With an unusually destructive hurricane season and more devastation hitting the United States and the Caribbean, SEIU made a decision to offer support to Haiti. Two SEIU Healthcare Florida caregivers—Eliane Joseph, RN of Coral Gables Hospital (standing, left) and Angel Ruiz of University of Miami Hospital (standing, right)— responded to the call to join the mission and spent a week with other medical professionals for a week in Haiti. If you are interested in joining the next mission or donating supplies, contact Valerie Tate at Valerie.tate@seiu.org or call (305) 623-3000.
A Country that Stole My Heartby Angel Ruiz, SEIU Healthcare Florida member
In early October, I received an email from our union President, Monica, which spoke about a health mission to Haiti with the Haitian American Professionals Association during November 8 – 14. SEIU was looking for two nurses to participate on the health mission. I’ve always had the luck to have what’s necessary, to be able to share with others, and to feel thankful for everything and to give thanks to God. I decided to go.
Since this was happening during the Obama campaign, it took a long time to reach our union’s contact person, but I finally reached Winie Cantave from Unite for Dignity for Immigrant Workers’ Rights. Everything was arranged so I set out to prepare for my trip with little time, and to ask my supervisor for time off.
On Saturday, November 8, I departed for Haiti with four bags loaded with hope. The bags were filled with donations made by my co-workers. We arrived and were met in diplomatic quarters by a Senator and the Foreign Relations Department of Haiti. There we lifted SEIU’s name very high, showing that ‘Si Se Puede.’ Soon after we passed through customs, and we set off on our mission.
The impact of the smell of poverty and interminable roads - full of people, filthy, dangerous, without traffic signals, no asphalt – made us think that we had arrived in the past. We never imagined that this could exist so close to the United States, but yes I must say that I felt something special. I felt a familiarity with the day and night struggle of the people to survive despite having endured four natural disasters – two terrible hurricanes, and two tropical storms that brought tragedy, death, landslides, mudslides, slime - everything that one could imagine.
Soon after the long trip on roads in disrepair, sick from the awful smell, and tired from having woken up so early to get to the airport, we arrived in Jacmel. We ate a typical soup – very rich - and soon departed to our designated lodging. We later went to eat and to prepare ourselves for the next day. Personally I can tell you that I hardly slept. I wanted to be with the people, to see, to speak the little that I know of the language of this country, to be in contact with the people. Already at 5:00 AM I was at the door watching the day arrive, content to have come. This happened every day for a week.
Our team – Eliane, a nurse member from Coral Gables Hospital, Emmanuela from the Society of Haitian Nurses of Florida, and me from University of Miami Hospital - went to work. During these days over 1,000 people were attended to – children, women and men -by pediatricians, doctors and by us. We gave sanitary education, intravenous hydration, medicines, “sarna” treatment, etc.
The days were always very long due to the demand for nursing care. In each of the various cities – Jacmel, Cayes-Jacmel, Marigo, Perido, Macari - we served with joy and gave the best of each of us. Without light, without water, with only two meals a day and under tough conditions, we gave all with nothing in return but the gratitude of a forgotten people.
I think that we need to give more time and help these people more. I think that, yes, we can give more hope to these deserving people. If I could describe the faces of the children awaiting death in this hospital, if I could describe the weeping of a mother because of the hunger of her children, if I could share how I felt to see three kids in one cot without medication, practically on the floor because they didn’t have a bed…To look in the eyes of misery is painful for anyone and to transmit my feelings is not sufficient.
This is the moment to act and give our help without seeing skin color and to give hope to a people who need so much. The Haitian people want to study, work, eat. They want to live. We annot be indifferent to the pain. Al of us can make a better world and Haiti is part of this world. We are all children of God.
If tomorrow I were given an opportunity to return don’t even ask me. Put me on the permanent list. Haiti stole my heart. To the Haitian people – count on me and where you need help. Put my name down because I am always ready, wherever it may be. Count on me. Thank you Haiti!
Haiti MissionBy Eliane Joseph, RN
I’m from Haiti. I hadn’t been there in a while. When I heard about this trip I knew I wanted to go to help, but I didn’t really know what to expect. My family and my Haitian friends and co-workers could understand wanting to help, but they were worried about my safety. They asked how I felt about traveling with a group of strangers and not knowing what I was going to face when I got there.
The group was great. We all got along fine. We stayed in a good hotel that had electricity and clean water. The hotels are very nice.
We were picked up at the hotel and taken to the mountains where the group had something like a healthcare fair with a lot of doctors. We provided care to many people, and especially lots of children.
Once we started working we were really busy. People were waiting, standing up all day, without food. We didn’t eat either and we didn’t care. We wanted to make sure we saw everyone who came for help. We worked into the night, in the dark, and using candlelight so that we could see everybody that was there waiting. I was really shocked at how many people needed our services. I visited a hospital and I really felt bad. They need all the help they can get—supplies, help, anything.
One evening it was dark when we were going back. The road was not so nice. It started to rain. We had to cross a river. It wasn’t that far… about one hour… but it seemed longer. Even though we were scared we were joking around. We had a lot of fun!
As I said, my family and friends were concerned about my safety. I felt very safe in the provinces. And really, if something is going to happen to me it’s going to happen anywhere.
Now that I’m home many people at work want to come with me the next time I go back. People feel good about the helping part. It was a good, good thing. If they think about helping people it’s good, because these people really need the help.