Jan. 25, 2012
For Immediate Release
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| CU School of Nursing students prepare injections at a medical clinic on a mission trip to Haiti. From left are: Debra Simpson of Russell Springs, Ky.; Brittni Corbin, a Dec. 2011 graduate of Columbia, Ky.; and Courtney Keller of Angola, Ind. (Photo Submitted) |
By Christina L. Kern, office assistant
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.— Campbellsville University’s School of Nursing’s faculty, students and friends served 2,125 people in four days of clinics on a medical mission trip to Haiti over the university’s Christmas break.
The team of 26 people served clinics which consisted of several stations, according to Hannah White, a nursing student from Hodgenville, Ky. She said stations included “prayer where we would pray for their specific needs and share the Gospel.”
In triage the team took vitals like blood pressure, pulse, temperature, etc. and then the Haitians would meet with a doctor who would write a prescription if needed. The pharmacy was run by a Haitian pharmacist, but the team bought all the medicine.
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| Erin Martin, a Dec. 2011 graduate of CU’s School of Nursing program from Campbellsville, holds Mackenzie, a Haitian boy she and her husband hope to adopt. (Photo submitted) |
After visiting the pharmacy, the team would give injections if the doctor said it was needed. The last station was gifts where the team gave away toothbrushes, shirts, food, toys and flip-flops.
While the clinic was going on, other team members worked with children’s ministry. Sarah Fletcher, a biology major from Russell Springs, Ky., said, “The children were priceless, beautiful and just the sweetest children you could hope to meet.”
While playing with the children, Fletcher said a child’s eyes “lit up” when he put a Tootsie Roll in his mouth, something that is not a big deal to Americans.
In another clinic, Fletcher sat with a little girl while a translator asked the children in Creole: “Who do you love? Do you love Jesus?” Fletcher said the little girl in her lap “squished my face asking me if I loved Jesus and knew him. She has known me for a very short time but was concerned if I know God and who He is.”
Fletcher said seeing the joy in the Haitian people with what little they have has “made me realize how much I have been given and how I should be more joyful every day.”
White came to a similar conclusion when the team visited a poor community where people lived in huts and tents. When the team arrived, children came running and were so happy to see them. “They had nothing but were such happy people,” White said.
This was White’s second trip to Haiti and she said she realized “just how blessed I really am. It’s almost embarrassing how much I have and how little these people have, and they are probably happier than I ever will be.”
Also during their trip, the team fed over 500 Haitian children rice and beans during one day of clinical. Angie Atwood, instructor in nursing, said, “We merely donated our time, smiles and unconditional love — exactly what those children requested from us.”
Erin Martin, a December 2011 graduate of CU’s School of Nursing from Campbellsville, Ky., has been to Haiti with the School of Nursing two years in a row. Last year she said she “fell in love with this little boy named Mackenzie.” This year, she and her husband have begun the process of adopting Mackenzie.
Another Campbellsville University team of five students traveled to Arlington, Texas over Christmas break to serve in Mission Arlington’s Christmas store helping needy families pick out Christmas gifts for children and sharing the Gospel with them.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master’s degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.