The boy who wanted a bicycle from an outdoor school in Jacmel.
Stories from the field
Haiti Diary: Sophie Chavanel
Red Cross principles in action – challenging but vital
September 2, 2010
Today I visited a school with my colleagues from the Canadian and Haitian Red Crosses. This school has been managed by an organization called Save the Children since the earthquake struck. Classes are taught in the open air under a wooden shelter. The building where classes were held before the earthquake is still standing but nobody wants to enter. People here are afraid of concrete structures and one can easily understand this fear.
When I arrived at the school, a young boy approached me and told me he would like a bicycle. I told him I did not have one so he said any gift would do.
I have empty pockets – nothing, and realistically, I couldn’t give him a gift anyway. This is the difficult part of my work. The Red Cross operates under well-established principles that often grant us access to more places than many other humanitarian organizations. One of these principles is impartiality. The Red Cross gives to those who are most vulnerable, without discrimination and without favouritism. We give based on needs only.
If I gave candy to that young boy, I would have had to give it to the hundreds of others from his school because why would he receive this gift and others not? Then, if I had done that, the next time one of my colleagues visited the school, the children would expect more treats. Just imagine what that would be like if I gave him a bike...
“On January 12, 2010, the earth shook violently Haiti. I sat in the newsroom of Radio-Canada in Montreal when I heard the news. The days and weeks that followed were full of extremely strong emotions when I saw, like you, the images of a country of rubble. I then made a decision. I didn’t just want to report the events, I wanted to be there. I then started a new journey as a delegate of the Red Cross.” – Sophie Chavanel, Canadian Red Cross delegate, Haiti.
Sophie Chavanel is the senior communications coordinator for the Canadian Red Cross in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Sophie is a former journalist and joined the Red Cross team in Haiti in August 2010, where she will remain for 12 months. Follow her activities through her field diary below or on twitter at http://twitter.com/SophieChavanel.
