By James Addis
Sponsored child Leonel Novas, 17, was thrilled to discover he could play a role in World Vision’s relief efforts following the Haiti quake.
Leonel lives in Jimini, Dominican Republic, near the border with Haiti, and is the child of a Haitian mother and Dominican father.
Immediately following the quake, thousands of injured people took rides on crowded public transport to Jimini to seek treatment in hospitals there.
The hospitals opened their doors to the wounded but many doctors, who arrived from all over the world in response to the emergency, couldn’t speak the Creole language of their patients and families.
Lending a Voice
Leonel accepted an invitation to a join a team of three World Vision translators to fulfill communication needs. In addition to providing translators to Jimini hospitals, World Vision is also providing doctors, nurses, food, water and tents.
Leonel says when he arrived at the Good Samaritan hospital, about 300 patients had turned up to a hospital designed to accommodate 60. Those seeking treatment, often with horrific injuries, lay in the hallways and were later placed in large tents in the hospital grounds.
Doctors and patients were trying to communicate with hand signals which simply added to the confusion.
“I am able to make sure the doctors get the right message from the patients,” he says.
Leonel is also able to reassure family members of the wounded by relaying information from doctors about medical assessments and treatment plans.
At the same time, he finds the work emotionally challenging.
“I remember a little girl who had to have both her feet amputated. She cried and cried throughout the night,” he says.
Identifying with the Suffering
Leonel can identify with many of those suffering. In 2004, his home was destroyed when flooding swept through Jimini, killing several members of his family and dozens of fellow sponsored children. He found temporary shelter in the home of a local pastor, and World Vision provided his family with food and clothing in the aftermath.
“I feel deeply touched by their pain,” he says of the quake victims. “I feel I need to help, just as I was helped back in 2004.”
In addition to helping him during the flooding of 2004, Leonel says World Vision has been instrumental in helping him progress in school, providing access to computers and school supplies. He is now in Grade 11 and hopes to go on to study languages and computer science.
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