Lee Medical Mission

How the University Team served communities in Honduras

CLEVELAND, Tenn.– Lee University is reflecting on their recent trip to Honduras, where twelve students along with faculty traveled to Rio Viejo this past June.

While there, students were given hands-on experience in the medical field, assisting local physicians with various kinds of treatment. Along with this, they were also granted a broader sense of what the world outside the US actually looks like.

“The first thing they notice is themselves, and how different they are from the culture they are visiting,” said Lee director of Global Perspectives, Dr. Jeffery Sargent. “But what they find over time is that the more they engage with the culture, that the culture is not as different as they thought that the culture was. And so what they learn is that the ‘other’ is not quite the ‘other’ anymore. The ‘other’ is just like me.”

Another perspective is that of student Johnathan West, an incoming freshman to Lee in the fall. West spoke highly of the experience, noting how not only did the team work well together as a unit, but how it opened their eyes to the struggles other across the globe may face.

“They [fellow students] gained a lot of perspective I would say, and a lot of using their knowledge. I guess that is the best way I could put it.”

The Lee team brought with them more than 22 totes of medicine and medical supplies, as well as approximately 400 pairs of prescription eyes glasses. This will stand to be roughly 1/3 of the “jungle hospital”‘s supplies for the year.