2015 Mission to Guatemala: Day 3

Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year.  One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students.  The other includes OT and PT students.  Both  team are writing about their experiences.

Team Pharmacy
from Dr. Eric Hobson

Dr. Hobson's Spring Break Immersion team is hard at work caring for children at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center in Guatemala City. Samantha Wheeler and Jessica O'Connell are preparing medications for today's surgery patients.

Pharmacy students hard at work caring for children at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center in Guatemala City. Samantha Wheeler and Jessica O’Connell are preparing medications for today’s surgery patients.

1Guatemala05

BU students Samantha Wheeler, Jasmin Mohn, Jessica O’Connell and professor Eric Hobson taking a break from a long day of surgery support.

2015 Mission to Guatemala: Day 2

Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year.  One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students.  The other includes OT and PT students.  Both  team are writing about their experiences.

NoahPloegmanKristenFlowersTeam Nursing/Pharmacy
from Kristen Flowers and Noah Ploegman

On our second day in Guatemala began with a traditional Guatemalan breakfast prepared by a local mother and daughter. After breakfast, we ventured thirty minutes under the shadow of an active volcano to a coffee plantation where women enthusiastically greeted each member of the team with a hug.

1Guatemala02The owner of the plantation allowed us to set up a clinic in the school for his employees and their families. We provided screenings for diabetes and hypertension, personal hygiene, nutrition, and CPR. In return, the plantation owner invited us to experience the “work” on a coffee plantation. We were able to sort and pick coffee beans, and observe, first hand, the heavy lifting the workers perform. This experience gave us insights into why we were seeing so many workers complaining of shoulder and knee pain. In addition, the recent volcano eruption left ash covering the coffee plants and covered the workers and us while we worked, leaving us to wonder if workers were experiencing respiratory issues.

Although we had prepared for screenings and teaching it quickly became apparent that workers and their families had many acute needs they wanted addressed.
Patients presented with symptoms of strep throat, peritonsilar abscess, arthritis, diabetes, peripheral edema, and arrhythmias. This unexpected change placed a new responsibility on our team to work together to manage their expectations and our capabilities to care for their immediate needs.

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2015 Mission to Guatemala: Day 2

Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year.  One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students.  The other includes OT and PT students.  Both  team are writing about their experiences.

OliviaKennedyGabbyLaGaceTeam OT/PT
from Gabby LaGace & Olivia Kennedy

Today was full of adventure!! Our first stop was an orphanage named Rosa de Amor in Guatemala City. We were greeted with hugs, warm smiles and words of thanks from the staff.   Here we spent the morning playing with and assessing the needs of the children. We were broken into 4 teams mixed of OT and PT students and we were able to see children ages 12 months to 16 years old all with contagious smiles and enthusiasm. 2Guatemala01Together with the staff of Rosa del Amor, we collaborated to determine appropriate exercises and activities to enhance development of the children.

Next stop was Hope for Tomorrow. This is a home for children founded by two American women who were both adoptive mothers of Guatemalan children. The team split into two groups. The first group brought many children to the local playground while the second group worked with the staff to develop a plan for a future sensory room. They also completed thorough assessments of the children with disabilities.

2Guatemala02The PT’s worked with the staff to fit a child for orthotics to correct an abnormal gait. The OT’s also worked along side the staff to determine appropriate treatment approaches to further the children’s fine motor development and participation.

The staff of Hope for Tomorrow couldn’t have been more eager to work with us and problem solve together. Their passion for caring for the children was inspiring. What a great start to our trip and we look forward to our next stop on this journey.

2015 Mission to Guatemala: Day 1

Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year.  One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students.  The other includes OT and PT students.  Both  team are writing about their experiences.

RachelSearfossTeam Nursing/Pharmacy
from Rachel Searfoss

Yesterday was lift off! A group of 20 students and faculty from the College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy ventured from Nashville to embark on the Immersion Mission trip over spring break 2015. The Immersion mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala connects students and faculty with local workers and families in Guatemala, hoping to reach others’ physical needs through the skills we have learned thus far and also their spiritual needs, giving our hearts and our testimony to others wherever they need it.

After flying in and staying overnight in Guatemala City, the group finally made it to our destination here in Antigua. Picture this: blue skies interspersed with fluffy clouds, lazily making their way around an active volcano seen rising in the midst of the beaming sunshine, all while steadying oneself upon the historic cobblestone streets, touching the stone walls of a church built in years past. This is Antigua. A city bustling around statuesque churches with street vendors selling anything from candies to tapestries comes alive in the afternoon to meet our eager and excited group. Our first stop – the local grocery store.

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Pharmacy students complete project for Guatemalan Hospital

June 2014 Mission team: Front row (l-r): Kristen Conrad, Chelsey Manire; Middle Row: Candice Beam, Mary Alice Hobson, Alex Ernst, Kandice Squires; Back row: Meredith Erivin, Dr. Eric Hobson, Garrett Hobson, Will Hobson, Scott Hobson, Kyla Cunico

June 2014 Mission team: Front row (l-r): Kristen Conrad, Chelsey Manire; Middle Row: Candice Beam, Mary Alice Hobson, Alex Ernst, Kandice Squires; Back row: Meredith Erivin, Dr. Eric Hobson, Garrett Hobson, Will Hobson, Scott Hobson, Kyla Cunico

Students and faculty from Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy recently completed a year-long project to create an inventory system at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center in Guatemala City, Guatemala.  The project started last July and included four separate mission trips from the College with a total of 23 students and faculty contributing.  The most recent team finished the expansive project to catalog the contents of the surgery center which includes three operating rooms and 21 beds.  The inventory system was built from scratch, tested, launched and, during this last visit, turned over to the surgery center’s local management. Continue reading

College of Pharmacy leads first health-focused immersion to Guatemala

pharm-spring-breakThe College of Pharmacy partnered with University Ministries for an international spring break Immersion trip geared towards health professional and pre-health professions students. The team was comprised of four faculty and staff members, one professional medical interpreter, eight undergraduate students with an interest or major in healthcare-related fields and two fourth-year pharmacy students. Together they provided diabetes, asthma and vision screenings, as well as nutrition, hygiene and first-aid education to migrant workers at Finca la Azotea coffee plantation, in Antigua, Guatemala. Additionally, the team spent one day working with at Escuela Proyecto la Esperanza, an non-governmental organization school for underprivileged children assessing height weight, and vision percentile projections.

Immersion activities included learning about the processes of growing, harvesting, roasting and packaging coffee, grocery shopping in a neighborhood market, visiting a private university, Universidad Francisco Marroquín, touring the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center and attending religious services on Ash Wednesday.

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Pharmacy alum serves poor in Guatemala

NedaBorhaniSmallNeda Borhani, Pharmaceutical Doctor, ’13 just returned from Guatemala City, Guatemala, where she supported a surgical team from Austin, TX, in 62 cleft lip and/or palate repairs for some of the poorest kids in Guatemala.  Dr. Borhani served as the team’s pharmacist staffing The Moore Pediatric Surgery Center’s pharmacy. Keeping the pattern established by 32 other members of the college’s alumni and students, Neda managed the pre-, during, and post-operative pharmaceutical care of the children who came from across Guatemala to receive free, life-changing care. Read more about Neda’s activity on the BUCOP Medical Missions Facebook page.

Pharmacy Students, Faculty Assist Guatemalan Pediatric Surgical Center

PharmacyGuatemala-300x300An 11-member team from Belmont’s College of Pharmacy is traveling to Guatemala twice this summer to provide aid and expertise to the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center (MPSC). Open since March 2011, more than 800 needy children have received free life-altering surgical care from MPSC.

The Belmont team just returned from its first trip July 8-13 in which it teamed with MPSC to implement the hospital’s first computerized inventory system. During the week-long mission, the seven-person team worked with MPSC leadership to finalize the inventory categorization model and to set coding conventions. In addition, the team purchased and implemented inventory management software, documented and coded more than 750 individual items, created and affixed barcodes to all inventory and determined IT needs to link the new system across multiple computer stations.

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Mission to Guatemala: Day 6

Mission to Guatemala
from Lisa Haack

A team of students, faculty and partners from Belmont University’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy are ministering in Guatemala during Belmont’s spring break, the seventh year a team has traveled there.

Buenos dias! After all of our hard work this week, we spent Friday in Antigua having fun.  We went to the Filadelfia coffee plantation where most of us got to see coffee plants for the first time.  We took an adventurous ride up to the top of one of the mountains and took the zip line course down.  The view along the zip line course was amazing! It was such a perfect and beautiful day.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch there at the café and then headed off to the market to go shopping. The market was a bit overwhelming, but we all learned how to barter to get the best deals on our souvenirs and gifts.  To end the day, we went out to dinner with our translators at a steak house, Hacienda Real.  The food was incredible.  We were all sad to say good-bye to the wonderful translators and drivers who took care of us this week.  Our last night at the Nazarene Center was rather interesting.  Apparently a new group of Guatemalan teenagers are having a retreat here this weekend and they kicked it off with a big party, which sounded more like mob preparing to attack us.  They eventually quieted down for a few hours and we got a couple of hours of sleep.  We are sleep-deprived and preparing to load up to head to the airport.  We had an amazing week here in Guatemala.  God showed up and did incredible things through us.  It has been a wonderful time, but we are excited to get back home!  See you soon!!!

Mission to Guatemala: Day 5

Mission to Guatemala
from Carolyn and Markus

A team of students, faculty and partners from Belmont University’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy are ministering in Guatemala during Belmont’s spring break, the seventh year a team has traveled there.

Today we went to Magdalena Milpas Altas, Sacatepequez, to Karamion which is a center for children with disabilities. First we met with the directors, who are husband and wife, and learned all about the center. They started it on their own and gave up everything, including their home, in order to help children. They don’t have any support, but trust in God to provide.  It was great to see such an awesome demonstration of faith and obedience to God’s will. We split into groups to start therapy and worked with children with different types of disabilities: autism, torticollis, Down’s Syndrome, meningitis, and spina bifida. I worked with a little girl with spina bifida with the help of Jessica, PT and some more of the OT/PT team. We worked on prone lying, trunk extension and postural balance reactions on a therapy ball, and ball catching for stability and balance. Continue reading

Mission to Guatemala: Day 4

Mission to Guatemala
from Joe Muchmore

A team of students, faculty and partners from Belmont University’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy are ministering in Guatemala during Belmont’s spring break, the seventh year a team has traveled there.

Another exciting day for Team Catalyst. After a two-hour scenic drive, we spent the day with the wonderful staff and children of the JT Children’s Foundation. The JT Children’s Foundation provides therapeutic services for children with disabilities and their families who reside in the Tecpan, Guatemala area. They preach the importance of a holistic approach to healing and this is evident in their practice. After learning about the organization, we had the privilege of watching a performance that was prepared through music therapy sessions with a group of children. The performers graciously invited us to join and we happily danced and laughed with our new friends. Continue reading

Mission to Guatemala: Day 3

Mission to Guatemala
from Katie Hein and Julie Golden

A team of students, faculty and partners from Belmont University’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy are ministering in Guatemala during Belmont’s spring break, the seventh year a team has traveled there.

Today was full of adventures! We visited 4 different loactions. In the morning we went to the Children’s Rehab Hospital and the Guatemala Association for People with Down’s Syndrome.  Then in the afternoon we went to Hope for Tomorrow/Nutrition Center and Las Conchas.

The Children’s Rehab Hospital Day 2- We met little Carlos, Kenneth and his wife to have little Carlos casted for AFO’s. Meanwhile, the rest of us participated in the morning therapy sessions (OT/FT- fisotherapy (PT)). The Guatemalan FT’s asked us for help with an exercise program for Christopher, one of the boys who suffered from Meningitis and is extremely weak. The only thing they have done for him in the past month is have him on tilting board to have him in a vertical position for 30 min. Lisa and Jessica (DPTs) evaluated his lower extremity and trunk strength, range of motion, and vestibular-occular system. He was getting bored with laying down, so  we sat him up to work on strengthening and postural control.  He was automatically happier and willingly participated in the activities.

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Mission to Guatemala: Day 2

Mission to Guatemala
from Darcy King

A team of students, faculty and partners from Belmont University’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy are ministering in Guatemala during Belmont’s spring break, the seventh year a team has traveled there.

In order to beat rush hour traffic our group got an early start with breakfast at 7:00a.m.  Even though we thought we had an early start, we know that the Shalom Foundation staff were hard at work long before we got out of bed.  Today was the first day we experienced the weather we had been anticipating.  The sun was out in full force and many of us got a little more than our fair share.  Our first destination for the day was a children’s rehab hospital.  The hospital staff gave us a tour of the facility and then we broke up into our respective professions to participate in therapy sessions.  We had the unique opportunity to collaborate with the OTs and PTs at this rehab center in order to exchange ideas and share information.  This was a humbling learning experience for clinicians and students alike.  During the OT sessions we observed how they conducted group therapy sessions, learned about how they taught families to make piñatas to be sold as a source of income, and had the opportunity to work one on one with many of the children.

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Mission to Guatemala: Day 1

Mission to Guatemala
from Lisa Haack

A team of students, faculty and partners from Belmont University’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy are ministering in Guatemala during Belmont’s spring break, the seventh year a team has traveled there.

All three flights came into Guatemala without problems Saturday.  Much to our surprise everyone “passed” immigration and no pat-downs were required.  Guatemala welcomed us with weather that reminded us of home…45 degrees and windy!  Burr!!!  In contrast, the reception was warm and we all settled into our rooms.  We were grateful for the amenities including flushable toilets and a warm shower.  It was a restful sleep with an occasional celebratory fireworks launched from near-by. 😉

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Mission to Guatemala – Day 6

Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Allison Toole

Today we woke up in beautiful Antigua!  Its safe to say we all got an amazing night of sleep after a hard day of work yesterday in Tecpan!  I was part of the team that spent the day at the JT Children’s Foundation and it was such a rewarding experience! We saw 5 patients in the morning and 4 patients in the afternoon.  It was amazing to see the teamwork between us and the clinicians there in Tecpan.  The parents of the patients we saw were so open and wanting to understand how they could help their children out even more at home. We started out by assessing their children and ended each session with educating the parents on exercises and strengthening techniques they needed to do at home.  We stressed to the parents that most of their children will not get better unless they continue doing their exercises at home.  Overall, the teams had a very rewarding experience at the JT Foundation and felt very blessed for the opportunity to work with such beautiful children.

After our team finished at the JT Foundation, we got on the bus and headed over to the where the other team had spent the day building steps and installing a rope.  I was completely in awe when we pulled up and saw the numerous amounts of kids that lived in this part of the village! They were SO loving and immediately hugged and greeted us as we got out of the van.  After talking with the other team for a while, I was told that the kids were very eager to help out with their project and were an integral part in helping build the steps.  It warmed my heart to know and see how hardworking these children are… that isn’t something I am used to seeing every day.   It was a very humbling experience to see how grateful these children were for all the work we did.

I can’t believe how fast this week has gone by! I feel like I have learned and grown so much in such a short amount of time. My heart is completely on fire for this beautiful country and I cannot wait for future opportunities to come back and hopefully continue these projects we have started here this past week.  Today is zip lining and shopping in the market and we are all very excited to explore the market and get some good shopping in (including the delicious coffee!!)

Mission to Guatemala 2012 – Day 5

Mission to Guatemala 2012

Feliz Dia de Madre!  Today is Mother’s Day in Guatemala.  We all got this message at 4 am with a 5 minute blast of fire crackers in the courtyard!

The team headed to Tecpan – a rural farming village about 2 hours west of the city.  We teamed up with JT Childrens Foundation – an organization that provided physical and occupational therapy for kids. 1/2 of the team stayed at the foundation assisting with therapy and the nurses gave CPR training.

The other half went out into a community in the mountains. We were at Melvin’s home. Melvin is a 14 yr old kid with CP. His home is on top of a steep incline – maybe 200 meters from the main road. Melvin walks down the stairs to the main road to get to therapy.  The stairs have been washed smooth over time. His handrail….barb wire! Yikes.

We spent the day cutting out new stairs and installed a rope for a hand rail.  Pretty good day of manual labor.  We did of course find time to play with all the kids.  Spanish is the 2nd language in this area. the main language is a Mayan dialect of Q’eqchi.  Super nice folks.

After work we headed into Antigua were we will be for the next 2 nights. Friday is our day off – zip lining and shopping.

Mission to Guatemala – Day 4 – More

Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Rachel Haddock

Today was as busy and fun filled as the previous few days. I was a part of a team who spend the majority of the day at the school meeting classrooms full of children ages kindergarten through the 6th grade. With entry into each classroom we were greeted with songs. We watched as they made gifts for their mothers and had time to play as well. We spent the rest of our time painting a classroom that was built a few years ago and really needed a fresh coat of paint.

The highlight of the day, for me was when we went into the village where we got to see how great the poverty is and what seemed to me was the ‘real Guatemala’ and what daily life is like for people here. We met a wonderful family whose daughter is suffering from chronic renal failure. She was hooked up to a make-shift dialysis device and we heard from her mother that the young girl wanted most was to ride a bike again before she died. This statement was not only incredibly touching and heartbreaking but motivating for our team. As we left them, we made the decision to buy her a bicycle before we left. In the middle of dinner she and her mother and father came to the Nazarene Center to get her gift. We were all overwhelmed by her father’s gratitude and her mother’s tears. The little girl was so excited and was able to practice immediately, her joy was undeniable. It was so humbling and rewarding to know that we made a difference in her life and hopefully made her time before and after surgery a time she can enjoy and have fun like other kids.

I am looking forward to the adventures and challenges that we face tomorrow but I am so encouraged after tonight, seeing the impact we made simply by giving a little girl a bike- something we take for granted everyday back home.

Mission to Guatemala – Day 4

Mission to Guatemala 2012

Our first visit was to Lucy. The nursing team and I were honored with an invitation inside her home, and witnessed a kind of gratitude for that home (which had been built by The Shalom Foundation) that far outdid what any of could have expected from someone living in such extreme poverty. Our hearts broke in unison when Lucy disclosed that the beautiful baby girl in her womb was past due, and that she completely lacked access to any kind of hospital, clinic, or even midwife to facilitate delivery… Las Conchas simply didn’t have anything to offer her or her baby to be… And Lucy simply didn’t have access to transportation. Her plan, when the time came, was to take to the bumpy dirt road outside her home and walk until she passed someone who could help. Not long after, we ran into Julio, another man Shalom had provided for in the past. With one of his precious daughters wrapped around his legs, Julio lamented that he no longer had a job and that he was struggling to provide food and fulfill basic needs for his family. Heart-wrenching visits like these passed one by one throughout the day until finally, standing outside a small tin home on a hillside of the Las Conchas community while the nursing team examined another helpless baby girl, I stared down the steep dirt road toward the masses of other small tin houses, and thought to myself that there was simply too much.

Luckily, I had someone there to remind me that miracles happen one by one. And the reminder was well-timed. Today was a day of miracles. I even think I may have contributed to one very special miracle at the clinic that we visited in Las Canoas. The nurses were overjoyed at the bags and bags of medical donations that we brought with us. They dug right into everything, and with great care they organized it all between the two small rooms that functioned as their office and exam room. Their gratitude for the donations was unmistakable. still it wasn’t long before I became aware of a rather large deterrent to their actual ability to use many of the supplies that we were leaving them with: They couldn’t read any of it. In fact, they couldn’t read any of the bottles or instruction sheets for any of the drugs that they had so neatly organized in their cabinets from previous rounds of donations. It was therefore with great honor that I was able to translate the function and dosage information for their entire cabinet. The nurses enthusiastically noted and labeled everything, with their minds undoubtedly full of the many local people that they would now be able to treat with the medicines they had received.

The need here is overwhelming. But with the right mixture of generosity and sharing of skills… perhaps these small miracles can be even more so.

Mission to Guatemala – Day 3

Mission to Guatemala 2012

Click here for photos.

Tuesday May 8th was our third day in Guatemala, and the second day we were out in the community doing work. The team of nurses started the day at the Hospital for the children with infectious diseases and in need of rehabilitation. First we met the nurse director who gave us a tour of the entire hospital, she was amazing and taught us about how they run all of the separate units in the hospital. We were introduced to the pediatricians and the staff nurses and they showed us around each of their respective units and we met some of their patients. The last unit we went to was the intensive care unit. There we were met by the supervising nurse of the ICU where she welcomed us in and we had to wash our hands and get on gowns. We met all of the patients in the ICU and learned their stories. After that we all split up into three groups, one group in the ICU, one in the emergency room and one group taking vital signs in the general admission unit. All of the groups helped take care of patients and worked side by side with the nurses in the hospital. After lunch we left the hospital and went to the university to teach the physical therapy students there CPR and the Heimlich maneuver. Last we went back to the Moore surgery center, to hold a fabulous baby shower for Maria Jose. We had an amazing day and were completely blessed to spend it together helping the children in Guatemala.

OT and PT got to visit the hospital again this morning and worked with the Guatemalan therapists to treat several children.  The therapists seemed happy to see us again this morning and involved us in each treatment session.  My favorite memory from the hospital was working with a little boy named Oscar who is diagnosed with microcephaly and is blind. Oscar doesn’t have proper strength within his trunk in order to sit up straight, so his spine kind of looks like a “c”.  Tamara worked on positioning Oscar to help straighten his spine, but needed a little “something extra” to help involve Oscar in the therapy session. She asked us to start singing and as we did he immediately responded to everything Tamara was doing! It was such a great experience to be involved in something so simple but so monumental for this little boy. Oscar most definitely melted a piece of my heart today.  After the hospital we traveled to the surgery center to see patients. OTs and PTs split into two groups and worked with patients that had previously visited the surgery center. This was a great learning experience and everyone was able to learn more about our disciplines and about how to work together to give the best treatment possible.  We then joined the nursing students for the baby shower and had a fantastic time playing baby shower games and showing love to Maria Jose and her family.  Today was absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to see what else Guatemala has to teach us!

Mission to Guatemala – Day 2

Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Constance Taras

Today was both exhausting and exhilarating. We started off the day at the government hospital in the heart of Guatemala City.   The OT and PT students split into our respective gyms to work with a few of the children scheduled for the day. I broke off with a few other PT students to work with 3 babies in the stimulation room where we observed the mothers learning at home stretches for their children as well as visual stimulation activities. We then were able to take the children into a dark room and work with lights to work on visual tracking and postural control. The child I worked with, Cido, started off with a lag as he was following the blinking glow stick and by the end of the 5 minute exercise was successful able to track with his eyes and head in all directions. The progress, even if just small, was extremely rewarding.

We then moved into the main gym and worked with some of the inpatient clients. These children presented with an array of problems from CP to malnutrition. We worked with the Guatemalan PTs to learn what was already being used to help the children as well as suggesting other activities. I loved the hands on opportunities to work directly with the children implementing techniques learned in school as well as learning new ones along the way. After breaking for lunch, a group of us traveled to the local Physical Therapy school to have a collaborative lab with their students. It was extremely challenging to engage with Spanish speaking students and to collectively come up with activities that could benefit both PTs and OTs. We emphasized the importance of communication and collaboration between the disciplines. It was amazing to see that although communication was difficult we were able to complete the task as a bi-cultural group. The visit to the school ended our work day but left me with an amazing feeling of accomplishment and excitement for the days to come.

More pictures – click here.

 

Mission to Guatemala – Day 1

Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Jennifer Tong and Morgan King

Jennifer:  It was an early start to the morning as we gathered as a team to travel to Guatemala! This has a been a trip that I have been anticipating even before I started PT school at Belmont. The morning was filled with a combination of excitement and exhaustion. We arrived in Guatemala with all of our team members and all of our luggage! We all hopped on a bus and arrived at the pediatrics surgery center to have lunch and tour the facility. Before I talk about the surgery center, I need to mention the streets and the people that I saw. There were people walking everywhere and random booths set up by the locals. The toughest thing to see was the poverty in this country. There were these two children sitting on the sidewalk, holding a cup in their hand, and begging for money. This was just another reminder of how I take everything for granted, especially the things I don’t even think about that like a roof over my head, a bed, food, and water. Now, about the surgery center! This surgery center was built for children who are less fortunate and can’t afford to pay for the necessary surgeries. It was so inspiring to hear about the difference these surgeons were making in lives of so many children in Guatemala. I’m excited to see the difference our team is going to make in the lives of the people in Guatemala this week!

Morgan:  Arrived in Guatemala City around noon to a crowd of individuals waiting behind barriers at the airport (now I know what celebrities feel like). We loaded a school bus and headed to the Surgery Center for lunch and to take a tour of the facility. I was sort of in culture shock at the surgery center because I realized how fortunate we are in the United States to have so many necessities. The surgery center was perfect though for the families in Guatemala. Children’s paintings with bible verses were all over the facility. It was amazing to see the hard work and volunteers that have helped put the center together and make it possible to help families out in Guatemala with surgeries that would never be possible without the help of Shalom. After we left the surgery center, we took a “crazy” bus ride through the city to the Nazarene center. People are walking all over the streets (men, women, children). Let’s just saw I saw my life and other peoples life flash before my eyes with the traffic in Guatemala. Once we arrived at the center we checked in our rooms and all hung out with our team. We got the chance to learn about a lot of our members and talk about the culture shock of the things we saw in Guatemala. Now it’s bed time. Big day tomorrow! Full of exciting events at the Orphanage and local hospital.

Mission to Guatemala – Arrival

Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Tiffany Campbell

Today was our arrival into Guatemala City. After arriving into the airport our whole team was transported by a yellow school  bus to the pediatric Moore Surgery center for lunch and a tour. Driving to the surgery center was nerve wrecking. Traffic rules are more like suggestions here, which is something I personally have never experienced. We received our itinerary for the week, watched a video about the surgery center, and Claudia gave us some words of encouragement for the week. She made it known to us even though we may not be able to speak Spanish, we can smile and give a hug because love is a universal language. After that we were very worn out from getting up so early and flights so we checked in at the Nazarene Seminary where we are staying for the week.

Team Members include: Tamara Garvey, Kelly Brown, Jennifer Tong, Andrea Wheman, Carly Walls, Allison Toole, Lindley Holder, Rachel Haddock, Darcy King, Alison Martin, Amanda Sisco, Morgan King, Aimee Costa, Mary Beth Long, Jami Graham, Constance Taras, Tessa Irwin, Britt Colston, Ashley Ganus, Sheila Robb, Jenna Briggs, Tyler Servedio, Casea Calvert, Tiffany Campbell, Leslie Simmons, Cassandra Goble, Jamie Adam, Natham Adam and Joe Doughty.

College of Pharmacy’s Mission to Guatemala

Several weeks ago, a College of Pharmacy team traveled to Guatemala in partnership with The Shalom Foundation to provide chronic disease screening and general medical care to the residents of the Las Conchas community outside of Guatemala City. Members of the team were second-year pharmacy students Jennifer Corder, Mandy Newman, Marian Roufael, fourth-year pharmacy student Chris McKnight, and pharmacy faculty member, Dr. Rachel Franks (joined on the trip by her husband, Pastor, Dee Franks).

The trip was a powerful experience. As Mandy Newman stated, “Words cannot describe the trip! …Guatemala City and Las Conchas was an amazing experience…  The people of Las Conchas are so happy and thankful for what little they have. They taught me more about life than I could ever teach them about health. My life is forever changed because of them, and I hope to return next year.”

According to Allison Bender, Executive Director of The Shalom Foundation, “Belmont University continues to help us achieve our mission of improving the life of Guatemala’s children. We are blessed to partner with Belmont’s health programs (Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy); these students and faculty bring such gifts and energy to our work.”

L-R Front: Marian Roufael, Jennifer Corder, Ernesto (Translator); L-R Back: Dee & Rachel Franks, Mandy Newman, Victor (Driver)

Mission to Guatemala 2012: Day 1

From Julie and Cassie, OTD Class 2013

Today was our first full day in Guatemala! This morning we woke up excited to see what this day had in store for us. We woke up and had breakfast around 7:00 then left the Nazarene Center at 8:00 to start our day.  First, we went to Los Conchas to visit the Shalom School. There, we visited with all of the classrooms and meet the children, teachers, and principal. After our school visit, we went out into the community and visited with each family in the community. We split up into three different groups to cover each of the sectors that comprises the neighborhood to invite them to the medical clinic that is occurring later this week. Later, we traveled to a feeding program in Guatemala City, called Under the Bridge and it was literally under a bridge. This program focused on children and integrating Bible study and Christianity into the meal and activity. The program currently serves about 40 children and their goal is to reach up to 50 children in the community. This was a great experience and we all enjoyed observing the children interact with one another and participate in the Bible study activity. The children were very appreciative and respectful to one another and the workers who were assisting with the meal. This gave also gave us an opportunity to use our Spanish skills to interact with the children. After the feeding program, we went to the orphanage to visit the twelve children who live there. There, we gave some occupational therapy and physical therapy assessments to the kids and after analyzing the results, offered treatment and intervention activities to the caregivers to best benefit the children. We also played and sang songs with the kids. At the end of the day, we went back to the Nazarene Center, ate dinner, had a worship service, and reflected on our day.

Overall, it was a WONDERFUL day!

Mission to Guatemala Spring Break 2012: We’ve Arrived

from Lacy Little

After a couple of bumpy plane rides, we finally made it! We all piled into a school bus and were treated to sandwiches and yummy banana bread. After much debugging, lysol-ing, and even some lice preventative (eh hem, PTA’s) we rested our tired traveled eyes. Waking up early this morning was worth it because of the BEAUTIFUL sunrise over the Guatemalan hills. Cannot wait to see what today has in store!