City Carrier Assistant Naseem Elias was recently delivering mail in Sterling Heights, MI, when he encountered a customer shouting for help.
He soon learned that the woman spoke only Arabic, and she desperately needed medical attention for her 9-month-old baby, who wasn’t breathing.
Elias, who counts Arabic among five languages he speaks, told the customer to call 911 and translated details for the dispatcher.
Police officers soon arrived and Elias provided further translation while CPR was performed on the baby, who survived.
The woman — a recent Egyptian immigrant — later told Elias that another passerby had walked away, unable to understand her, and she was grateful that the postal employee was there to make a difference.
“I love working for the Postal Service and all the ways we help our customers,” Elias said.