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FYE helps with project to aid Haitian earthquake victims
Posted on Thursday, October 28, 2010
By Jerrica Croxson, junior
Friends University’s First Year Experience students and numerous staff and faculty gathered in Casado Campus Center on October19 to support the people of Haiti through the Hospitals of Hope.
The group of 200 to 250 students and staff helped assemble 2,000 first aid kits that the charitable group will send to the earthquake victims.
Hospitals of Hope is a nonprofit medical missions organization based in Wichita. The organization strives to provide accessible healthcare to those in need around the world while spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In January, an earthquake hit Haiti and left 300,000 people dead and more than 1.5 million homeless.
The Hospitals of Hope service project to help Haiti was held in the Casado gymnasium during the regular FYE class meeting time and satisfied the course’s community service credit.
“It was a great opportunity to serve Hospitals of Hope and to benefit the people in Haiti,” said Brett McLaughlin, residential development coordinator of Falcon Glenn and University houses.
Each of the kits was filled with multiple gauze pads, bandages, cotton swabs, alcohol wipes and gloves.
Hospitals of Hope’s goal was 2,000 kits, which the students and staff conquered in less than 20 minutes before running out of supplies.
“I’m sure if there would have been more supplies available, we could have easily doubled the amount of kits we set out to make,” said freshman Maddie Hawn.
More than a million people in Haiti are still without homes, and the areas affected by the earthquake still lie in ruins. The current conditions of the country are unsanitary, and in recent weeks, a cholera epidemic has killed an additional 300 people.
“The Hospitals of Hope representative wanted us to understand that even though we just put together first aid kits that we did actually help make a difference in the world. He also told us a story about a little kid who died in his arms. He explained how they got to him too late, and all he could do was comfort him while he died,” said Kristie Adams, sophomore.
To find out about other opportunities to volunteer -- including mission trips, community service projects and internships -- visit the Hospitals of Hope website at hospitalsofhope.org.