Baylor University Student Organizations Serve In Guatemala
Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-710-6275
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WACO, Texas (April 9, 2018) — Students with three Baylor University organizations — a residential college, future medical professionals and nutritionists — visited Guatemala over spring break to serve in their communities.
The teams were among 14 groups of nearly 250 students, faculty and staff who served in seven countries in early March. Each team had a discipline-specific focus to their missions, actively integrating their faith with service and learning. They were able to use their academic perspective and passions to approach challenges and solutions in Guatemala.
The Honors Residential College partnered with Potter's House, an organization that works with people who live around the Guatemala City trash dump. Senior Jordan Millhollin said they witnessed an incredible level of poverty and human suffering. Neighborhoods of houses were made from tin and scraps of cinder blocks and piles of trash lining the street were sorted by workers hoping to sell the scraps for a little bit of cash.
Millhollin said his greatest takeaway from the trip was to find hope.
“It would have been very easy to view all of this and lose hope for the people of Guatemala City and specifically for the neighborhoods that we were working in, but Potter's House does such incredible work encouraging, empowering and educating their neighbors that it was clear that there was hope in that area,” Millhollin said. “The most significant thing that we witnessed was human suffering balanced by heavenly hope.”
Baylor’s American Medical Student Association partnered with Global Community-Health-Evangelism (CHE) Enterprises, who provided medical doctors to work alongside them in a makeshift clinic in the village of Tacajalve, Guatemala. In four days, they saw more than 500 people of all ages.
“As a nurse, I was excited to work with pre-med and other student members of AMSA,” said Jeanne Carey, M.Ed., BSN, lab manager at Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing. “I thought this would be an excellent way to highlight the benefits of inter-professional and interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare.”
When students arrived on the first day of clinic, they discovered that someone had donated hundreds of prescription eyeglasses to Global CHE to distribute to those in need.
“It was amazing to see the faces light up when we finally found the pair of glasses that allowed the person to see more clearly,” Carey said. “One little boy, about the age of 7, exclaimed ‘I see light now!’ and it was fun watching him run around exploring with his new glasses.”
Carey said her greatest takeaway from the trip was for her and her students to be present in the moment and do everything they could now.
“Never underestimate the impact of one – one person, one group, one week, one smile, one kind word, one hug, one pair of glasses ... one YES,” Carey said.
Nutrition students in Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences spent time working with the nutrition programs of Mission Guatemala, teaching sixth, seventh and eighth graders how to utilize the food and equipment they have available to make nutritious meals.
“We introduce them to the kinds of food we know are healthy so they can go home and help their families,” said Suzy Weems, Ph.D., professor of nutrition sciences. “Sometimes it’s just fun to learn something different when you’re that age and acquire new skills. Food is also a great way to experience new cultures.”
Students worked with children on making smoothies utilizing the fresh fruit they had and adding powdered milk with protein. They also made pudding using fresh berries and main dishes using beans like stir fry.
The trip provided a two-way learning experience as the children did some teaching of their own. Children in Guatemala are generally handy with knives because they learn how to chop and dice early in life. Children showed Baylor students how to make tortillas and other foods they have regularly and how to add spice.
“Children are children no matter where they are. They have the same wants, needs and excitement to learn new things,” Weems said.
Although these organizations traveled to serve in many different ways, the one thing they had in common was that God used the very people they came to serve to inspire them.
“God works in mysterious and wonderful ways no matter where we are. He creates opportunities for us to learn through places and experiences we don’t expect,” Weems said. “This trip is an awesome opportunity for people to go without preformed ideas so they have the opportunity to learn and share.”
by Joy Moton , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.