By Cindy Strodel McCall
Both from Milot, both top students, Dantus Gilles and Daniel Etienne each have university degrees, and years of study between them in a range of academic and career training programs. After taking exams, being interviewed to evaluate English skills, and submitting educational resumes, Dantus and Daniel were accepted as applicants for HSC’s new Certified Prosthetist Orthotist Education Program and began the training program in March, 2012.
The fact that both students live in Milot was an advantage in their selection for the training program. “We are from Milot and want to stay in Milot. Many people travel far to go to work, to Cap Haïtien, or even farther,” says Daniel Etienne, who has a three-year-old child. The two students plan to hand their expertise on to other local trainees when they have completed the program.
Dantus Gilles, 29, has a 4-year undergraduate degree from the University of Cap Haïtien in Economics. He’s completed a training program requiring high level English skills to become certified as a tour guide. He also has earned a certificate in building and construction.
Daniel Etienne, 34, graduated from the University of Port-au-Prince with a degree in Law, after studying Biology for two years. Which field of study did he prefer? Was he better in Law or Biology as a student? he was asked. “I do my utmost to be very good at everything I study,” said Etienne with a smile.
The student trainees will earn certification through University of Dom Bosco’s Distance Learning Program in Orthotics and Prosthetics, overseen by HSC Prosthetics Lab manager Oscar Bermudez. Clinical work in the morning is paired with classroom work in the afternoons.
By the end of their three year on-the-job training, Bermudez says, the two will be certified Prothestists and Orthotists and will eventually operate the HSC Prosthetics Lab themselves. In turn, they will oversee new trainees, helping a new generation of students complete the HSC /Dom Bosco Program. “I am happy to be able to take the knowledge offered to me, and give it to others,” says Gilles.
The HSC Prosthetist Orthotist Education program, with its on-site training combined with long distance learning, is one of fifteen similar programs across Latin America and the Caribbean, funded by US AID, says Oscar Bermudez. The University of Dom Bosco in El Salvador provides the certification classes in an on-line format. As a model, it provides crucial services for amputees, and medical training and employment for local personnel in areas where prosthetic services are scarce or non-existent. “We need young people to have more programs like the HSC Certification program,” says Dantus Gilles, “to help them better their lives. This is a problem in Haiti. There are many people who have training and education, but they can’t find opportunity for work.”
When asked if he has a message for those who want to know more about the HSC Certification program, Daniel Etienne says, “This program is sponsored by Dr. Lovejoy, and I’d like to say ‘God Bless Dr. Lovejoy.’ He helps Haitian people study and learn a profession so we can help our own people. My big wish is to thank him and others who help Haiti. My other big wish is for prosperity for my country.”
Dantus Gilles, too, has a message to convey. “Our computers are here, our classes are here. This is a good opportunity for us, and for people in Milot. Life is difficult in Haiti. We want to see life in Haiti become better, to see changes that give young people a chance to live a better life. We want a brighter future for Haiti.”
