Armed with antibiotics, scalpels and toothbrushes, a group of 24 students and two DePauw professors boarded a plane on Jan. 4, prepared to fight diseases and promote health education in El Salvador.
Though the group carried upwards of $8,000 in medical supplies, it simply was not enough. After the first day of medical care, the brigade's supplies had been almost completely wiped out.
"What we had was all we had," junior Emily Miller said.
Junior Arezoo Nazari worked as one of the clinic leaders in the medical camp and said the wave of patients that first day overwhelmed the group. She said within the first hour of treating patients over 80 locals lined up for treatments.
"To know that we still had four days after that was eye-opening," Nazari said.
Reflections officer senior Josh Sanchez said after months of requesting and accruing medical supplies the rapid hit to the stockpile came as a shock.
"When I first heard, I was depleted in a sense," Sanchez said. "It was hard to believe that maybe we wouldn't make the impact that we thought we would."
Assistant trip leader senior Katy Strader said the group faced a decision of whether they should take out a loan with their host company, Companion Community Development Alternatives (CoCoDa) or make due with the remaining supplies for the last four days of medical treatment. Strader said the group unanimously agreed to take on the cost, which will be paid off through fundraising, to treat more Salvadoran people.
"Our group wanted to take on that additional responsibility, we wanted to be held accountable by CoCoDa," Strader said.
Junior Lukas Meyer said the individual dues for the additional medical supplies total around $30, but members of the trip hope for a greater outcome.
"We would love to supply more," Meyer said.
Fundraising efforts including tabling at Hoods and Capers bar and The Duck began Thursday night. Students involved with the trip will also be selling papusas, cheesy salvadoran tortillas, tonight at the corner of Anderson and Locust streets.
Bar attendees were greeted Thursday night by photos of patients the students treated in El Salvador as well as Nazari and Miller, who sought donations.
"Look at our kids," Miller said, her face gleaming. "Do you want to see my little sister?"
Strader spent nine out of the past 24 months in El Salvador during four separate service trips and internships. She said she hoped the trip would create a spark in her peers as the experiences caused for her.
"I kind of caught the bug," Strader said. "Not that I got sick, but that I knew I needed to be in Central America."
DePauw alum Ivan Villasboa '93 also felt a similar spark during a Winter Term trip to El Salvador in 1993. During his initial project, students constructed a school building. In the 19 years since, Villasboa has continued work in El Salvador and has worked with DePauw to continue providing opportunities for exchanging cultures.
Junior Sara Drury said Villasboa's leadership and previous work in El Salvador inspired the students.
"You can tell he's so attached to a country and to think that that attachment could take place over the course of one Winter Term is amazing," Drury said.
After touching down in the United States following the trip the students have found a common mission to continue ties to their newly formed ‘families' in El Salvador and to treat more people by sending more medical supplies.
"It's not just about what we did or what we saw in El Salvador," Strader said, "but rather what we do now that we've come back."