During the summer of 2015, I participated in an eight-day service trip to Nicaragua through an organization called Global Brigades. Our chapter here at Oregon State worked for months to collect medications, instruments, and other supplies that we would need for a successful trip. In June, 31 of us took off to complete the capstone of all our hard work during the school year. We spent three days in a rural community outside Jinotega, where we worked with doctors, nurses, a dentist, a pharmacist, and local community leaders to run a three-day medical clinic. Aside from seeing patients and writing prescriptions, our group also ran educational sessions focused on preventative care so that the short-term changes we made could hopefully last a lifetime. During the three-day medical portion of our brigade, we saw 1,389 patients, a new record for any brigade that had previously been to Nicaragua. The next few days of our trip were spent in another community, where our group worked on making two homes more conducive to a healthy lifestyle. In each home, we installed a concrete floor and station that included a toilet, shower, and sink. The most enjoyable part of that project was forming relationships with the families we were working with. It was fun to use the Spanish I have learned in the United States during my first time abroad.
The funds I received from the HC helped me with the fee that each club member had to pay to go on the trip. All the fundraising we did during the year went towards medications and supplies, so the cost of the trip was out-of-pocket. Money really was no object for me when it came to going on this trip; I knew I would do whatever it took to be able to have such an incredible and rewarding experience.
After this experience, my work with Global Brigades is far from over. Going on this trip allowed me to fall in love with another culture so much that I couldn’t wait to go back and make more friendships and memories. I was so excited by the idea of returning in 2016 that I decided to campaign for president of the Oregon State chapter while our group was still in Nicaragua. I was ecstatic to be elected on our last night there, because that meant I would get to see 30 more people have the same experience I did. The experience I had in Nicaragua was an unforgettable one, and I am counting down the days until I get to return.
This is a great story!