College Spring Break is a time for students to relax and take a break from their busy schedule, but this year, eight Ball State University students headed down to Guatemala to provide medical care for those in need.
Matt LaFlash, senior pre-medicine and Spanish major, said the Timmy Foundation, a non-profit organization out of Indianapolis, sponsored the trip, which lasted from March 10 to March 17 and included five professionals, including a pharmacist and lawyer. The students represent the Ball State collegiate chapter of the foundation, he said.
LaFlash said the group went to help the people recover from Hurricane Stan.
"It was incredible to make a difference," he said.
Junior dietetics major Sarah Henkes said the group worked Monday through Friday from around 6:30 a.m. until afternoon, seeing a total of 500 patients, all in a school building two hours from the group's hotel.
The symptoms of the patients varied from colds to parasites to upper respiratory infections, she said, and the average patient was school age.
Freshman nursing major Angela Rorick said she experienced some culture shock the first few days but soon got past it. She said Guatemala is a country filled with poverty, but the people are still thankful for what they have.
"They work so hard and they live in horrible conditions, but they don't complain," she said.
LaFlash said the poverty in the United States is more hidden than in Guatemala.
"You drive down roads in Guatemala and see children working in the fields instead of being in school because they have to work for their families," he said.
Patients were grateful for the hygiene kits filled with items such as shampoo, fluoride, body wash, toothpaste and lotion the students handed out, Rorick said.
"There would be the little girls who would open the kits up and smell the soaps and giggle," she said.
Despite the hard work, Henkes said the trip motivated her.
"It gives me the drive to pursue a professional program where I can make a difference in the lives of the 'invisible children,'" she said.
Rorick said she had a blast, mainly because she saw people who were poor but still happy. LaFlash said the trip made him grateful for the freedom he and others have here in the United States. Some examples are little things like drinking water out of the faucet and eating without worrying about the food making you sick, he said.
Guatemala is beautiful but needs a lot of work, Henkes said, so she is proud she was able to help.
This is the third medical trip the Ball State chapter has made with the Timmy Foundation, LaFlash said, and the chapter is looking forward to continuing the partnership.
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