41 TAMIU Students Volunteer Spring Break in Nicaragua with Global Medical Brigades

A group of 41 Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) students will travel to Nicaragua this Spring Break to volunteer in medically underserved communities in that country.

The students will represent TAMIU and Laredo as volunteers with Global Medical Brigades, an international non-profit organization that empowers communities to meet their health and economic goals through university volunteers and local teams.  

The group will travel from March 11-19 and will assist Global Medical Brigades physicians and dentists as they provide free medical aid to low-income communities in Nicaragua.

Queabet Pérez, TAMIU senior Biology major and Global Medical Brigades local chapter president, said one of the activities for volunteers is providing educational workshops at communities, where they will teach children how to brush their teeth, wash their hands and eat properly.

“We will also go to people’s homes and build restrooms, showers, and concrete floors as a measure to prevent illnesses,” Pérez said, “Next, we will assist in creating a water system in communities by digging trenches and laying down plumbing pipes.”

TAMIU students have traveled as volunteers with Global Medical Brigades since 2015, Pérez said.

“We had 11 students participate the first year,” she said, “That number grew to 19 the next year, then to 25, and this year, we have 41 students traveling.”

The growth in volunteer participation can be attributed to students sharing their stories with their peers upon their return from their trips, Pérez said.

“I think once you become a global citizen and experience service abroad, it impacts you in such a way that you come back and share your story with other students,” she said, “That in turn, empowers other students to do the same.”

Pérez said she is glad students are able to serve communities through TAMIU and Global Medical Brigades.

“I think it’s amazing that we as undergraduate students and volunteers can realize that we are capable of doing more,” she said, “Although we are just students, it’s a unique learning experience and it helps us appreciate what we have here.”

For more information, please contact Mayra Hernández, TAMIU Global Medical Brigades advisor, at 956.326.2288, email mghernandez@tamiu.edu or visit offices located in Student Center, room 226D.