There were hundreds of people waiting in line for medical treatment and some of them, she learned later, had been waiting for several days.
"As we got out of the van, they cheered and clapped, as if we were celebrities," she said.
But Sarah didn't feel like a celebrity. She was nervous and not sure if she had the skills needed to help so many people. But a few days later, as she stood on a dirt floor comforting a little boy whose entire family was suffering from malaria, all her doubts and insecurities vanished. Just knowing how much she was needed allowed her to put everything she had learned to good use with skill and compassion.
"I didn't have time to feel scared or insecure. Those people needed us. We were all they had," said Sarah.
Sarah and her classmates worked tirelessly for five days straight, visiting a different village every day
and tending to almost 1,000 patients. Their very first patient, who was left unable to walk after suffering from polio, somehow managed to get to the clinic by crawling. After he received medical care and a new wheelchair, the gratitude and appreciation he expressed was so touching, it motivated and inspired Sarah to want to help as many patients as possible.
"The poverty that surrounded each city was devastating, but the bright smiles on each face was humbling," said Sara.
And to think this life-changing experience almost didn't happen.
The study-abroad trip was originally supposed to be to Nicaragua, but just a few days before they were scheduled to leave, the trip had to be cancelled because political unrest in the country made it unsafe to travel there. After months of raising money for travel expenses and medical supplies, the students were devastated.
But they were determined to make the trip a reality, and when they learned about an alternative trip to Uganda that would cost more than what they had raised, they turned to the TTC Foundation for help. As a result, and with the assistance of the Trident Opportunity Fund, the students were able to embark on their transformational journey.
Sarah returned home and resumed her classes at Trident Technical College with a deep appreciation for her own life and complete certainty about the path she had chosen.
She said, "The people that we helped were so grateful, but I felt like I should be thanking them. The experience helped me grow as a person and learn that I will, in fact, be a great nurse. When people say that you'll leave a part of your heart in Africa, it is so true."
What a touching story! Thank you for sharing. What organization was Sarah apart of?
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