Helping in Honduras leaves nursing students wanting more

By Marcia Porter | Sept. 25, 2014

SON students in Honduras

They didn’t go expecting to change the world, but helping about 600 of Honduras’s poor felt pretty good to a contingent of nursing students.

“It was so rewarding,” said Jordan Chapman, who, along with 29 nursing, medicine, pharmacy and science students, spent 10 days this past summer setting up and helping staff a health clinic that operated out of a small village school in rural Honduras.  

“This was about having a chance to help people and change things a few lives at a time,” she said. “We were kind of skeptical at first. I mean, how could we make a difference? We were only a few people.”

But there’s nothing quite like first-hand experience. The small, makeshift clinic drew adults and children of all ages from small villages and communities in the region, which is about four hours outside the capital of Honduras.

“It really surprised me that there were people who walked for hours barefoot, three hours barefoot, just to get to a clinic,” said student Jess Conrad. “We were open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and the temperatures were 40-degrees plus. People waited in line for hours and didn’t complain at all.”

“We saw things that we would never expect to see here (in Canada), things that we would have gone to the doctor for right away,” said Ms. Chapman.” We saw people with blood glucose levels over 20 − normal usually ranges between 4-6 − blood clots, kidney failure and liver failure, people who were sent to hospital right away.”

The student contingent was Memorial’s first Global Brigades chapter, which is a student-led organization that works in four countries, including Honduras. It’s better known to American university and college students.

Students worked for a week alongside their Memorial colleagues, Honduran students their own age and also a Honduran doctor, dentist and translator. They provided medicine and medical supplies and hired the local medical team using funds raised during the previous school year.

“It was really cool to see everyone come together,” said Ms. Conrad. “In nursing you need to work as a team.”

Ms. Chapman, Ms. Conrad and many other students are planning their return to a different part of Honduras next summer. With a growing interest in the Global Brigades program, they hope to set up medical and water brigades. Contact Jordan Chapman at jdc763@mun.ca for more information.


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