Student group provides international health aid

Allison Smith vividly recalls the moment she realized she had a hand in dramatically reducing the blood pressure of an impoverished woman in Mexico.

“It was a great feeling,” the second-year physiological science student said. “I cried.”

The clinic in which the woman was tested and the medical information she received were provided by the student group Fellowship for International Service and Health. FISH held a fundraising dinner and auction Sunday night to share information and photos of its activities and to raise money for two summer trips to Romania and Honduras.

The group, which is an official non-profit organization, was created three years ago to promote health and wellness in underdeveloped countries and provide basic medical aid for communities that need it.

The organization hopes to send members to Honduras, where they will offer eye exams and assist with eye surgeries, and to Romania, where they will work with medical students to foster more permanent practices in a country that focuses on short-term solutions.

The group conducted a silent auction and raffle while serving dinner.

FISH, which currently has 70 members, has also opened a medical clinic in Maclovio Rojas, a small town outside Tijuana. Students travel to the center every other weekend to test residents’ blood pressure and glucose levels and to prescribe reading glasses and administer vitamins.

“I love going somewhere and doing something, rather than sitting on the sidelines,” said Smith, chief executive officer of FISH. “We’re really hands on.”

Attendees of the event were impressed by the selflessness of FISH’s mission.

“It’s admirable that they’re doing things that don’t benefit them directly but that are truly going to benefit others,” said Becky Sower, a first-year undeclared student. “It’s truly a selfless act.”

Others commended the night as an indication of the inner decency people possess.

“The organization is a reminder that there’s goodness in people,” said Brian Hope, a third-year political science student. “There are no ulterior motives.”

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