MEET VIVIENNE

The pediatrician at our partner health center who takes care of Vivienne’s sons.

My name is Viviane and I have two sons, Hamid who is three years and two months old, and Nadim who is one year and one month old. I am from Ethiopia and married to a Sudanese man. I came to work in Lebanon when I was 22 years old to help my parents, and I have been here for eight years.

I had to leave my work before my contract expired because the lady I worked for was harmful. She had three married children, and I was forced to clean their three houses in addition to her house which drained me intensely. They used to lock me inside the house and rejected my continuous pleas to return to Ethiopia, claiming that the contract is for three years. I was sleeping in the kitchen as there was no specific room for me. I decided to flee. I left the house not knowing where to go, but hoping to find a way to travel back to Ethiopia. I was on the street when another Ethiopian girl saw me crying and wishing to die. I asked her to take me to the police station, but she explained to me that I cannot return to my country in that way. I told her that I have a small house in Ethiopia and a son and I wanted to go back to him.

She took me to her house where I stayed for two months recovering and looking for a job. I eventually started working, but I didn’t like it because it was illegal and without any contracts. I continued working that way until I met my current husband, who was also a cleaner and he asked me to marry him. That happened and we moved to our house. When I told my parents that I married a Muslim man (and I am a Christian and my dad is a religious Orthodox man), they rejected me.

Now my husband is the only one working and supplying our needs, as my children are very young and I cannot work. He is the only one to pay the house rent and basic expenses. My kids don’t drink milk but eat whatever we eat instead. I used to work for someone who allowed me to take my boy with me to work, and although it was hard with him there, she used to help me with him. Now, she left Lebanon and no one accepts me working at their place with my child with me. When they get older, I will go back to work, hopefully.

I registered with the UN but they didn’t help. Whenever they call, we get food from the “Insaaf” organization. We also got a mattress from them during the winter season and they give us feminine pads and diapers for our baby. A woman told us about this center, and we brought Hamid here because he was constantly sick, in pain, and didn’t eat well. We visited many doctors before and they all concluded that nothing was wrong with him, without even fully examining him. When he was checked by the doctor in the Balassan center, she found out that only one of his testicles had descended. After doing some scans, we found out that the other testicle was in his abdomen and that he needed an operation.

I was very upset and worried about my son. I was crying a lot. The team at the center comforted me and reassured me that everything was going to be alright. They also prayed with me and for my son.

Thankfully, the Balassan clinic helped us and Hamid successfully underwent surgery. Nobody had helped us with that before, but here, they paid all the hospital expenses. Hamid has fully recovered now and eats normally after he lost a lot of weight.

Thank God for this center and especially for the pediatrician, who is very skillful and examines children thoroughly. Other doctors never did that; instead, they used to say, “It’s an infection” and they would prescribe antibiotics without even checking them. Now, this center is the only one I trust my kids with, and I am extremely happy and thankful for the doctors here. I thank all those who are helping us and the doctor who did the operation, who is a very good one. When Hamid came home after the operation, he didn’t feel any pain and was in excellent condition.

I was very upset and worried about my son. I was crying a lot. The team at the center comforted me and reassured me that everything was going to be alright. They also prayed with me and for my son.