♥ Valentine’s Day 2020: LOVE is One of Our Core Values ♥
At CMMB, love is one of our core values. ♥
As Valentine’s Day approaches, we find ourselves reflecting on the presence of love in all of the work that we do for women and children around the world.
We see love in action through our volunteers, like Sarah Rubino. Sarah served in South Sudan as a nurse midwife bringing babies into the world and ensuring mothers had access to safe deliveries. In a place with some of the worst maternal and child mortality rates in the world, Sarah brought compassion and respect to each newborn and mother she cared for.
We see love in healthcare workers, like Bethy at the Bishop Joseph Sullivan Center for Health in Haiti. Miss Bethy works with patients that have chronic illnesses who need both medical and emotional support. Her patients trust her and call her a friend. She says her method is to always lead with kindness.
We see love in the eyes of a mother, like Olivia from Zambia, whose baby boy was born healthy because she had access to a midwife and a safe place to give birth. For Olivia, knowing that someone would be there to help her safely welcome her son into the world made her feel less afraid and less alone.
We also see love in doctors like Dr. L’Amour.
His name literally translates to “Dr. Love”—which couldn’t be a better fit for this young Haitian doctor serving at our hospital, the Bishop Joseph Sullivan Center for Health (BJSH) in Côtes-de-Fer, Haiti.
“I always knew I wanted to be doctor—I truly love medicine. I am a generalized specialist which means I get to work with every type of patient from newborns to pregnant mothers to the elderly.
My specialty and my passion, however, is working with mothers and babies in rural communities. And here in Côtes-de-Fer, there is so much need. Most days, I deliver at least three babies! My days are full, and I am always on call. But this is why I got into medicine: to give back. If I can be one more pebble, adding to better health for people in my country, this is the reward.
As a Haitian, I am invested in helping my own community. I am especially grateful for the generosity and commitment of CMMB donors to help Haitian people. Because of your support, every patient who comes into BJSH gets the highest quality care possible. We pray you will continue to support BJSH and the women and children here. The other staff and I at the hospital couldn’t serve the people of Côtes-de-Fer without you.
But we are facing enormous challenges here at the hospital as the situation in Haiti remains fragile. We are working here with not enough staff. We worry about running out of gas to fuel the hospital and emergency vehicles. A few months ago, some staff members and I chose to sleep at the hospital to ensure patients got the care they needed despite the country-wide crisis.
We need your help so we can continue serving the women and children relying on us.” —Dr. Rochenel L’Amour
And then, there’s the love we see in YOU.
And then, there’s the love we see in each and every one of YOU—our global family. Your generosity and commitment to deliver healthcare and medicine to women and children living in poverty is one of the greatest expressions of love.