Light from Light Blog

Staff Spotlight: Dr. Donald Delva

Dr. Donald Delva celebrated his first anniversary as Lespwa Timoun Clinic’s Medical Director in February. Dr. Delva has spent the last year working with our partner clinic’s administration team to develop, implement and evaluate the medical practice at Lespwa Timoun.

So far, Dr. Delva’s favorite memory of working at the clinic was when he was able to help save the life of a young boy living in Crochu. Lespwa Timoun was hosting a mobile clinic in the remote mountain region when the boy’s mother brought him to see Dr. Delva, who diagnosed the child with an inguinal hernia. He soon realized the hernia was about to become strangulated and cut off the blood flow to the trapped tissue, a potentially life threatening complication if left untreated. “Luckily, I saw him in time,” Dr. Delva shared, “so I accompanied his mother and him to Bernard Mevs Hospital to be operated on quickly. On the way back, his mother did not know what to do to thank us because we had saved the life of her son.”

Dr. Delva told us that he’s inspired and motivated by the challenge of his position at Lespwa Timoun, and that he likes to experiment and loves being with the patients to help them.

When he’s not working at the clinic, Dr. Delva enjoys playing sports, dancing, listening to music and traveling. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Marie Judith Chaperin, and their three children.

Dr. Delva is a ray of sunshine at the clinic, and always has a smile for his coworkers and patients, but he also cares deeply for the people he serves and understands their struggles. When asked what one thing he wishes people would ask or know about him, Dr. Delva replied, “I am a sensitive man, even if I don’t cry.”

We are so grateful for Dr. Delva’s empathy and compassion, and for his commitment to furthering the great work of the Lespwa Timoun Clinic.  In a recent report on Lespwa Timoun’s activities in 2018, Dr. Delva described the clinic’s mission as providing quality healthcare with respect for human dignity. We have seen Dr. Delva’s commitment to that mission over the last year, and look forward to seeing how his leadership and ingenuity will bless Lespwa Timoun and the communities it serves in the years to come. 

Staff Spotlight: Jean Roudy Abellard

For the past year, Jean Roudy Abellard has been serving as the Coordinator for Light from Light’s Child Sponsorship Program. Roudy is the eyes, ears, and hands of the Child Sponsorship Program in Haiti, and works very closely with our U.S. based team to ensure the program is running smoothly. In his role as Child Sponsorship Program Coordinator, Roudy is responsible for making face-to-face contact with the heads of the schools we partner with in Bouzi and Boucan Boyer in order to make sure the children in the program are attending school and have what they need to succeed. He’s also in charge of helping over 160 children write letters to their sponsors. If you’ve ever received a letter from the child you sponsor through our program, you can be sure Roudy took the time to sit down with that child, read them your letter, and help them craft a response.

Roudy’s impressive grasp of the English language has been a huge asset to the Child Sponsorship Program, both in translating sponsor letters and serving as a liaison between Light from Light’s U.S. team and the Haitians we partner with and serve. But this isn’t the first time Roudy has used his language skills to serve Light from Light. If you’ve ever been on a mission trip with us, you may have met Roudy when he was interpreting for your team. Roudy has been working as an interpreter for Light from Light’s mission teams since 2014, and has been a huge help in ensuring patients at mobile medical and dental clinics are able to communicate their needs to the doctors, nurses and dentists who come to Haiti to help them.

Roudy grew up in Haiti and is the youngest of 6 children, with four half-sisters and one half-brother. When he’s not hard at work with the Child Sponsorship Program or studying to receive his Bachelors Degree in Political Science, Roudy enjoys reading, singing, and listening to music.

When asked about what inspires him to do this job, Roudy shared, “I have always loved and wanted to work with the mission and the communities. I strongly believe that education is the best way to help the community grow in dignity.” We couldn’t agree more, and in a country where around 20% of children aren’t enrolled in school, and 59% of those who do attend don’t graduate primary school, the work Roudy is doing through the Child Sponsorship Program is crucial to building up these impoverished communities and creating a firm foundation for Haiti’s next generation.

Roudy has been an incredible asset, a hard worker, and a great friend. We’re so grateful to have him as a part of our Light from Light team, and for all his does for the children in our Child Sponsorship Program.

If you’re interested in sponsoring a child, visit https://lightfromlight.childsponsorshipservices.org/home to learn more about how you can be a light for the future for a child in Haiti.

Staff Spotlight: Emilio Alexis

For nearly nine years, Emilio Alexis has been making sure things run smoothly at the Lespwa Timoun Clinic in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. As our partner’s Administrator, Emilio has his hands full managing Lespwa Timoun’s financial, physical, and human resources. He also played a crucial role in the clinic earning NGO status in November 2016, and since has worked hard to ensure Lespwa Timoun is in full compliance with the Directorate General’s guidelines for NGOs and that related reports required by the Haitian government are accurate.

Emilio shared with us that his favorite story from his time working at Lespwa Timoun occurred during a mobile medical clinic in the remote mountain village of Crochu. A woman had brought her very sick twins to the clinic to seek help. The children were so malnourished that they needed to be hospitalized. When Emilio asked the mother to take her children to Lespwa Timoun, so that she could get a reference for the hospital, she told him that she wasn’t able to. Hospitals in Haiti are expensive and require patients and their families to bring their own food and medicine. “You will with us,” Emilio recalls telling the mother, “and Lespwa Timoun will help you take care of your children.” Emilio and the other Lespwa Timoun staff at the mobile clinic brought the mother and her children down the mountain with them and ensured the twins received the medical care they needed, first at the hospital and later through the clinic’s Nutrition Program.  “Right now she has two beautiful children,” Emilio said. Now, each time he sees these children, he is reminded of this experience and why the work that the clinic does and the help it provides is so important.

Emilio shared that he is inspired to serve as Administrator of Lespwa Timoun because he has the “opportunity to participate in excellent work to help everyone who needs the help. It’s wonderful for me to do this job.” Emilio’s wife, Lynnhelda, shares his passion for helping others and works at the clinic as a nurse. They two have two sons, Carlenz and Rolney, who was born last August.  In his free time, Emilio enjoys watching soccer, listening to music, and going to the beach with his family.

Emilio’s love for people, and his commitment to excellence in himself and our partner clinic, Lespwa Timoun, are an incredible asset to Light from Light. He’s a joy to work with, and we’re so grateful to have him!

Staff Spotlight: Michelande Pierre

Michelande Pierre has been the accountant for our partner, the Lespwa Timoun (“Hope for Children”) Clinic, since August 2016. Michelande is responsible for tracking income and expenses in QuickBooks and preparing payroll for the Lespwa Timoun staff. She also prepares financial reports and works closely with our US team and our Child Sponsorship Program Coordinator in Haiti to ensure your generous donations are being handled responsibly and transparently. With 90 cents out of every $1 from Light from Light going directly to programs in Haiti last year, Michelande is a crucial team member not only to Lespwa Timoun, but to Light from Light.

Michelande shared that her favorite memory from working at Lespwa Timoun was from about a month after she’d joined the organization when she met a severely malnourished child who was entering the clinic’s Nutrition Program. She was struck by his condition and became worried about his chances of survival, but when she asked the clinic’s administrator, Emilio, if the little boy was going to make it, he responded that yes, this was a simple case. When Michelande asked Emilio for news of the child three months later, she was surprised to see all the change the boy had made during such a short period of time. “I told him that there really is hope here for the children,” she recalled. “The name really corresponds to the work.” Seeing first-hand the hope that the Nutrition Program brought to this child and his family in an otherwise seemingly hopeless situation was a great source of inspiration for Michelande in her role at the clinic going forward.

Michelande is a woman of great faith and intellect, and enjoys reading and doing research in her free time. When asked what motivates her to do her job, Michelande replied that it was the collaboration with the clinic staff and how much she enjoys the work she does.

We think it’s telling of her character that when asked to share one thing that she wants to make sure people know about her, Michelande replied simply, “my honestly.” It’s truly a blessing to have Michelande as a part of our team. We’re so grateful for all she does for Lespwa Timoun and Light from Light, and are so proud of the work Michelande is doing to help create long-lasting, positive change in her community.