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Joseph Occhipinti (r.) in Ecuador
with Marivel, her father, Juan Pomavilla, and Delegate Jose Zhanay
Occhipinti brought 16-year-old Gladys Marivel Pomavilla Loja and her father here this week after learning that her 9-year-old brother accidently shot her in the back of her head with their father’s shotgun, blinding her.
Because Ecuadorian physicians lack the resources and surgical expertise, Ecuadorian Congresswoman Blanca Ortiz turned to Occhipinti.
However, an ultrasound conducted Monday in Manhattan found “there’s no life at all left in the eyes to do anything,” Occhipinti told CLIFFVIEW PILOT after receiving the news this morning.
“At this point, they don’t have the technology to do anything,” Occhipinti said. “The best we can hope for is maybe implants three or four years from now.”
“She had hoped and prayed and was so optimstic,” he said, over breakfast with Marivel and her father. “And you could see in his body language how depressed he is. We all hoped she’d be able to return to a new life.”
Occhipinti’s not done, however. First, he’s taking her for a neurological evaluation to determine whether the the bullet fragments can be removed. Then he’s pushing to raise funds so that Marivel can at least have some measure of comfort when she and her father return to their village.
“They’re a family of eight. They don’t even have a house: They live in a camp in the Andes Mountains,” said Occhipinti, who traveled there last week and secured a pair of humanitarian visas before bringing Marivel and her father to the States.
“Her school is an hour or so away,” he said. “We’re going to raise money so she can attend the school and have some of the things she needs to be able to survive in darkness.”
The NPDF has created a fund for Marivel. Tax-deductible donations can be made online (http://www.npdf.org/admin.html), by calling 877-325-KIDS or by mailing a check to:
POMAVILLA MEDICAL FUND
P.O. Box 318
Englishtown, NJ 07726
Occhipinti has completed several similar missions, bringing children and police from poor countries here, where doctors and hospitals have donated their services. This time, Dr. Brian Capolattaro, a pediatric ophthalmologist, offered to operate for free at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary on 14th Street in Manhattan. Occhipinti, a highly-decorated former federal agent who once smashed international drug cartels, helps provide medical and legal support services to law enforcement officers in a dozen countries as part of the NPDF’s work.
He also heads worldwide mercy missions under an offshoot program known as “Operation Kids.”
Prominent officials in the U.S. and around the world have praised the humanitarian program, which distributes free fingerprint kits to parents, posts rewards for missing children and runs the medical-care missions around the globe. Corporate sponsorships and other benefactors help fund operations for the 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation (SEE: National Police Defense Foundation).
Late year, Occhipinti was honored at the Ecuadoran consulate in Manhattan for bringing critically ill infants to the U.S. for life-saving surgeries Soon after, he learned of Marivel’s plight.
The majority of the NPDF’s mercy missions have been to Ecuador, whose tense relations with the U.S. were further strained last year when WikiLeaks published a diplomatic cable alleging widespread police corruption under President Rafael Correa.
Ecuador asked the American ambassador who wrote the cable to leave, and the U.S. responded by declaring the Ecuadoran ambassador persona non grata.
Correa has close ties to his powerful counterpart in oil-rich Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, a man the U.S. views as a threat to stability in the region.
Against this backdrop, Occhipinti – who lives in Manalapan – has worked with Ecuadoran Consul Jorge López Amaya to protect the Latin American country’s nationals throughout the world.
Occhipinti told CLIFFVIEW PILOT that he remains dedicated to helping low-income families from other countries obtain instant “humanitarian visas” so they can receive the medical immediate medical care “necessary to save their lives.”
He considers himself blessed by “the good will of the hospitals, doctors and donors” who have footed the bill for the missions, the treatment and other expenses.
This “gives each one of these children a chance to enjoy a normal life,” Occhipinti said. “It’s just the right thing to do.”
And as far as he’s concerned, it’s only fitting that a police-related organization is doing it. After all, Occhipinti said, “police have always had a special love for protecting children.”
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