Champion for Change: Saminetha Joseph

Saminetha is a nurse and program manager for the maternity and pediatric services at Fort Saint Michel (FSM) Health Center, located near the airport at the east entrance of the city. She has a university level education with a degree in nursing and an extensive background in maternal and pediatric health.

Saminetha’s journey into the healthcare field was driven by her passion for helping others and giving back to her community. After two years of volunteering, Saminetha joined the team at FSM Health Center as a data clerk nurse for the hospital’s monthly reports. Volunteering provided Saminetha with valuable experiences and unbelievable memories. She stated, “I have learned a lot while working at this job. My best experience was at the emergency services as a volunteer, I received a patient who had severe injuries. He was in shock after losing a significant amount of blood. I was able to take care of him and help him to make a full recovery. Even his parents didn’t think he could recover from such an injury but I was confident about him.”

Konbit Sante’s Community Health Program Manager, Josaime Clotilde St Jean expressed happily, “Saminetha is my assistant at FSM Health Centerworking on the USAID and Caris Foundation-funded project in collaboration with / Konbit Sante. She is coordinating the management of the program. She is the bridge between FSM Health Center and Konbit Sante for the program. She is the best employee for this project. She has good leadership skills and works very well without complaining, in order to do her best for the program. She is my right hand and I know I can count on her.”

In 2010, Saminetha worked through the Cholera outbreaks in the Cap-Haitien community, which had a profound effect on her. During that period, she gained further experiences in terms of working through tough and unforeseen challenges. Now, she has been hugely involved in the fight against COVID-19 in Haiti.

As a valuable member of the Konbit Sante team, Saminetha prepares all the reports for our different programs. When asked about her responsibilities, she stated, “I create reports on a monthly, trimesterly, and annual basis and my other duties include planning and leading meetings with other staff members.”

Saminetha is obviously proud to work for her country and give back to those in her community. She mentioned enthusiastically, “I became very happy when I realized all the activities and possibilities I am responsible for. I know I have a strong purpose on my team.”