Helping the needy in Belize

LONG VALLEY  Last month, a young girl walked into the Inspiration Center, a non-profit health clinic in Belize City, seeking treatment for a significant eye injury unlike most seen in America. Her father accidentally caused it in a mishap with a machete — a common tool in the mostly jungle landscape of this Caribbean nation on the northeastern coast of Central America.

So Alexis Dorlon, 22, of St. Luke Parish in Long Valley evaluated and developed a treatment for the girl — part of a mission trip last month to the Inspiration Center in the nation’s capital on a team of 27 physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) students and professors. Dorlon, who is studying for a master’s degree in OT at Alvernia University, Reading, Pa., noticed that the girl could not see out of the damaged eye and had limited sight in her left eye. So Dorlon devised a treatment plan that involved using word-search books and other techniques to teach her ways to compensate for her visual impairment through play and adaptations to everyday activities. Team members — from both Alvernia and Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. — worked with poor disabled young people up to 18 years old here — giving them a brighter vision of their future as far as their physical function.

“The kids and their families made me feel welcome. I realized that one person could make a real impact on people there. They were so thankful,” said Dorlon, who earned a bachelor’s degree in OT from Alvernia in December. Today, she works full time practicing occupational therapy under the supervision of a licensed therapist, as part of her studies for her master’s degree, which she anticipates receiving next year. “On the trip, I was trying to be God’s healing hand to those who need it and make a difference in their lives,” she said.

Last month, Dorlon made the 3,300-mile trip to Belize City with her healing hands, but also with prayers from St. Luke’s — and 150 pounds of toys that parishioners donated for the young people of the Inspiration Center. She carried several duffel bags filled with small toys, such as Matchbox cars, Barbie dolls, finger puppets and coloring books, so she could impact the most children possible. The children will use some of the toys in therapy to develop their fine motor skills. Dorlon spoke after Masses on the weekend after Christmas, which led to an outpouring of support from the faithful of the Morris County parish buying new toys, “re-gifting” new toys that they received for Christmas or donating money, she said.

“I wasn’t sure we would be able to pull it off in such a short period of time but Father Owen [Moran, St. Luke’s pastor] encouraged me to try — and the toys started pouring in,” Dorlon said. “Parishioners were so generous. They told me, ‘Whatever you need, we will make it happen,’ ” she said.

For most of their visit, the missioners evaluated and created treatment plans for the children, who came to the Inspiration Center, a non-governmental organization in Belize City that provides various therapy and health services to children with disabilities and their families. The facility offers low-cost comprehensive therapy and medical services to their clients, who have little access to therapy services at affordable rates, according to the Inspiration Center’s web site, https://www.inspirationcenter.bz.

On the trip, Dorlon and Greg Chown, associate professor of OT at Alvernia, were the only two OT professionals on the trip, which also included five PT professors, 16 PT students and a junior OT student that Alexis and her professor mentored on the trip. Team members worked with the young people on their difficulties with sight, mobility or fine-motor skills. They utilized OT, which encourages rehabilitation in people recuperating from physical or mental illness through the performance of activities required in daily life, and PT, which seeks to preserve, enhance or restore impaired movement and physical function with therapeutic exercise, other means such as massage and electrotherapy and assisting devices, Dorlon said.

Students and professors offered therapy to young people using devices at the center, such as swings. They also taught the children how to use everyday objects, such as chairs, blocks and toys, and exercises for their treatment. Dorlon worked with clients with developmental disabilities that impact their lives — how they brush their teeth, get dressed and play. Many families traveled for hours by boat and then by bus to get to the center — the only one of its kind in Belize, Dorlon said.

“As there are no occupational therapists in Belize, it was so helpful of the students to provide valuable knowledge and recommendations to us for our kids,” according to the Inspiration Center page on Facebook.

On one of the days, the team visited the homes of local elderly, who live in huts made of scrap plywood with no doors and collect rainwater for cooking and washing. On a visit, Dorlon taught the health aide of a young man, who was left paralyzed after being shot, how he can get in and out of the shower.

“This is life-changing treatment for these people, who are happy and are so present in the moment, even though they have nothing,” Dorlon said.

The Inspiration Center plans to create a library for the toys that St. Luke’s donated, enabling children to bring back their toys once they “age out” of them and then to select another age-appropriate toy. Dorlon also donated some of the toys to a local pre-school, which had many damaged and destroyed toys.

“The children were so happy with the toys. In many instances, they are the only toys that they own,” Dorlon said.

Dorlon credits her love of serving others to her parents, including her mother Nina, St. Luke’s youth minister; her involvement in St. Luke’s special needs ministry; and her time at Alvernia, a Catholic university with the motto: “To learn, to love and to serve.”

Father Moran called Dorlon “a strong woman of faith — a practicing Catholic — who believes in social justice.”

“While other young people were headed to the beach for their break, Alexis heard the call to help kids in need in Belize,” said Father Moran. “St. Luke’s was inspired by Alexis’ spirit. They are a very generous parish. When you ask them for something, they give more than you ask for,” he said.