As I sit to write this post reflecting on my past two months as an intern at Save a Child’s Heart, my eyes are full of tears yet my heart is filled with endless amounts of love, memories, and gratuity for this incredible place. My initial thought going into the summer was that I was going to be there to help these kids. What I didn’t know was how much they would change my life forever.
The mentality of Save a Child’s Heart’s founder, Dr. Ami Cohen, “if we can we should,” is such a simple phrase filled with so much meaning. I have learned to look at life so differently and I strive to help as many people as possible in the future. The relationships that I have been able to form with the kids, their moms, and the SACH team have been more than I ever dreamed of. When I came into work every morning I did my best to walk in with a smile and challenged myself to laugh as much as possible that day.
The strength that I have seen in these kids is indescribable. They get on a plane and travel to a foreign country where no one speaks their language to receive open heart surgery without their parents by their side when they wake up. Yet, they walk through the gate with big smiles and full of energy and laughter. Most of the time I have to remind myself that these kids are sick because they do not act as sick kids. They are full of energy, laughs, jokes, smiles, the list goes on.
There are countless stories and memories from Save a Child’s Heart that will stay with me forever but there are a few that I would like to share. Muqadam has been at SACH for about two years (not a usual situation at the SACH house). Although he cannot speak, each day I would greet him with the biggest smile and he would laugh. I could tell how happy he was. Watching him dance and interact with other kids brought so much joy into my time here. His mother, Zena, is such an inspiration to me. We communicated with simple English, hugs, and smiles. She has so much love for her children and everyone else around her. When I told her that it was my last week at Save a Child’s Heart, she gave me the biggest hug and said, “I’m going to miss you so much.” For me, this is when I realized that all of the smiles and laughs made a difference. I heard Brianna say, the language we speak in the house is kindness, and to me kindness is the most powerful language there is.
Alice, is a fourteen-year-old girl from Tanzania. She learned English in school at home, so it was easy to communicate with her on a deeper level. She reminds me so much of my little sister who is her age. We talked about where we’re from, our families, I taught her how to make lanyards and friendship bracelets. During my second week, Alice looked at me and called me sister and from that point on my perspective changed. I realized that even though we come from such different places it didn’t matter, I had the opportunity to be a role model to all the kids, especially Alice, and I wanted to show her what a strong, passionate woman she has the potential to be. I truly look at Alice like a little sister and cannot wait to see how successful she will become in the future, all thanks to Save a Child’s Heart for saving her life.
I could go on for pages and pages about all of my amazing relationships and stories with these kids, but the bottom line is that Save a Child’s Heart takes away all of the hate and conflict in the world and focuses on what is important: saving the lives of those who don’t have access in their countries. My time at SACH has turned me into a person who looks for the good in people and the world, to treat others with equality and kindness because at the end of the day, being alive is a blessing and having access to care is not something that should be expected but to be grateful for. I will hold my time here in my heart forever and cannot wait to continue working with SACH, saving as many lives as we can.
To learn more about how YOU can intern with SACH and have experiences as powerful as Emma did, be sure to check out our website here! To help Emma continue on her Save a Child’s Heart journey, be sure to click here!
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