Dr. Gloria WilderBrathwaite

A hero has to be kind, nice and willing to help anyone. Anyone can do that and be a hero. But some people go beyond what they need to do just to make people feel good. That is what my hero, Dr. Gloria WilderBrathwaite, does. She helps save lives by doctoring on the lower eastside of D.C. and by heading the Children’s Health Project of D.C.

Dr. Gloria WilderBrathwaite

Dr. WilderBrathwaite did not have a lot growing up in the slums of Brooklyn, New York. She was the first to graduate from high school in her family. She received inspiration from her mother, who at 35 went back to school and got her college degree. Dr. WilderBrathwaite wants to give that same inspiration to her younger patients to go get their degrees and even more. She wants to show them that, even if they come from the poorest part of D.C., they can still reach their goals.

Dr. WilderBrathwaite decided to turn down good paying jobs to work on the south side of D.C. where crime, teen pregnancy, and infant mortality are at high rates. She saw murder and even had a knife pulled on her by a crack-addicted mother. Some of her sessions had to be put to an end because of fights. But if you were to ask her if she was scared, she would say no. She wanted to give medical treatment to poor people. She knew, from growing up as a child, that it felt like the hospital was trying to humiliate her and her mom because they could not afford it. But the person that really made her stop and think about providing health care to the poor was Martin Luther King when he said, ”Of all forms of injustice, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.” And from then on she knew she was on a mission.

Dr. WilderBrathwaite (http://nchcap.unc.edu/drgloria.html)

She started the Children’s Health Project of D.C., which helps provide health care to children in the most dangerous parts of the inner city. She was the first physician to staff the project. She wanted people to do something about the problem. She put twelve years of hard effort and dedication in to help the program. When she saw a boy get shot nearby, did that stop her? No! It only made her work even harder to help the less fortunate. Her working so hard paid off. She helped a lot of people and was given the 2005 Annual Caring Award, which is given to people who show outstanding caring, integrity and public service.

Dr. WilderBrathwaite is a hero because she cares about people. No one really cares about the inner city where there is so much violence, crime, and murder. She cares about the people there, no matter where they are from or how much money is in their pockets. Without her a lot more people would die because, in the inner city, most people can’t afford health care. She wants them to get the same health care as everyone else, no matter if it means risking her own life. She wants to provide service to all people, no matter their color, religion, or the amount of money they have.

So, that is why Dr. Gloria WilderBrathwaite is my hero. When she looks at a person, all she sees is their personality. She helps save lives, no matter what neighborhood a person comes from. She cares for the people that can’t afford it, the people that a lot of other people look past or down on. She goes the extra mile to make sure that kids in the inner city can get better health care.