Student Reflects on Medical Mission Trip

            This past summer I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Ethiopia on a medical mission trip. I first heard about the trip through my professor, Marilyn Daly, and was excited to find out that we would be working together in the village of Sendafa.  The mission trip was organized through Living Word Community Church in Red Lion, Pa., and was 10 days long. The mission team of about 30 people included two family physicians, one anesthesiologist, three ophthalmologists, one general surgeon and four nurses. Any non-medical people on the trip made up the “village team”, working with the children in the village and lending aid to the community. I was fortunate enough to work with both the village team and the medical team during the trip.

            During the mornings I helped Professor Daly teach the children of Sendafa about health and hygiene. Our theme “Clean Hands Help Keep You Healthy” was taught in many ways, including stories, hand-washing demonstrations, coloring activities and even some songs. By the end of the week, the children really understood the importance of keeping hands clean to prevent disease. We even witnessed them sharing the lessons with their parents at home. We hoped that by educating the children, knowledge would spread to the entire village and help to ease some of the sanitation problems that are so prevalent.

            My afternoons consisted of assisting the doctors in the medical clinic. It was astounding to see the amount of people lined up to see the doctors every day. Many of the people we treated had never even seen a doctor before. I helped the ophthalmologists perform cataract surgeries and was able to witness people who were once blind from cataracts having their sight restored. I also assisted the general surgeon with surgeries such as cyst removals and hernia repairs. Since I plan on applying to medical school, this experience was priceless and I was so thankful for the opportunity to serve others and learn so much at the same time.

            The ten days in Ethiopia were the fastest, most eye-opening and most meaningful days of my life. Although most of the people I met had close to nothing in material possessions, they were truly happy. The beauty of the Ethiopian people shined through their kindness and love. They placed value on faith, family and friends before anything else. To see the way the people of Ethiopia live each day really made me aware of our materialism here in the United States. Ethiopians may be the poorest people in the world according to our values, but they are enormously rich in spirit. One of the most important lessons I learned this summer was not to take anything for granted. It was truly a privilege to connect with and serve the people of Ethiopia, and I hope I can make it back to Sendafa soon.

             By Ellen Hoyt ’10 (Belvidere, N.J.), Nuclear Medicine Technology Major

             Click here to see more photos of Ellen’s trip.