Moreau Center Social Justice Programs

Gabriela

Interns for Justice: July 10-14 (by Gabriela)

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Hello, I am Gabriela Riegos and I am doing my Interns for Justice at Providence Medical Center’s Summer Camp and Randall’s Children’s Hospital as a floor volunteer.

This week I have CJ as a buddy, I have been hearing about her for a while and its this news story that makes her journey at Providence very special.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/03/a_tender_love_story_played_out.html

My favorite quote from this article:

“You may feel that it was I who gave CJ something,” Alsbury said. “She taught me what real love is all about.”

Being at Providence as an Intern for Justice has truly taught me about love.

If you choose to read the story, you may have noted the mention of CJ’s mom. I actually meet her today, her and CJ’s young sister named Arianna.  It felt surreal to meet a parent of a child in a place like Providence. They know its for the best, but I could see a sense of sadness in her eyes as she rubbed CJ’s arm. She was worried that Arianna was bored so I invited the 7 year old to come to to our last activity of the day. It was fun to see thru Arianna’s eyes, who I am sure has come to Providence many a times, she was familiar with a few faces and really wanted to engage in the baseball/hang man game we were playing in the multi-purpose room of the children center. She had her hand on CJ’s chair the whole time, we pushed her together, running to bases or to the ball or to tag an unlucky member of the other time. Arianna was giggling and having such a fun time. Cj was as well, she expresses herself in shaking the toy she has attached to her chair and sometimes even random burst of gleeful exclamations. Though the week is not over yet, this was on of the best days yet! Maybe even for the summer! Being able to see the love that these sisters have for each other, the love the Therapeutic aids (the people in charge of documenting the development of the children and creating activities to further their development) have for their jobs and the love that the children have for their buddies -it all just gives a new meaning to what love means.

Interns for Justice: June 12-16 (by Gabriela)

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Hello, my name is Gabriela and I am an IFJ this summer at Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children and Randall’s Children Hospital. I love working with children and with the support of the Moreau Center I am able to give my time to both of these amazing health care centers. Though I am not looking for a career in the medical field, I chose to work with children in hospital settings due to the amount of vulnerability that occurs. I am hoping to become a Child Life Specialist, which is a non-medical resource that really plays into the mental health aspect of being in a hospital.

I have been in the application process with both of these organization for over a month now, from applications to interviews to background checks and trainings,  this has been a very detailed and organized process. Through this I have learned about all of the tiny but important details that go into working in a hospital setting. Being an IFJ is such an honor and I really hope that I can end this summer having built a community that will want me to continue volunteering into the fall. Just from the first initial people I have interacted with have been so excited and honest about the work they do, like Maddie the Child Life Assistant who will be my point person at Randall’s and Karen the volunteer coordinator/program director at Providence.

Here are links to the places I am volunteering if you would like to learn more:

http://www.legacyhealth.org/health-services-and-information/health-services/for-children-a-z/child-life-program.aspx
http://oregon.providence.org/our-services/c/center-for-medically-fragile-children/

I am excited to really hit the ground running come June 26th, which will include my last training at Randall’s before I am officially a volunteer and my first day at Providence.

 

Wish me luck!

-Gabriela