Snapshot of HOPE

Snapshot of HOPE

Rickelvis Valerio Jimenez works as a project coordinator for Alerta Joven, Project HOPE’s Vulnerable Youth Program.  His Snapshot of HOPE photo essay, Waiting Time is Bonding Time, captures the open, comfortable and community atmosphere of the clinic waiting room.   

The waiting room at the Order of Malta Clinic in Santo Domingo is a happy place. Kids may be waiting for doctors’ appointments, but the room is filled with happy smiles and proud parents. A baby comfortable with his surroundings, opens his arms to his mother just before entering the pediatrics office.

A mother with her son at the Order de Malta Clinic waits to enter the office of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

This mother, like many other at the clinic, uses waiting time to bond with her newborn daughter.

The clinic offers a supportive environment for entire families to embrace the responsibilities of newborn care, like this proud parent embracing his newborn baby and enjoying the feeling of being a father.