Group will spend break working with immigrants

While most IU students will be using spring break to catch up on relaxation, a group of IU students and the IU Timmy Foundation will spend their spring break in the Caribbean.\nBut they won’t just be enjoying the sun and beaches. They will be working with Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic and rural communities in Honduras.\nGoing to the Dominican Republic and working with Haitian immigrants who have no access to health care can be overwhelming, said IU biology major Kelley Bond.\n“You find yourself staring sometimes,” admitted Bond, a senior.\nCaitlin Dugdale, a senior majoring in biology, English and French, said the clinics they staff are pretty low-tech and the doctors in the clinics are virtually “working out of the bag.” As a result, they are limited to using supplies and equipment that do not rely on electricity. \nThe Timmy Foundation was created by a doctor who felt that every child in the world deserves access to health care.\nEvery spring break since 2002, the IU chapter of the Timmy Foundation has sponsored trips for students of all majors to volunteer in the Dominican Republic and Honduras. They work with nongovernmental organizations in the country to provide much needed health care to people who otherwise would not have access to it. Students who have gone on the trips before describe the work as arduous but fulfilling. \nBond said the rural clinics will see anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 patients within the week, administering everything from general triage services to anti-parasite medication. The makeshift clinics are often located in landfills, courtyards or churches.\n“You can sense they really appreciate it, because it is the first time they’ve even seen a doctor,” said Elizabeth Wepler, a senior majoring in Latin American studies.\nThe work is intense, so moments of flippancy stand out in the otherwise dire situations. Bond recounted a time she was wearing an Indiana T-shirt and a young boy came up to her yelling, “Ron Artest!”\nWorking with the Timmy Foundation has \ninfluenced her future plans, Dugdale said.\n“If I needed confirmation at all that I wanted to be a doctor and working outside the country ... this is it,” she said.\nThe Timmy Foundation is a nonprofit organization raising donations of money as well as over-the-counter medicines, general hygiene products and feminine hygiene products to distribute in Honduras and the Dominican Republic. Students of all majors and backgrounds are welcome to become involved in the Timmy Foundation and volunteer for the spring-break trips.\nFor more information, visit the Timmy Foundation’s IU chapter’s Web site at www.indiana.edu/~timmyfc.