Healthy solutions in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is well known for its beautiful beaches, fun Latin atmosphere, vibrant nightlife and popular spring break destination status.

However, for ten members of the Tech chapter of the Foundation for International Medical Relief for Children (FIMRC), Costa Rica also means dire poverty, poor sanitation and inadequate healthcare.

Students from FIMRC-GT spent their weeklong spring break in Alajuelita, Costa Rica, a slum community just outside the capital city of San Jose.

They worked at the local health clinic, volunteered with the residents there and supported several healthcare initiatives.

Among other things, the group prepared and performed informational skits in Spanish for local children, educating them about the human body and its various organs as well as how to avoid disease and injury within the community.

Additionally, volunteers conducted door-to-door surveys in Alajuelita to determine water sanitation practices in each home, as well as a mini-history of the health of each child in the community for the local doctors to refer to in dispensing treatment.

"Students were also able to shadow Dr. Christian Elizondo (a local doctor) as he did his rounds providing medical care to sick and injured children. We [also] added to the child-friendly decor by painting a great big Buzz on one of the doors along with the GT logo," said Justin Buccholz, a second-year Biomedical Engineering major and leader of the trip.

Outside of the service portion of the trip, participants also had opportunities to interact with people in the community and enjoy the local sights.

"[We got to] play with the [local] children, which was very gratifying, even though us 'gringos' got beat in a game of 'futbol' by a bunch of seven-year-olds," Buchholz said, smiling.

"It was incredible because we were able to connect with the kids despite language and cultural barriers," said Tiffany Nettles, a second-year Industrial Engineering major.

The mission of FIMRC is to provide healthcare access to medically underserved children. To this end, Tech's chapter members participate year round in local projects that seek to educate and serve. Once a year, they also plan an international service trip to help in FIMRC clinics located in poor communities abroad.

FIMRC-GT was started on campus just last fall and is growing steadily. This spring's trip was the first overseas trip the group has undertaken, and it was largely reported to be an amazing experience.

"Participating in [international trips] allows our volunteers to witness firsthand the intensity of poverty and harsh living conditions that exist in the world," Buchholz said.

"The volunteer work done not only helps improve the quality of the lives of the people of Alajuelita, Costa Rica, [it] also serves as an inspirational and educational experience to volunteers. The volunteers are able to take what they learned back to the States where it can be applied to improve the quality of life for children here," Buccholz said.

Speaking further on the reasons behind planning this year's service trip, Buchholz said that although Costa Rica has the best healthcare system in Central America, many people slip through the cracks.

Due to the large numbers of undocumented refugees from neighboring Nicaragua's earthquake disaster in 1972, local health authorities are unable to cope with the extra strain on their economy by providing healthcare to these refugees.

"Though the quality of life is better for the refugees in Costa Rica, [it] is still one of the worst in the world. Since [the undocumented refugee migrants] are not legal residents they qualify for little or no [state-sponsored] medical care and cannot obviously afford proper healthcare," Buchholz said.

"Many times, the children of these families suffer horrifically because of this," Buccholz said.

As one of the founders of the campus chapter, Buchholz said that he was inspired to join FIMRC and contribute towards its mission of improving medical opportunities for children because he hopes to eventually practice abroad in impoverished areas as a doctor.

"However, FIMRC is not just for people who want to be doctors. It's for anyone who cares about these kids and wants to make a difference in their lives. We had such a diverse group of people go on the [Costa Rica] trip, not just premeds," Nettles said.

"Volunteering with FIMRC has allowed me to use my skills and abilities to help kids, from teaching them about healthcare to just having fun and connecting with them. Working with them has meant so much to me," Nettles said.

Students interested in joining FIMRC-GT can email Justin Buchholz at justinb@gatech.edu or stop by the next meeting at the Student Success Center April 19 at 5 p.m.