Dear Friends and Family:

I wanted to let you know about a very interesting and rewarding opportunity that I have found for some real world pharmacy experience. As a first year pharmacy student, I am always looking for opportunities to put to use all of the hard work and knowledge gained from my education at Purdue University. I am lucky enough to be participating in a great opportunity with a student organization on my campus that enables me to help others while further developing my own skills in pharmacy. On this service trip I have the chance to personally work with under-resourced communities in Honduras to provide important health care opportunities to which they otherwise would not have access.

This January 3rd through 9th, I will be traveling with a group of about 30 students from Purdue into Honduras with an organization called Global Medical Brigades. Global Medical Brigades is part of the world’s largest student-led health and sustainable development organization called Global Brigades. Each year Global Brigades mobilizes thousands of university students around the world to participate in 9 different skills-based programs to improve the quality of life in under-resourced communities.

Honduras is cited by the World Bank as the 3rd poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti and Nicaragua and has been designated as a priority country by the Pan American Health organization/WHO Strategic Plan. The basic needs of education, health care, and clean water are luxuries for the majority of the people there, and in the rural communities where we will be working, these luxuries are even harder to find. It is highly common for a family of four to live on less than $2.00 a day with less than 3 gallons of water per day available for use.

On my upcoming brigade, I will be working hand-in-hand with doctors, dentists, pharmacists, other students and community members. Since spring 2008, UNC Global Medical Brigades has run over 7 week-long trips to Honduras, treating over 10,500 patients in rural, under-served communities that otherwise would have no access to medical care. Yet this is still barely scratching the surface of what we can do and we are working hard to bring even more aid to those who need it most.

Please join me in supporting the work that I will be doing in the under-served communities in Honduras. Any support you can give will make a tremendous difference. As a donor you are contributing to the sustainability of the Medical Brigades’ work in the communities we are working with. This site is completely secure and all donations are tax-deductible. After you make a donation, you will automatically be emailed a tax receipt. Please let me know if you have any questions about my trip. I sincerely appreciate all of your positive thoughts and support!

Sincerely,

David Wintczak