Faculty Members Bring Medical Relief during the Haiti Medical Mission
Georgia Southern University Faculty Members Bring Medical Relief during the Haiti Medical Mission
Two Georgia Southern University faculty members will spend a week in Haiti treating the illnesses and injuries of those left without medical care in the wake of the devastating earthquake earlier this year. Professors Susan De Bonis and Betty Nelson, along with nine others, will transport medical supplies to an area just east of Port-au-Prince, where they will distribute medicine and tend to the medical needs of more than 700 patients. As post-earthquake conditions remain at a crisis state, millions live in tent cities with desperate need for medical care. De Bonis said the group’s potential impact is immeasurable.
“The people of Haiti have always struggled, but the earthquake has made it untenable for basic human survival. Still, these people continue to endure for their families — their children,” said De Bonis, who began mission work as a teenager. “I firmly believe that we should seize every opportunity to support these struggling people. Will I come back and say ‘I helped make someone’s life just a little better?’ I hope so.”
De Bonis is an assistant professor of communication arts and executive producer of News for Georgia Southern’s Ch. 97 and Nelson serves as the undergraduate program coordinator for the University’s Special Education Program in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Both have worked on numerous missions to developing countries, but will be facilitating aid in Haiti for the first time. Dr. Maria Smith, a Georgia Southern University College of Nursing retiree, is a returning member of the Haiti Medical Mission team, which travels to Haiti annually with support from Pittman Park United Methodist Church.
The mission team will depart on Sunday, Oct. 17, and return the following weekend.
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