海角视频

A group of 海角视频 students and staff spent a week providing medical care and health information to villagers along the Amazon River鈥攑art of a medical service trip in conjunction with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Brazil, August 21-29. The trip continued a recent increase in focus on humanitarian service at the college.

The group traveled along the Amazon River aboard a boat, the Luzeiro 26, stopping in the remote villages which line the river. The Luzeiro 26 is one of ADRA鈥檚 river boats dedicated to reaching the villagers in the interior Amazon Basin in Brazil. 

With the help of local professionals, the group set up medical clinics for villagers to consult with a physician or receive dental care. They also conducted medical screenings, health presentations, workshops, and expos to aid the communities in preventing future medical issues. The educational programs make a notable impact in the locals鈥� lives, explains Fabio Maia, service and missions coordinator at 海角视频.

鈥淭he problems you see in these communities are the same,鈥� says Maia. 鈥淎 lot of the people are dehydrated because they don鈥檛 drink enough water and they sweat like crazy鈥攊t鈥檚 100 degrees and 100 percent humid, so people complain about headaches all the time. Talking about water helped them understand they should be drinking more water.鈥�

The trip鈥檚 focus on health care and education made it an especially attractive option for students in the health sciences to gain valuable field experience working under consummate medical professionals. 

鈥淭his was my first mission trip so I was pretty excited,鈥� says Bianca Tolan, a sophomore pre-med biology student from Yorba Linda, Calif. 鈥淚 wanted to get experience in the medical field to make sure that was what I wanted to do. At first I was debating between dentistry and medicine but I鈥檓 definitely going into medicine now.鈥�

鈥淚 felt like I was actually doing something worthwhile,鈥� Tolan adds. 鈥淚t was great playing with the children, experiencing the culture and trying new foods. It was just a feeling of satisfaction鈥攎eaningfully helping people out [and] meeting them.鈥� 

This summer鈥檚 trip is only the first planned to the region as PUC aims to build a lasting relationship with the communities along the river, Maia explains. An additional trip is planned for spring break as a service learning project for a biology class.