Cambrian students have participated in international aid work over the last several months through participation as members of an interdisciplinary health care team in Tamil Nadu, India, and as members of an aid team in Haiti.

Students from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program gained first-hand knowledge of what it is like to deliver health care in a developing country through their work at a clinic in a remote jungle area, in various hospital settings in the Tamil Nadu area, and at a leprosy clinic in Erode, Tamil Nadu.

They also spent time with Ph.D. students at Madurai University and at a number of private and public hospitals, including the Aravind Eye Hospital, which, through its research and services to people of every socio-economic status, has revolutionized eye care programs across the developing world, according to a press release from the college.

“The students gained a deeper appreciation of global health care disparities, but also acquired a better understanding of the issues that are common to both the developing world and to the western world,” Natalie Chevalier-Squires, professor of nursing at Cambrian College, who also accompanied the students in India, in a press release.

“It was a tremendous learning experience for the students. They had to organize events and activities throughout the school year, while balancing school work and part-time jobs in order to raise enough funds to participate in the mission.

When they got to India, they worked long hours in 45 degree Celsius heat, while at the same time submersing themselves in an entirely different culture and way of life. Along the way, they learned about the components of a health care system that marries western medicine with holistic
approaches, and equally important, they also achieved remarkable personal growth.”

Cambrian nursing student Jessica Lambert said that the India experience will help her to be more culturally sensitive when treating her patients here in Canada, and that the experience has led her to realize that the most important aspect of a patient’s healing is not just the medication, but also the spiritual component of the healing process.

“It was a tremendous opportunity,” Lambert said. “We got to experience health care delivery in a country that has a totally different climate, culture, and way of life. We are looking forward to sharing our experiences with the students and faculty here at Cambrian and with others in the community.”

Students from Cambrian College’s Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training program and its Paramedic program raised funds for a relief effort in Haiti after the earthquake on January 12, 2010, that damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings and left over a million people homeless.

Through Missionary Ventures Canada, the students, under the direction of a field coordinator, completed a construction project that included a new roof for the kitchen of a school that also serves as a centre that feeds approximately 450 children a day.

The experiences of the students who visited India and Haiti have been captured in short videos that can be viewed at www.cambriancollege.ca/newsevents/pages/multimediacatalogue.aspx.