Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER - While many students were taking trips to exotic places to study and have fun, Julie Brown was in an exotic place studying and saving lives.
Brown, a junior biology/chemistry major at Manchester College, traveled to Mulukuku, Nicaragua, in January to take part in a medical practicum with nine other students.
"I saw this trip as opportunity to serve in a meaningful way," said Brown, a 1993 graduate of Wawasee High School.
The trip to Mulukuku was an experience in itself. Group members had to carry their luggage along with duffel bags of medical supplies to the bus that took them to their hotel.
The hotel, which was luxurious by Nicaraguan standards, had toilets and running water, but no warm water or showers.
After staying in the hotel three days, the students were off to Mulukuku. They loaded into a cattle truck with no seats for the 12-hour trip to the secluded village.
The village was dark when Brown and the others arrived. The people of the village gathered around the truck to welcome their guests.
"It was magical. The night was so clear! You never see stars like that here," recalled Brown.
The next morning Brown began her experience at the medical clinic where she would spend the rest of her trip.
An average day at the clinic consisted of treating severely ill patients under the supervision of a doctor. Brown worked predominantly with women and children from early in the morning until after the sun went down.
"It was the most amazing thing I have ever done medically," she said.
She was allowed to practice many skills that only doctors are allowed to use in the United States. She performed pelvic exams, gave shots, sutured wounds, and even delivered a baby.
"It was very gratifying work," she said.
Along with learning medical skills, Brown learned an important lesson.
"I learned what poverty was. I felt what poverty was. I lived in poverty. You can never understand poverty until you have lived in it. It was definitely a life-changing experience," she said.
One patient that greatly affected Brown was a 16-month-old boy named Jose who was brought to the clinic by his mother. Jose weighed 12 pounds and was severely malnourished. The clinic did not have the facilities to take care of Jose, and he was transported to another hospital, where he died.
"It was very frustrating to know that there was nothing we could do to save him," she said.
Brown added that it is very hard to be apathetic after seeing the conditions in which others live.
"This was definitely a life-changing experience," said Brown. The trip had a tremendous effect on her life because she learned about the lives of others, the situations of others, and the importance of the efforts of just one person.
