Interview of Belyt Inocencio
Good morning Belyt , you have been there one year and half and today you leave us to go back to Philipines, thank you to take time to answer some questions on your experience 🙂
How long have you been a volunteer?
Belyt: A year and a half, I started in March 2021 until now.
Why do you want to be a volunteer?
Belyt: I have been working in an office and when I finished that job, I heard from a friend that Saint-Louis needed volunteers during the Covid, and I joined with pleasure!
Could you explain what is your mission in Jerusalem and more precisely in Saint-Louis Hospital?
Belyt: I was a care giver with patients in the Geriatric Department. I prefer geriatric because there are a lot of tubes in the Palliative Care Department and I’m not really comfortable with these.
Have you done this job before coming?
Belyt: Of course not, never. When my brothers and sisters learned that I was working here they couldn’t believe it because they know that I am a very particular person, especially regarding hygiene, etc.
Did you find it difficult to adapt to this (new activity)/(your activity in another culture)?
Belyt: Not at all, because I had very good teammates who were really very helpful. They taught me how to do things slowly, how to take care of the patients, and it was so nice because I could see, from their example, how they were very accommodating with the patient.
Is there an encounter that has marked you during your volunteering?
Belyt: I will bring with me the satisfaction, the fulfilment because I received a lot interacting with the patients.
What challenges have you faced? How did you deal with them?
Belyt: Maybe the challenge that I could not communicate with the patients, because they speak Russian, Arabic, Hebrew and I could only speaking English and Italian. However, I realize that if you have the disposition to try to understand them, language is not really a barrier.
What is your best memory of your volunteering?
Belyt: This feeling of being able to help patients but most specially receiving from them.
A last word?
Belyt: I hope that everybody, or as much as possible, many people, should find time to volunteer or could come and visit the Hospital because it is a very enriching experience to be able to talk with the patients and to learn from them!