Most students at the College of Wooster would not consider a box of Band-aids to be a luxury item. In fact, many students on this campus have their own first aid kit sitting in their room for mending the occasional cuts and wounds. Yet, to some, a first aid kit is a luxury.
This spring break, Jennifer Moreland, a communications professor, will be traveling to Honduras with 29 other adults in the health field for a global health project. The project, started 12 years ago by Dr. Kathleen Stone of Ohio State, will be serving 600 families in the disadvantaged desert community of Choluteca.
“The purpose [of this trip] is to provide about 1,000 Hondurans with medical service –basic care, some acute care, and [to] educate them on basic health practice,” said Moreland. The professor is in charge of educating the community about first aid kits and basic knowledge about the cold and flu.
The group is planning on bringing medical supplies and pharmaceuticals with them to donate to the villagers. “[The Hondurans] wouldn’t have access to [these supplies] and probably can’t afford them,” added Moreland.
To help advocate for the Hondurans, Moreland is trying to get the College involved through her Health Communication class.
“Since the class is health communication, I wanted to do some type of campaign. What better way to get them involved in something that I am doing right now?” said Moreland.
“We are working as a class to gather the supplies and make first aid kits,” said Kaitlyn Fries ’15, a member of the class.
The class split themselves into groups to try and find the most effective way to gather supplies. Some groups are focusing on raising the supplies through donations, others through Greek Life involvement or other campus organizations.
“We hope to create over 100 kits that Dr. Moreland will take on her trip,” said Dana Feit 13. Her group is collecting donations the items at the UG every Friday during Dance Party. “Any student who donates an item will have his or her $1 cover charge waived,” she added.
Besides the kits the students are collecting plastic bags with a zipper locks, Band-Aids, rubbing alcohol pads and medical tape. “These are all really basic items that we all have and take for granted” said Moreland.
The group hopes to enable her to pass out the donated first aid kits to every family in the village, a program service they have never done before. “The little things that don’t seem like a big deal to us are huge to them,” said Fries. “It is important to do these kind of things because it gives us an opportunity to try and make a difference.”