Seattle pediatrician opens library for refugee children in Mexico
SEATTLE (KOMO) — Dr. Susanna Block has a heart for children and a drive to give back. The pediatric hospitalist works in Seattle and volunteers 2,000 miles away, helping children at a refugee camp in Reynosa, Mexico, near McAllen, Texas.
"It's the home of tens of thousands of displaced people from Venezuela, Central America, southern Mexico, Haiti and beyond," said Block.
Numbers from the United Nations show about 110 million people worldwide are displaced - about 40% of which are children. These children have been through so much trauma, which lead to what Block calls toxic stress, which she described as chronic, unrelenting, doesn't let up and goes on for a long time.
They've had the stress of having to leave everything they know,” said Block. “The stress of the journey north and now to be in this uncertain situation, so they are constantly on high alert. Their cortisol levels are high, their epinephrine levels are high. It's hard to sleep, it's hard to focus, and that actually can change your brain over time and lead to longtime and health and wellness impacts that can go on for many generations.
During her clinical work, Block found another way to help these children.
"I did two field assessments and realized actually there are no books in the refugee camps,” said Block. “Nobody leaves your home country with a book.”
Block said most of the kids in the camps will likely be displaced for the bulk of their educational years. But the desire for parents to educate their children is there.
One of the things that really struck me is that despite families worrying about lack of shelter and security and food,” Block explained. “Parents are really worried about their children's development and educational opportunities.
She and her team got to work and started a literacy and attachment program called "Rise Up & Read!"
"We started by doing clinic and then bringing books, leaving books, and then creating a little bookshelf," said Block.
Reading between parent and child does more besides educating, it helps reduce some of the health impacts of toxic stress.
By helping families to realize that taking a moment every day to sit with your child, relax, calm down, look through a book together, it can decrease some of the health impacts of toxic stress," explained Block.
Block and her team are now hosting monthly pop-up libraries at that refugee camp. She said in order to make it work, they need a variety of books, from little board books to chapter books. Those books need to be in multiple languages, including Spanish, French and Haitian-Creole, which are the three most common languages they see at that refugee camp.
"At a humanitarian level, if we can alleviate suffering, persecution, for these families for these kids, it makes a difference in the world," said Block.