RUMFORD — It’s 2010 and the call has come — so Clayton Bell grabs his gear and makes the hour and a half hike through the mountains of Haiti in search of a man in a remote town who is dying of cholera.

Intravenous fluids begin to circulate in the man’s body, but it’s too late. The man’s heart has stopped. It’s the second patient Bell has seen die. As he begins to break the news to the man’s family, something inexplicable happens: They start laughing. 

Bell is bewildered. Looking down, he sees that his shorts aren’t quite doing their job — and he’s exposing himself. Suddenly, everyone’s laughing. 

“Humor can be found in the worst situations,” the 31-year-old said. “Sometimes you can just be human with someone, level with them and share in the human experience. Sometimes the strongest medicine is laughter.” 

It’s not his shorts but Bell’s volunteerism that’s grabbing attention now. Two years after returning from Haiti in 2012, the third-year resident at Swift River Family Medicine clinic in Rumford has been honored with the President’s Volunteer Service Award, given annually to those who donate hundreds of hours of their time.

The award was created by President George W. Bush in 2002. Recipients receive a pin, a certificate and a congratulatory note from the president.

Bell, a native of El Paso, Ark., worked for two years in Seguin, Haiti, a remote mountain village eight hours from the nearest doctor’s office. He volunteered after a devastating earthquake in January 2010, which is estimated to have killed more than 160,000 people. 

There, he helped rebuild schools and medical facilities and run an abandoned medical clinic, treating everything from pneumonia to worms to cholera. The cholera bacteria became a scourge after the tremors stopped, polluting water and food, and ultimately leading to the deaths of some 8,500 people, according to the United Nations. 

In addition to treating patients, a lot of the work involved preventative measures, such as washing hands and not using polluted restrooms or water services.

Much of Bell’s work has imbued a lasting spiritual message: So much in Haiti can be done with so little. A school of 240 students can operate on $1,000 a month in a place where only half of the boys and a quarter of the girls complete the sixth grade.

“It’s a beautiful place, but a harsh, raw place,” Bell said. “It’s humbling — like when you climb a huge mountain and realize how much bigger everything is than you. Haiti’s like that — bigger — and when you’re there, you crack, break and realize you’re part of everything.  

“Haiti breaks it down for you,” Bell continued. “Food, water, shelter, being warm. It’s nice being reminded humans need fellowship.”

He gained a lot of life perspective on how simple and yet how difficult it can be to stay in good health, he said. Most health issues can be prevented with what doctors advise: exercise and healthy foods. It’s a lesson as applicable in Haiti as in Rumford, he said.

One of the biggest ironies was watching people sell their fresh produce in order to buy packaged, processed foods from the U.S., which they believed to be healthier. 

For Bell, it’s the work — not the award — that’s the most gratifying. 

“It’s a total honor,” he said. “It’s nice to have people tell you they appreciate things. I try not to be so egocentric, but I’m like everyone else. 

“But the biggest thing is when I see the kids’ faces,” he said. “To know we’re educating that many kids and thousands of children will go through there. Maybe some will become doctors or teachers or farmers and improve that part of Haiti. What I realized building the school and doing the clinic — that wasn’t me — I was just a part of a greater force at work.” 

Bell has returned to Haiti every year since 2012. He said the country will always be part of his life. 

He will work at the Rumford clinic until June — and then he’s not sure where life will lead him.

“Our clinic is phenomenal,” he said. “Just today, a lady knitted me an afghan and I gave her a big hug on my way out. I’ve been able to forge tight relationships.” 

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