive. That to me is the greatest joy right now.”

And what is the most gratifying experience about her job? Carline smiles and looks around her in the office. “It’s you, all of you. It’s being with this truly international team and seeing how everyone wants to make a difference for Haiti. For me personally, it’s important to feel that I am not just a victim. I can also help and do something to improve the situation.”

To donate for the Haiti emergency, please contact your closest CARE International member.