The clinic went well today. Mostly I weighed people and directed traffic.
However, my life was altered when Kervens (pronounced like Kevin with an r) walked into the clinic. This 14 year old boy has a resiliency beyond anything I've ever witnessed. His story blew me away. He was at home when the earthquake struck on January 12. He happened to be standing by the door, so he quickly rushed outside. However, his little sister and was inside. He hasn’t seen his mom since the earthquake. He assumes she died, but he holds on to hope that she’ll show up some day. Kervens said when he got out the door, he turned around to see that his house looked like a pancake. At that point he started crying and stayed there until his dad found him.
His story at this point gets a little fuzzy for me. It seems like he’s living with his dad, but it sounds like he’s basically on his own for food, money, school, everything. This morning he came to the clinic, found Willem, and in one minute convinced him that he could work as an interpreter in the clinic. The boy is something else.
After convincing Willem that he could work as an interpreter, Kervens walked into the clinic and worked with strangers from another country as if he had been there all his life. The boy is amazing! He taught me words in Creole, shared about his life, and helped us communicate with the patients.
At lunch Kervens asked me questions like, “Can you give me your opinion on something. In Haiti life is very difficult. What can I do to succeed in life?” and “Why are earthquakes so dangerous?” He’s very preoccupied with how he will have a good life now that his mom is gone and what he should do if there is another earthquake. Thankfully Willem was there. After hearing Kervens' questions, he spent a good amount of time during lunch just speaking words of life into the young man.
No comments:
Post a Comment