I am currently majoring in biological sciences at Arizona State University. This is my first time accompanying the Humanity First Gift of Sight team to Guatemala, and as a volunteer, I hope to assist with patient care and lend a helping hand where ever I can. I joined the Gift of Sight team in order to volunteer my time for a great cause and to witness the immediate impact physicians can have on a community lacking proper healthcare.
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Education, to this day has consumed 16 years of my life. After recently graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology as a Pre-Med hopeful, I realized that four more years remain to complete two decades of learning for my professional pursuit. Shortly thereafter, I began to recollect how much of that decade and a half was spent in the service of others. After all, service to those in need is the most rudimentary aspect of practicing medicine. Surely I couldn’t be satisfied with two years of hospital volunteering, a year of laboratory research, and three months of physician shadowing. I was anxiously awaiting more opportunities to serve when Dr. Ahsan Khan enlightened me about the annual Gift of Sight Mission by Humanity First. Although this will be the first time traveling abroad for clinical exposure, I couldn’t have found a better opportunity to learn more about what I would practice throughout my professional life. As a volunteer, I hope to offer any and all services for the success of this trip and absorb all that I can regarding sumed 16 years of my life. After recent… humanitarian service. At the end of the day, the intrinsic satisfaction from service to humanity trumps any monetary reward.
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Support the Gift of Sight team and make a contribution today — any amount can make a difference.
Since it’s inception in January 2010, Humanity First Guatemala has been working actively to alleviate suffering and improve quality of life for Guatemalans in need. Executive Director David Gonzalez has been with the organization from the start, and under his leadership, has seen the second successful year of the Gift of Sight eye clinic, The Water for Life initiative - with over 100 wells built and more to come, as well as Tropical storm Disaster Relief. David Gonzalez looks forward to HF Guatemala’s upcoming computer labs as well as additional and expanded medical clinics and services.
What was gained through this trip in life experience and personal growth, let alone occupational skills and actual field work, is incomparable. I was one of few blessed with the opportunity to be a component of this phenomenal Gift of Sight mission team.
For me, this trip grew from a seemingly random phone call from half way across the country. I decided to take the initiative and contact the amazing doctor whom i would come to not only know as a colleague and team mate but as a great mentor, Ahsan Khan. This formidable, though humble man, was the head of the care of over 100 patients. I cannot forget Dr. Amna who taught me how to read - an eye chart, that is, and Dr. Saqib, who took the time to teach me how to take excellent care of patients before surgery. From the very hard work and dedication of the entire team and the indefatigable director of Humanity First Guatemala, “Don David”, I was able to see the immense gratitude from the people we helped. One patient, for example, just barely emerged from the influence of the anesthesia before beginning to express her thankfulness to the team.
All praise belongs to God for permitting me to be a witness to such beauty in the field of work, in the country, the people, and in helping others merely for the sake of service.
We’ve begun our second Gift of Sight eye camp in Guatemala. The venue has moved to the remote town of Chichicastenango, which is about two hours outside of Guatemala City. There are also many new faces on the team this year as only three members of the 2010 team have returned. What hasn’t changed, however, is the overwhelming sense of purpose and gratification gained from helping the wonderful people of Guatemala.
Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to meet Maria Panchal Sequez, an elderly 79 year-old Mayan woman who traveled to our clinic from a remote village. I first noticed her as I was walking past the long lines of patients waiting to be seen at Proyecto Salud y Paz. She seemed frail and was wearing a bright violet Mayan blouse. Maria had a dense white cataract in her right eye which was clearly visible from afar. She was accompanied by her husband, Miguel, a tall, thin, sun-tanned man with deep wrinkles on his face, donning a sombrero and an old over-worn Boston Celtics sweatshirt. He stared at me without expression, perhaps because he wasn’t sure if he should trust me (or perhaps because he somehow knew I was a Lakers fan).
Maria couldn’t see me well as I greeted her, but expressed her gratitude in her own Quichean dialect. Through a translator, we explained her need for cataract surgery. She was eager to see again and expressed her excitement. But I couldn’t erase the obvious concern on Miguel’s face. He appeared reluctant, but stood by Maria’s side throughout the entire process.
Maria’s cataract surgery, though challenging and longer than usual, was a success. She left the clinic with a patch on her eye and returned with her husband this morning. As we took the patch off, she opened up her eye and began reading letters, probably for the first time in a long time. The smile on her face was unforgettable. I embraced her as she expressed her gratitude and thanked her for her cooperation and trust. Best of all, Miguel finally cracked a grin too. But he was still wearing that old Celtics sweatshirt. Now if I could only get him to see the light.
Since we are headed to Guatemala is a few hours, now would probably be a good time to introduce myself properly. This year’s mission to Guatemala will be my first experience with the Gift of Sight program and I will be joining the team as the photographer and blogger. I have been working with Humanity First for a few years now; I began volunteering locally in Chicago while I was an undergraduate student at Loyola University of Chicago, and later, I helped organize the annual Walk for Humanity in Chicago for a few years. I also manage the updates on official social media outlets for Humanity First, USA. I currently work in finance, but I have always had an interest in health care issues. Volunteering with the Gift of Sight team is not only giving me the chance to be a part of a great cause, but it is also a way for me to gain more hands-on exposure to global health issues, which is relevant to my future education plans in global health management and policy.
A few of the team members are already in Guatemala, and the rest of us will be joining them tomorrow. We have an early flight out of Houston in the morning, so it’s time for me to catch up on my sleep. Keep an eye on our tweets throughout the upcoming week at @HFUSA to follow the Gift of Sight team as we help put humanity first!
