martedì 9 febbraio 2010
Fiammetta Cappellini, an AVSI representative in Haiti, sent a new installment of her diary to ilsussidiario.net. The blue tents inside the camps allow them to treat people, starting with the children, who for the first time since the earthquake start to trust again and to meet people who will take care of them. February 3, Port-au-Prince, Haiti Yesterday was Chiara’s day, our pediatrician. She visited at least 200 children at the camp of Place Fierté and also some mothers. Her dedication and decades of experience in Nigeria and other African countries give her a good perspective on all the work. In the clinic that we started in the tent donated by the Italian Civil Protection Agency, with drugs obtained from some tents of donors (even the UN offices are set up in tents), with an Argentinian medical assistant volunteer recruited in the same way, she put through the sieve the first part of the youngest ones and those in need of care. Chiara has also engaged our local staff of nurses and community health agents. Our team was enthusiastic, so that Simon (who is not a doctor or a nurse, but who studied something else completely!) said he wants to devote himself to health projects. He says that this is much more satisfying than education, that we see the results immediately and people are immediately happy. For those living in need, to feel yourself the object of care, knowing that there is someone you can trust who takes care of you, restores you to that person of value who had been buried under the rubble. Then there is the next camp, which we will deal with shortly (there are 3,500 people and no one is concerned about them yet; what can we do, leave them there?) They came to say that they also want a tent. We were surprised because we expected that they wanted the doctor. But then asking if they also wanted a blue tent, they said yes, they wanted "the blue tent, the one with the doctor inside ...". Then we understood better: they came to ask for "the blue tent," referring to the clinic, that tent but also what was inside: doctors, nurses and medicine! Colleagues from Italy have given me the open letter that Giulia, Federica, Francesco and Teresa have written to me on the subject of understanding better the earthquakes. They wrote about their initiatives and their classmates in their school, the Malpighi in Bologna, to support efforts for Haiti. I am very grateful for myself, for AVSI and also for this people; it is really beautiful to see that there are young people who are concerned about the welfare of others, the common good, and who appreciate the goods they enjoy (like the latest models of cell phones!) but they also think of their peers who are fighting for the most necessary things, like food, water, home, school. This thread that binds us brings us great joy and sustains us. And in the end it reminds us that it is in the nature of the human desire to contribute to a better world where all people can express their dignity. It is too bad that we need a powerful quake to remind us that this tension is given to us as human beings. Fiammetta Cappellini READ THE LETTER TO FIAMMETTA CLICK BELOW >> Dearest Fiammetta, We have read your diaries in which you share about what you see on the streets of Haiti, among the people. We know you've found and helped four young brothers who were missing and you've already found sixty of the many children adopted by distance by the AVSI Association which you work with, which hosts more than 300 children while their parents look for relatives and their belongings and we thank you because you have made us understand better what happened in Haiti. We see pictures on TV, but you see what people do throughout the day. From the images, we do not get a "real" account of the situation which you are living in, but we learn this from your letters which move us every day to do something for the earthquake victims: to find the missing, to succeed in finding food, water, and giving accommodation to those who have none, and in whatever way, to offer help close by. Viewing the pictures and video, we realized that the children of Haiti are satisfied and happy with no comparison to us who have the audacity to ask for the newest model cell phones. We were very impressed by this behavior. We also heard on TV that the children who are injured show no tears when they are treated: they must have suffered a lot! We know that you've decided to remain in Haiti to help children and their families instead of returning to Italy with your child, but here you could find an “easy and normal” life." We wondered what we would feel like in your shoes, thinking of all the things that some of you have lost: family, friends, home, school, and thinking of how poor people were already before the earthquake. But how will you continue to live? Also thanks to your help and your organization, many will manage to rebuild a life in which they will have a new home and be reunited with family, but never forgetting that day, so you did really well to stay so those people do not feel abandoned. Our teachers have proposed two initiatives which we have accepted willingly. Many of us have sent one or more messages on our cell phones to the numbers suggested to support the Red Cross. Also, our school is having a lottery whose proceeds will be donated to your association. It was organized to support the school, but it is now more important to help you, so the high school kids are very involved in the sale of tickets and also we would like to make our contribution. We salute you and all the Haitians, particularly the children. Giulia Martera, Federica Babbi, Francesco Del Conte and Teresa Babini. In the United States, donations for the AVSI program "Rebirth of the Human in Haiti " are tax deductible: - on-line www.avsi-usa.org , via Pay -Pal - via check ( payable to AVSI-USA) to 529 14th Street, NW, suite 994, Washington DC 20045, with "Haiti emergency" in the memo. © Riproduzione riservata.
Fiammetta Cappellini, an AVSI representative in Haiti, sent a new installment of her diary to ilsussidiario.net. The blue tents inside the camps allow them to treat people, starting with the children, who for the first time since the earthquake start to trust again and to meet people who will take care of them.
February 3, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Yesterday was Chiara’s day, our pediatrician. She visited at least 200 children at the camp of Place Fierté and also some mothers. Her dedication and decades of experience in Nigeria and other African countries give her a good perspective on all the work.
In the clinic that we started in the tent donated by the Italian Civil Protection Agency, with drugs obtained from some tents of donors (even the UN offices are set up in tents), with an Argentinian medical assistant volunteer recruited in the same way, she put through the sieve the first part of the youngest ones and those in need of care. Chiara has also engaged our local staff of nurses and community health agents.
Our team was enthusiastic, so that Simon (who is not a doctor or a nurse, but who studied something else completely!) said he wants to devote himself to health projects. He says that this is much more satisfying than education, that we see the results immediately and people are immediately happy. For those living in need, to feel yourself the object of care, knowing that there is someone you can trust who takes care of you, restores you to that person of value who had been buried under the rubble.
Then there is the next camp, which we will deal with shortly (there are 3,500 people and no one is concerned about them yet; what can we do, leave them there?) They came to say that they also want a tent. We were surprised because we expected that they wanted the doctor. But then asking if they also wanted a blue tent, they said yes, they wanted "the blue tent, the one with the doctor inside ...". Then we understood better: they came to ask for "the blue tent," referring to the clinic, that tent but also what was inside: doctors, nurses and medicine!
Colleagues from Italy have given me the open letter that Giulia, Federica, Francesco and Teresa have written to me on the subject of understanding better the earthquakes. They wrote about their initiatives and their classmates in their school, the Malpighi in Bologna, to support efforts for Haiti.
I am very grateful for myself, for AVSI and also for this people; it is really beautiful to see that there are young people who are concerned about the welfare of others, the common good, and who appreciate the goods they enjoy (like the latest models of cell phones!) but they also think of their peers who are fighting for the most necessary things, like food, water, home, school.
This thread that binds us brings us great joy and sustains us. And in the end it reminds us that it is in the nature of the human desire to contribute to a better world where all people can express their dignity. It is too bad that we need a powerful quake to remind us that this tension is given to us as human beings.
Fiammetta Cappellini
READ THE LETTER TO FIAMMETTA
CLICK BELOW >>
Dearest Fiammetta,
We have read your diaries in which you share about what you see on the streets of Haiti, among the people. We know you've found and helped four young brothers who were missing and you've already found sixty of the many children adopted by distance by the AVSI Association which you work with, which hosts more than 300 children while their parents look for relatives and their belongings and we thank you because you have made us understand better what happened in Haiti.
We see pictures on TV, but you see what people do throughout the day. From the images, we do not get a "real" account of the situation which you are living in, but we learn this from your letters which move us every day to do something for the earthquake victims: to find the missing, to succeed in finding food, water, and giving accommodation to those who have none, and in whatever way, to offer help close by.
Viewing the pictures and video, we realized that the children of Haiti are satisfied and happy with no comparison to us who have the audacity to ask for the newest model cell phones. We were very impressed by this behavior. We also heard on TV that the children who are injured show no tears when they are treated: they must have suffered a lot! We know that you've decided to remain in Haiti to help children and their families instead of returning to Italy with your child, but here you could find an “easy and normal” life."
We wondered what we would feel like in your shoes, thinking of all the things that some of you have lost: family, friends, home, school, and thinking of how poor people were already before the earthquake. But how will you continue to live? Also thanks to your help and your organization, many will manage to rebuild a life in which they will have a new home and be reunited with family, but never forgetting that day, so you did really well to stay so those people do not feel abandoned.
Our teachers have proposed two initiatives which we have accepted willingly. Many of us have sent one or more messages on our cell phones to the numbers suggested to support the Red Cross. Also, our school is having a lottery whose proceeds will be donated to your association. It was organized to support the school, but it is now more important to help you, so the high school kids are very involved in the sale of tickets and also we would like to make our contribution. We salute you and all the Haitians, particularly the children.
Giulia Martera, Federica Babbi, Francesco Del Conte and Teresa Babini.
In the United States, donations for the AVSI program "Rebirth of the Human in Haiti " are tax deductible:
- on-line www.avsi-usa.org , via Pay -Pal
- via check ( payable to AVSI-USA) to 529 14th Street, NW, suite 994, Washington DC 20045, with "Haiti emergency" in the memo.