They don’t have diplomas or a nursing license, but Jackson area students Katy Handevidt and Rebekah Anderson are bringing what they do have to an impoverished place in Guatemala: some medical knowledge and willing hearts.
The two locals are among a group of nine nursing students at Fairmont’s Presentation College who are planning to spend their spring break teaching, passing out medications and giving away toothbrushes and other self-care items.
“I think it’ll be a life-changing experience for all of us, especially around Christmas time when we’re realizing how much we do have and then to be around people who have nothing,” Anderson said.
The March 6-14 trip will take the group to Guatemala City via airplane and then a two- to three-hour drive to a smaller city.
“We’re going to the dump,” Anderson said.
“I think it’s really poor,” Handevidt added. “I think we’re going to a dump because that’s where people live.”
“… And (where they) try to find food,” Anderson added.
The students are teaming up with non-profit and non-denominational mission organization Hearts In Motion to provide the outreach and teaching. Hearts In Motion has been sending groups to Guatemala since 1990, providing culturally respectful care and medical treatment.
And while some nursing programs require such a trip as part of their curriculum, Presentation College does not. The college is facilitating, but not supporting, the trip. Nevertheless the group of juniors has banded together around the idea.
“We have our own little family,” Anderson said of her classmates. A third of the total class is planning to go.
“It’s our time, our money, our effort,” she said. “We’re giving instead of receiving.”
The trip was originally the idea of a classmate, and planning accelerated when classes started in the fall. The students are seeking to raise $20,000 for the group, with $5,000 of that by Jan. 1. So far the group has approximately $3,000.
“Whatever we can do to raise money, we’ll pretty much do,” Anderson said.
The students are taking a collection of toys at the college and are accepting any kinds of donations, from toys to toothbrushes and over-the-counter medications, all of which will be shipped ahead of the trip.
They are visiting a Jackson church this weekend to serve baked goods and have more efforts in the works.
Donations can be made to Presentation College, Attn: Traci Lardy, 115 S. Park St., Suite 117, Fairmont, MN 56031. An appreciation presentation will be given to donors following the trip.
“This is something I’d like to keep doing throughout my life — whether or not it’s in Guatemala — helping underprivileged people,” said Handevidt, who has been on a trip to Mexico in the past. “If it’s anything like how poor it was in the Mazatlan area, it will be interesting. People don’t have resources.”
Already the effort has generated interest in others at Presentation College.
“I’ve heard a lot of people in the class under us talk about it and be really excited about it,” Anderson said. “There’s definitely an interest there from others.”
