Inspired by the Doctors Who Saved Him, Jordani Plans For His Future
POSTED ON Nov 23, 2011
Jordani's father, Benjamin, was able to take him to Jimaní for treatment, and COTN brought Jordani to our clinic in Barahona for continued care.
Jordani's foot was crushed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake when he was only 5 years old. Today, 7-year-old Jordani hopes to become a doctor.
Jordani, at 5, on his way from the makeshift clinic in Jimaní to COTN's clinic in Barahona, where he received better care.
Jordani is read a letter from Dr. Vicki Sakata, who was one of many volunteers who cared for him after the earthquake. "I am praying for God to bless Doctor Vicki Sakata," he says.
The day the earthquake hit Haiti, Jordani Police was playing just outside his house, by his father, Benjamin, who was working on his sewing machine. His older brother, Adonija, was doing his homework a few feet away. When Adonija began complaining about his work, his mother called him into the house. "The minute I called him," she remembers, "the wall fell, exactly over the place he had been sitting." Jordani's mother immediately knew the Lord had saved Adonija's life, but she didn't know where Jordani was. "I started screaming, 'Where is my baby, where is my baby,'" she says. Finally they found Jordani, who was only five years old, under the collapsed wall. A brick had fallen onto his leg, breaking his foot. "The Lord saved my whole family," says Jordani's mother.
Benjamin was able to get Jordani across the border to a makeshift clinic in Jimaní, Dominican Republic, and from there, doctors volunteering with COTN brought him to our clinic in Barahona for better care. "The Lord sent COTN on our path," says Benjamin, "In every sense it changed our lives because it was a Christian organization."
Jordani loved staying at the clinic in Barahona because he says, "they fed me every day, and they gave me toys to play with." The American doctors who came to care for him made a huge impression on Jordani—he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. "It's because of all that the doctors did for him," smiles his mother, proud of her little boy. But when his mother prompted him say more about those doctors, little Jordani broke down crying. Words could not express his gratitude and love for the people who gave so much to see that he lived. Jordani, who is very shy, had a hard time answering that question, but later he whispered, "I am praying for God to bless Doctor Vicki Sakata," one of the doctors who cared for him.
Today, Jordani is in second grade, and loves getting to go to school, thanks to his sponsors. Jordani's parents have donations from generous partners to get themselves back on their feet—Benjamin was able to replace his sewing machine that was destroyed in the earthquake. With the profits he generated from the first sewing machine, Benjamin went on to buy an additional sewing machine and hire an apprentice. "This is a man who wants to do something with his life," says COTN–Haiti Country Coordinator Daniel Vallon. The increased income from his business helps Benjamin to provide for his two sons. With Jordani’s foot fully healed, and his parents back in a position where they can provide for him and Adonija, Jordani has more than he could ever ask or imagine, and he is content. "I know that God loves me, and my brother loves me, and my parents love me, so I am happy," says Jordani.
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