From Volunteer Dr. Jose Garcia: “You Were There in the Room With Us”
Dear Friends,
It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to thank you for your unwavering support to CMMB’s vision of bringing access to healthcare to some of the most vulnerable people and communities in the world. Your generous gifts are truly a blessing. I want you to know the incredible things I have seen and taken part of in my time volunteering with CMMB.
I had the opportunity to embody CMMB’s mission in both Kenya and Sudan for sixteen wonderful months. I left the comforts of my home to venture to a part of the world I knew little about, except that there were people in desperate need of help.
I was one of the hundreds of CMMB volunteers, investing my time knowing that together we can change the lives of others. And yes, it is possible to bring change. I have been blessed to play a part of it, and so have you.
During my time in the field I worked to feed malnourished babies and toddlers, to provide comfort to HIV seropositive families, to bring healthy newborns to their mothers and to ease the pain of those ones facing difficult realities.
I particularly remember a mother named Lena, who I recognized from my walks through town. She arrived at the hospital with her 7-month old baby. Her baby girl was in respiratory distress. When I close my eyes, I can still hear her short, rapid breathing. We began treating Lena’s baby girl right away. You should know that with your support, you were there in the room with us.
And over the days we spent comforting Lena, sitting at the bedside telling her, “We are all here to help, we are all working together and she will get better.” Through this, you again were there with us.
With dedicated and skilled staff around us, and our ability to have access to medicines, supplies and equipment, this young fragile baby recovered, growing stronger each day, until the day that Lena cradled her in her arms and left for home with tears of joy in her eyes.
As members of the CMMB family, you understand this deep sense of responsibility to our fellow humans. It is why we are all here together. We form a chain with each link as important as the next, built around compassion, care and faith.
From one volunteer to another, I would like to say thank you for believing that together we can help provide the chance for healthier lives as we did for Lena and her beautiful baby. Let’s continue!
Jose Garcia Ulerio MD
CMMB Global Volunteer Ambassador