A medical mission to Honduras opened students' eyes to the range of fields their education was preparing them for, and to the depth of need for their skills.

And the students saw. "Learning more about the healthcare in Honduras has given me a broader perspective about the world. I hope that as an aspiring optometrist I may use this knowledge to find the place the Lord is calling me to work," said April Fujihara.

"After taking this trip, I feel motivated to continue with a medical career," added Immanuel Jacquez. "I could see that there is always a need for medical assistance, and the strongest personal reward is when we are helping those that are the weakest."

(Ruth Dahlquist, Karen Cianci, David Fujihara, Immanuel Jacquez and April Fujihara)

Immanuel, April and David Fujihara spent 10 days in Honduras in May with Ruth Dahlquist, biology faculty, and Karen Cianci, dean of the School of Natural Sciences. Based in the city of San Pedro Sula, the group traveled to a plantation, a hospital, a state orphanage, a Christian orphanage and rural clinics. Activities included teaching CPR (cardio-pulmonary respiration) and first aid and giving worming treatments. "The focus was on medicine broadly construed," Cianci said.

The goals of the trip were to give the students a global perspective, an awareness of public health and other fields and experience that will serve their local practice. "To be able to come back to the Valley with new eyes; to not just practice medicine in your own little corner, but to see how you can affect healthcare," Cianci said.

Students asked for a trip and Cianci asked Dahlquist to organize the effort. Dahlquist contacted Mennonite Central Committee and several other organizations. The group worked with the MAMA Project (Mujeres Amigas [Women Friends] Miles Apart) started by MCC and now locally run.

The people at MAMA were a highpoint for David Fujihara. "We had the opportunity to be around these amazing people for our entire stay. They were very kind and generous to us in every way imaginable. It was great to see and experience the love of Christ through believers who live across the globe," he said.

The idea for CPR and first aid training came from Jim Ave, kinesiology faculty, who trained the college students.

The trip fit Dahlquist perfectly. While she grew up in Kingsburg, her mother had been a missionary kid in Guatemala. Dahlquist has been to Guatemala several times and Honduras twice. She did her doctorate in Costa Rica and her area of research is sustainable tropical agriculture. "I thought it would be a good way to use my experience in the tropics," she said. "I like leading people through that experience."

Cianci hopes to make the trip an annual event. Destinations and activities could differ, while keeping the focus on medicine. While many strong students with a sense of vision study medicine, Cianci said, there is also a solid core of good students who could go into related fields, such as public health or cooperative extension programs. "Just to expose them to the needs and show their science background has value," she said.

The School of Natural Sciences welcomes donations of supplies or money to future medical mission trips. Email ruth.dahlquist@fresno.edu.

This article was written by Wayne Steffen and originally published in Pacific, November 2009.