We would like to introduce you to Dr. Christiane Béliveau, Optometrist and IRIS Mundial volunteer. Christiane took part in seven one-time projects with IRIS Mundial, and the very first one was in 2000, the year before the official launch of IRIS Mundial as a registered non-profit organization! She has witnessed the evolution of the organization from the very beginning. Volunteers who know Christiane will say that she is a generous and dedicated person with a big heart! Everyone appreciated her for her dynamism, professionalism and love of life! We asked her to tell us more about her experience with IRIS Mundial.
– What motivated you to go on a mission to help the most underprivileged?
“I was attracted to “go see what the rest of the world is up to,” as Robert Charlebois sang in his French song called “Ordinary”. I wanted to look a little beyond my immediate horizon, despite a busy schedule. The desire also to challenge myself a little, to break the routine and to learn from meeting people in living conditions less privileged than mine.”
-What did the missions mean to you?
“The missions reward us a hundred times more than what we give; they bring us back to the basics. Seeing and living the reality of people in developing countries has been extremely enriching from all points of view.”
-Can you tell us one of the highlights of a mission?
“The most memorable moment happened in Haiti when we attended a Mass in Labrousse with the inhabitants of the small village. A lady with a big smile touched me on the shoulder: she wanted to show me how she could now read the bible with her new glasses. It was a moment of great joy!”
-What mission comes to mind when you think of IRIS Mundial and why?
“It’s my very first mission with IRIS Mundial in the province of Hidalgo in Mexico. Like any first experience, it made a huge impression! Everything was intense; meeting other volunteers with their diverse experiences, their personalities, the shock of being confronted with great poverty, the fatigue from working in the heat, etc. I have an unforgettable memory of teamwork, mutual aid, memorable laughs, tears of discouragement realizing the inevitability of certain conditions we couldn’t change, the kindness of Mexicans, the good food, the music, the architecture and the history of the country. Back home, I told my children all about my mission” It made my daughters’ eyes twinkle and as adults they have become great travellers.”
