Sheline Agella

My name is Sheline Agella and I am 22 years old. I am Haitian and I live in Lavanneaa, across the river from Jacmel. 

My dream is to become a pediatrician because I love to take care of babies. I love the MHI clinic because the clinic showed me birth. If I must go to the university to learn birth I do not have money to learn there. This clinic is giving me an opportunity to learn birth. I know that the birth that the doctors do in the hospital are not like the births that are done at the clinic. I have seen birth in both places. The hospital is using pitocin to induce labor which exhausts the woman, where the midwife makes it naturally without pitocin. When I met Clare at the clinic she told me that she would send me to English school and I can help serve and work for the clinic to help the foreign midwives. My sister in law came to birth at the clinic and I was very happy to help Clare with her birth. I loved doing that and then Clare said, "Come and work with us at the clinic." My family was very happy with the care of the clinic. Clare is like a Mom to me and I love her as she does for me what my Mom could not do.

The way the clinic helps the community is different from the hospital. This clinic does not charge us money. Ninotte, Marie, Marzia and Clare make women to come back to a clean clinic because they are treated well. When I saw Marie after she finished her work, I cleaned the bed and changed the sheets and she dances with the women in labor. Ninotte also keeps the clinic clean and helps me bring plant medicines from the house to the clinic. Marzia is very smart to see what needs to be cleaned and has a lovely touch. Clare makes the women laugh and when the women come they have problems but she make their problems leave. The women tell me in private that the women tell her that she makes them laugh even though they have problems. She pushes us to make it all better with the clinic. She makes us laugh and dance.

After I finish I can work for this clinic and do good things for this is clinic. This clinic is for the people of Haiti. This clinic is helping poor people and help them have them have birth with respect at the clinic. Then the clinic helps the women every week to come and have appointments before and after their birth. This gives the baby all that it needs to stay healthy.

To become a doctor I need I need to pass an exam with a good score so I can get in. I need to buy special books, it is hard economically for me to go to school. It is also hard because even if you get good grades many times they choose the one to go because they are friends.

Clare told me that she just attended the Haiti health conference where she spoke there and she heard a doctor say that they are sending Haitian students to learn in Cuba. They want to send them to come back and I would like to do that and come back to help my people. To get good education would be important. I am happy that doctors are helping our board, I saw a picture of Dr. Jade and I want to thank her.

I am very thankful that Clare for giving me opportunity to learn more and more. The clinic gives me the first step to learn more and I will study to become a doctor so that I can come back to work for this clinic.

Sheline, learning to burn the umbilical cord. 

All babies born with MHI have their cords burned. 

This helps to prevent infections and aids in healing faster than 

a cut cord.