Heading to Haiti wholeheartedly

For Haitian-born Magaly Polo it’s not enough to want to do: the 42-year-old single mother of two believes in actually doing, according to those close to her. That’s why they weren’t surprised when, shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, Polo announced that she was packing her bags, closing up her house and heading to Haiti for a month.

“She stopped her life, left her two children, left the daily care of her home and took off to be of help to someone she doesn’t know,” said Polo’s longtime friend, Aubrey Phillips. “Magaly’s actions don’t surprise us.... This is who she is and she wouldn’t hold herself as a hero.”

Phillips has known Polo, who lives in Elmont, for about eight years. In that time he has come to see who Polo is: “She’s a do-er,” he said. Polo, who works as a social worker at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, is currently aboard the USNS Comfort -- a U.S. Navy hospital ship that arrived off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Jan. 20. Polo is serving as a translator and providing whatever other services she can.

While Polo is well-known throughout parts of Long Island, particularly in West Hempstead, for the work she has done as a member and former president of the Haitian-American Families of Long Island, last week she was in the national spotlight. NBC Nightly News reported on the USNS Comfort and showed a clip of Polo doing what her friends know her to do best: lending a helping hand.

“She would do this in the dark of night...regardless of whether anybody knows,” Phillips said. Her reason? According to Phillips, “She felt this pressing need to be of some tangible help to people in Haiti.”

When Scott Cushing, chief of staff for Assemblyman Tom Alfano (R-Franklin Square), saw the NBC report on Polo, a friend of his for 11 years, he was moved. “To have one of our own be on that ship is so unbelievable and wonderful,” Cushing said. “And for [that person] to be Magaly Polo tells you something, makes you question whether we’re doing what’s right, are we making a difference? It puts things in perspective.”

Sandra Smith, a friend of Polo’s since about 2003, said she hopes some of the publicity surrounding Polo will send a message about the importance of volunteerism, of being there to help people in need. It is clear to Smith that Polo’s two children, Alyssa Longchamp, 18, and 12-year-old Ronnel Audouin, have inherited their mother’s values of dedication and willingness to sacrifice, which they've demonstrated in supporting her decision to go to Haiti.

"At first I was a little sad because I didn't want her to go," her daughter said in an interview with the Herald. "But then I realized how much she loves [being there] and I'm proud of her."

According to Longchamp, Polo always feels the need to help other people, even when her own resources for doing so are limited. "I'm 18 and, you know, sometimes I'm like, 'OK, you don't need to help everybody'," she said, adding that she has argued with her mother about contributing money they don't have to various people and causes. But, the Nassau Community College freshman has come to understand that this is just who Polo is and nothing will change that.

Longchamp hopes others will be inspired to adopt Polo's values. "Even if you don't have enough money, there's always something you can do to help somebody out," she said.

Cushing believes people will get that message. Calling Polo a “five-foot-four spark-plug,” he said, “I hope that people can put their prejudices and personal issues aside...and look at this person and see what you can do when you open up your heart and your mind.”

The civic-minded Polo, as her friends describe her, has been deeply involved in the community. She is always doing for others, according to Phillips. In 2006, Polo translated voter instructions into Haitian Creole and French in order to increase community involvement in the voting process. Around that time she was also a recipient of the Women of Distinction award -- an honor presented by Alfano to women in his district for their work both in and out of the community.

Even prior to the crisis in Haiti, Polo worked often with local Haitian families and West Hempstead’s large Haitian community, helping people stay in touch with relatives abroad, or to navigate the political and legal American system. Following the crisis, she helped develop a registry for Haitian-Americans so they could locate family members in Haiti.

According to Phillips, Polo’s community work and decision to go to Haiti are examples of how “she sees a problem and instead of trying to see who created it, she literally jumps in and tries to solve it.” Polo, he added, is the type of person who “really believes that it takes a village to raise a child.”

Agreeing with that assessment, Cushing added that Polo “is a quiet person, and she hears the quiet people that others don't.” But, despite her soft-spoken nature, Polo’s action speak volumes.

Polo’s friends and family members expect her to return from Haiti at the end of February and to then just slip right back into her routine of doing and helping and giving. “We are all each other’s keepers,” Phillips said. “Someone like Magaly Polo is the shining example of what it is we should be doing for each other -- not just in moments of crisis, but every day. And she does this every day.”