Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC), Division of Nursing students volunteered at the Buccaneer & Barbeque event, a raucous Caribbean evening for pirates, and their offspring to benefit Konbit Lasante pou Limonad (which roughly translates as Working Together for Health in Limonade). On Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, the event helped to raise funds as well as public awareness for health care in Limonade, Northern Haiti.
Sarah Grey, Konbit board member shares, “Konbit Lasante Pou Limonad is a small non-profit group based in Columbus, Indiana. The group’s goal is to improve the access to health care in Limonade, a small town in Northern Haiti, through local partnerships. Haiti lacks basic infrastructure in all areas, including health care. As an example, there is less than one doctor per 8000 patients and one hospital bed per 10,000 patients. The population of Limonade lives in profound poverty, and health care is virtually unaffordable.”
Sarah continues, “Furthermore, there is an ongoing cholera epidemic, plus the area has the highest rates of HIV/AIDS, maternal deaths, and infant mortality within this hemisphere. Even though our project is modest, it has impact in Limonade and the surrounding rural area. We are committed to sustaining the support we provide our partners on the ground: The small local clinic, for which we fund four community health care workers who reach out into the countryside.”
At the Buccaneer & Barbeque event, The Leadership Club (TLC) for Health, and the students in the IUPUC Division of Nursing dressed as pirates and created an amazing treasure hunt for the young attendees. Megan Owens, buccaneer extraordinaire, and Aimee Zoeller, faculty volunteer, led the TLC event.
Aimee shares, “The buccaneer event provided an excellent opportunity for nursing students to learn more about the pressing medical needs in Haiti while connecting with the people of Columbus who are committed to medical justice. I hope this is the beginning of many more collaborations between IUPUC and Konbit.”