USC Students Help Jamaican Children

January 25, 2010

Over the holiday break, 10 USC School of Pharmacy students traveled to Jamaica for a service-learning project.

The mission was to develop a global-active pharmacy voice while volunteering and learning about Jamaica's health infrastructure.

Among the students participating were Aubrey Monreau, Saleema Kapadia, Toni Codling-Garrett, Susan Won, Christina Yu and Ruth Awosika, all members of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association. Other USC participants were undergraduates Abimbola Oduguwa, Keshia Groves, Ayeetin Azah and Iyesha Robinson, members of the African Americans in Health Organization.

The trip included gift-giving of toys and clothes donated by USC students and faculty members, as well as learning sessions. The pharmacy focused sessions gave the USC students a chance to speak with children and teenagers about poison prevention, HIV/AIDS awareness and hygiene. The lessons included puppet shows and sing-alongs.

"Project Jamaica was a rewarding, life-changing experience we all will never forget," said lead coordinator Awosika. "I honestly wouldn't know where to start telling you in words how exciting it was working with the children and meeting the beautiful people of Jamaica."

During the trip, students visited the pediatric ward of the Cornwall Regional hospital, the Blossoms Gardens and SOS Village orphanages, the Westhaven Home for the Physically Challenged and the Genderville Safety Home for teenage girls.

In addition to providing toys, clothes and health education information to the children at these centers, the students had the opportunity to meet with the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists executive members, the Jamaica minister of health and the senior medical officer and pharmacy department supervisor at Cornwall Regional Hospital. They also met with the University of Technology School of Pharmacy administration, which is establishing the first PharmD program in the Carribbean.

"We felt like we were able to bring the Christmas spirit everywhere we went, from the little ones sick in the hospital to those living in safety homes and orphanages," Awosika said. "We might be many miles away, but the children and administrators of the facilities now know that someone cares."

Awosika looks forward to the next Project Jamaica. "Every site has asked us to promise to return, and we must return to continue and develop a true relationship with the children; it's not just a one-time thing."

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