Six UF students spent their Winter Break working at medical clinics in Lima, Peru.
The students traveled from Dec. 17 to Dec. 25 with the UF chapter of the Medicine, Education, and Development for Low-Income Families Everywhere organization, or MEDLIFE.
They volunteered at mobile medical clinics in the outskirts of the South American city, working to give free health care to villagers.
The organization spreads good will to different locations every semester. They have previously volunteered in Ecuador and Cusco, Peru.
Rachna Patel, UF MEDLIFE’s president, went with the group to Cusco in Spring 2016. On the latest trip, volunteers who went to Lima helped set up medical stations — including including dental, pharmacy and obstetric gynecologist tables — at the clinics.
The UF biochemistry and economics senior said the teeth-brushing station was her favorite one.
“A lot of these younger kids don’t know how to brush their teeth, and it causes a lot of problems in later life,” the 21-year-old said. “So what we do is we teach them how to brush their teeth, and we give them fluoride, and we have a little song that we do with them.”
Volunteers also handed out free medicine to patients at a pharmacy station, she said.
Patel said 64 students attended the trip in Spring 2016. She expects a similar number to attend this Spring when they travel to Nicaragua and back to Cusco.
Raul Fagundez, the organization’s vice president and the trip director, said going to Peru was his third time volunteering.
Fagundez, a 20-year-old UF biology junior, said it was not easy spending Christmas away from his family, but he hopes his sacrifice helped someone receive medication or learn how to treat a fatal disease they could have.
“It’s an opportunity cost that you have to pay to help somebody else,” Fagundez said.
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From left: Lawrence Cai, Kristina Goodwin, Raul Fagundez, AJ Kerwin, Olivia Menze and Lyanna Powell pose in Lima, Peru on their volunteering trip during Winter Break. The group volunteered their time with UF's chapter of MEDLIFE to provide free healthcare to villages in the outskirts of the city.
