Creative Nonfiction: Spreading the joy. EN/ESP.
-Sandra, hurry up, we have to go now. Rodrigo told her, while she looked at the children in bed with sweet eyes and holding back her tears. The children looked at her, who was the last to leave the room, with faces full of joy. When she reached the door, Sandra turned around, waved her hands, bowed to the children and walked out of the room, taking graceful steps in her big shoes. As she left the room, she took a few steps down the corridor, leaned against the wall and began to cry.
-What's the matter Sandra? Rodrigo asked her as he approached her.
Before Sandra could answer Rodrigo's question, Raquel arrived, with her funny outfit full of little bells and her huge shoes and when she saw Sandra she said, "What's wrong with you, it's not time to weaken, my friend, we are just starting?
Sandra looked at the two of them and with tears in her eyes said "It breaks my heart to see the children in bed and to see the suffering of those in recovery".
-Before you went into that room you looked out the window of the door and saw the children, what were they doing? Raquel asked.
-Three of them were lying down and two were sitting on a bed talking. Sandra replied.
-And when we left how were they? Raquel asked again.
-Yes, tell us what did you see? Rodrigo said, doing some dance steps and making movements as if he were a puppet and bringing his face close to Sandra's. She looked at him and then saw Raquel's face. She looked at him and then at Raquel, who was making questioning gestures with her gloved hands, which were lost between her small, made-up face and her huge wig.
-Tell us, then, said Raquel and Rodrigo at the same time.
-They were all together on the bed of the girl who can't walk, they were laughing and full of joy, they were so happy that they didn't want us to leave.
At that moment Rodrigo became serious and told Sandra the following; "We are clowns my girl, and we come to this hospital to do voluntary work to bring joy to these children who are in a delicate health situation. Our job is to make them laugh, fill them with joy and leave them a beautiful memory to talk about before they are operated on or discharged, we are the seed of joy and hope, never forget that".
This happened at the Hospital Cardiológico Infantil Latinoamericano Dr. Gilberto Rodríguez Ochoa, which is a public hospital specialised in treating heart disease in children and adolescents. This hospital treats children from all over the country, and at the time when the events described above took place, children from different Latin American countries were treated, who were sent through the Venezuelan embassies in their countries, to be operated on and treated in special, high-risk cases.
I remember well that day when I saw how Raquel and Rodrigo, after talking to Sandra, helped her to paint herself again and fix her make-up. After that, I saw how the three clowns went together into another room that was authorised by the doctors for their visit.
The result was the same, children full of joy, to see a group of clowns in their recovery room in a hospital, I could see some children crying with emotion to see the event and receive their gifts, and it was also shocking to see the faces of the mothers of those children. I remember very much that the most shocked people were the foreign children and their families, as they were not used to this kind of situation.
On that day, those of us who were there learned a lot about humility of heart and what it means to serve without any interest to people in need. I was in contact with the clowns and other cultural groups while I worked in the area of communications at the Gabinete Cultural de Caracas.
A few years after this event, the political and economic sanctions against the country came and many of the activities of this type were paralysed, but now they are being renewed with new protagonists, who with their painted faces, their stories, their mimes and their music, will bring joy and comfort to the hospitalised children of the country.
Thank you for reading me.
Own Photo
Click to read spanish
Creative Nonfiction: Repartiendo la alegría:
Historia:
-Sandra apúrate debemos irnos ya. Le decía Rodrigo, mientras ella con ojos y dulces y conteniendo su lágrimas miraba a los niños en la cama. Los niños la miraban a ella que era la última en salir de la habitación, con caras llenas de alegría. Al llegar a la puerta, Sandra se volteó, hizo unos ademanes con las manos, le realizó una reverencia a los niños y salió de la habitación, dando pasos muy graciosos con sus enormes zapatos. Cuando salió de la habitación, dio unos pasos por el pasillo, se recostó de la pared y empezó a llorar.
-¿Qué te pasa Sandra? Le preguntó Rodrigo acercándose a ella.
Antes de que Sandra le contestara la pregunta a Rodrigo, llegó Raquel, con su traje divertido lleno de campanitas y sus zapatos enormes y al ver a Sandra le dijo ¿Qué te pasa te pegó, no es hora de flaquear amiga, estamos empezando?
Sandra, los miró a los dos y con lágrimas en los ojos les dijo “Se me rompe el corazón al ver a los niños en cama y ver el sufrimiento que tienen los que están en recuperación”.
-Antes de entrar a ese cuarto te asomaste por la ventana de la puerta y viste a los niños, ¿Qué hacían? Preguntó Raquel.
-Tres de ellos estaban acostados y dos estaban sentados en una cama hablando. Respondió Sandra.
-¿Y cuándo nos fuimos como estaban ellos? Preguntó de nuevo Raquel.
-Si, dinos ¿Qué fue lo que viste?. Dijo Rodrigo dando unos pasos de baile y haciendo movimientos como si fuese una marioneta y acercando su rostro al de Sandra. Ella lo miró y después vio a Raquel, que hacia gestos de interrogación con sus manos enguantadas, que se perdían entre su pequeña cara maquillada y su enorme peluca.
-Dinos pues, dijeron Raquel y Rodrigo a la vez.
-Todos estaban juntos en la cama de la niña que no puede caminar, estaban riendo y llenos de alegría, estaban tan contentos que no querían que nos fuéramos de ahí.
En ese momento Rodrigo se puso serio y le dijo a Sandra lo siguiente; “Somos payasos mi niña, y venimos a este hospital a realizar un trabajo voluntario para traer alegría a estos niños que están en una situación de salud delicada. Nuestro trabajo es hacerlos reír, llenarlos de alegría y dejarles un bello recuerdo de que hablar antes de que los operen o les den de alta, somos la semilla de la alegría y la esperanza, jamás lo olvides”
Esto sucedió en el Hospital Cardiológico Infantil Latinoamericano doctor Gilberto Rodríguez Ochoa, que es un hospital público especializado en atender las cardiopatías de niños, y adolescentes. En este hospital se atienden a niños de todo el país y en la época en que se sucedieron los hechos que se comentan arriba, se atendían a niños de diferentes países Latinoamericanos, que eran enviados a través de las embajadas de Venezuela en sus países, para que se les realizaran operaciones y se les atendiera cuando eran casos especiales y de alto riesgo.
Recuerdo bien que ese día vi, como Raquel y Rodrigo, después de hablar con Sandra, le ayudaron a pintarse de nuevo y a arreglarse el maquillaje. Después de eso, vi como entraron los tres payasos juntos a otro cuarto que fue autorizado por los médicos para su visita.
El resultado fue el mismo, niños llenos de alegría, por ver a un grupo de payasos en su sala de recuperación en un hospital, pude ver a algunos niños llorando de la emoción al ver el evento y recibir sus regalos, y también fue impactante el ver la cara de las madres de esos niños. Recuerdo mucho que las personas más impactadas eran los niños extranjeros y sus familiares, ya que no estaban acostumbrados a este tipo de situaciones.
Ese día, las personas que estuvimos ahí, aprendimos mucho sobre la humildad de corazón y lo que significa el servir sin ningún interés a las personas que lo necesitan. Estuve en contacto con los payasos y otros grupos culturales mientras trabajé en el área de comunicaciones en el Gabinete Cultural de Caracas.
Unos años después de este evento, vinieron las sanciones políticas y económicas contra el país y muchas de las actividades de este tipo se paralizaron, pero actualmente se están renovando con nuevos protagonistas, que con sus caras pintadas, sus cuentos, sus mimos y sus músicas, le llevaran alegría y consuelo a los niños hospitalizados del país.
Gracias por leerme.
Foto Propia
https://twitter.com/ronaldjmarrero/status/1726006567521124410
#hive
#posh
What an interesting and praiseworthy work, @osomar357. I remember having participated, when I was young, in several activities of this type and they are really very rewarding. The joy of the children is pure energy. Best regards
Hello @nancybriti1, my regards, sorry for the late reply I've been quite busy these days.
Thank you very much for your comment.
I was directly involved in such activities for many years, and before that I visited the sick when I was a missionary.
But I have not been involved in these activities for several years, although I am thinking of taking them up again, as they give and bring a lot of spiritual peace.
My regards.
It is a wonderful thing that these people do for the children. And how lovely that you got to experience and witness that joy. It is very difficult to leave your emotions at the door when volunteering with kids who are dealing with such challenging medical conditions and having to be away from home for periods of time. How lovely that Rodrigo and Raquel were able to help Sandra to appreciate what she needed to do to continue to bring smiles to the children's faces.
A point about your presentation of dialogue. The recommended approach is to use speech marks for all dialogue ie: " "
Thank you for bringing a story from your life to The Ink Well.
A point about your presentation of dialogue. The recommended approach is to use speech marks for all dialogue ie: " "
Thank you for bringing a story from your life to The Ink Well.
Hello @theinkwell, my regards, sorry for the late reply I've been quite busy these days.
Thank you very much for your comment.
I was directly involved in such activities for many years, and before that I visited the sick when I was a missionary.
I will take into account the inverted commas, for the next text, thank you very much for the advice.
Best wishes.
Best regards.
It's so amazing to do such work, I wish I could do it, that's a parculiar work to do. But most times you can get emotional by what you see. That's normal, that's one reason why I hate going to hospitals.
I can't stand seeing the faces of little babies going through health challenges.
Hello @jeclyn60, my regards, sorry for the late reply I've been quite busy these days.
Thank you very much for your comment.
The truth is a very nice job and it helps the children a lot and brightens their day, making them get out of their reality for a while.
You know, it is very hard to see sick children and adults, but with children it is even harder.
However, these activities to cheer up the children at such times are very positive for them and also for those of us who participate in it in some way.
Best wishes.
Best regards.