States chapter of MMI shut down. During this time, a colleague, Michael Mastroianni, had raised enough money to start building an elementary school in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. With the disappointment that we would have to cancel all future medical service trips to Honduras, Mike actively took it upon himself to turn his project into a non-profit organization. Action for Education (AcE) was established and we planned our first visit as a new team for the summer of 2016, just shortly after many of us graduated. With great success, Action for Education has now supported 7 medical service trips to many remote areas of Honduras and continues to support the education of many children at our school in San Pedro Sula.
Tell me about your experience.
This most recent trip in June 2019 took our team to the San Manuel region of Honduras for one week. We conducted a mobile primary clinic that also offered both vision and dental services. At each new site, we set up our clinic in either a local school or church. We worked closely with medical personnel from Honduras, other medical students from Tufts University, the medical school our founder now attends, as well as undergraduate Holy Cross students. Each day we cycled through the different roles of working at the triage station and obtaining vitals, filling prescriptions in the pharmacy, taking histories as a provider, and reviewing prescriptions with patients upon their departure along with obtaining a brief survey from them. Some of the most common issues that we frequently saw in the clinic were headaches, parasite infections, gastritis, dehydration, asthma, malnutrition, diabetes, hypertension, the common cold, etc. On this mission, we served roughly 1500 patients and filled nearly 2700 prescriptions over the course of the week.
What are some moments that stood out for you?
At the end of one evening during my first mission trip to Honduras, I was playing hopscotch with a boy that we treated while he was waiting for this mother. His mom approached soon after picking up their prescriptions from our pharmacy. I mentioned how they must be looking forward to going home now, with the basic Spanish that I knew. She smiled and responded that they had a four-hour walk home. I paused for a moment, realizing that they walked for four hours to receive care at our clinic. This family had to wait in line all day to be seen, and then make the return trip home starting at 7 PM. All I could do was offer her a large hug and wish them a safe walk home. This encounter has stuck with me since, especially anytime I have to wait to be seen by a health care provider after having driven myself a short way to the appointment. As a future provider, this humbling moment will help me to be mindful of the social background of the patients I have the privilege of meeting.
Nicole Parentela, COM '22
How did you become involved in AcE?
When I was an undergraduate student at the College of the Holy Cross I was intrigued by the opportunity to provide medical relief to those in Central America. Being a pre-medical student with a small background in Spanish, I applied for the program and was accepted to attend my first trip during the summer before my junior year. The program, Medical Ministry International (MMI), had a long-standing relationship with our institution, and sent students to Corquin Copan, Honduras each year with other medical staff from the United States. We served families from very rural areas locally, to those who heard about our clinic by word of mouth and walked for miles to receive care. This initial trip solidified my passion for global health. Shortly into my senior year at the college, the United