For the 16th year in a row, Jesuit’s Medical Society has hosted a school wide medicine drive to gather various medications for it’s annual mission trip to Guatemala in the Spring. The drive started the second week of January and will continue through Friday, February 6th.
Focusing mainly on the freshmen and sophomore classes, “a different medication is assigned to each of their homerooms. They receive 2 credits for every four bottles,” says Mrs. Jan Jones, Director of the Medical Society. With science and math classes from every grade level also participating, “We usually take about 650 pounds of meds with us.” The medications range all over the spectrum from basic Tylenol and toothpaste to eyeglasses and women’s health products. “A toothbrush in Guatemala is like winning a new car,” says Mr. Max von Schlehenried, one of the club’s moderators. “People amaze us. They are so generous. Some medications are expensive but people rise to the occasion and always come through. We see fluctuations in the volume of meds we get each year. Most years we get a lot of ibuprofen and Tylenol, but this year, those are some of the least abundant medications.”
Juniors from the Medical Society homeroom act as runners for the medications, going daily to each homeroom to pick up and record the new medications. Michael Lohr ‘16 recalls, “Since I joined to Medical Society sophomore year, I have wanted to help with the Medical Drive in the second semester. When Mrs. Jones asked me if I wanted to go and collect medicine from the homerooms, without hesitation I said yes. I am glad I did because this was a way to give back to my community to help the people of Guatemala.”
Alejandro Rey Hipolito ‘16, another Junior runner, stated that “being a runner was great. I feel like I am really helping out the people in Guatemala, especially since I am going on the trip and want to make sure that everyone has enough medicine.” This is the first year that Juniors will also be going on the trip. Along with Alejandro, five seniors, the club moderators, and several volunteer doctors, I personally will also be going on the trip as a Junior.
These medications provide an enormous aid to the Mayans and Natives living in extreme poverty in Guatemala. “They maybe make three or four dollars a month,” explained Mrs. Jones. “They’re not going to have money to buy medicine. So, that’s why we go in those areas.”
“Preparing for Guatemala is a mammoth task of dates, planning, checking and double checking, but we chip away at it each day and get closer and closer to the goal. God always provides. There are times while planning where it looks like it will never come together, but it always does,” continues Mr. Von.
In Guatemala, the students and doctors will set up various clinics to help the people. “We have a toothbrush clinic where we hand out toothpaste and a toothbrush to each patient. We also have an eyeglass clinic where we have over the counter glasses to treat patients who have difficulty seeing,” says Mrs. Jones. “Additionally, we have a pregnancy clinic where we have classes on childcare and give out prenatal vitamins.”
Like all the years before it, this medicine drive will be a great success, and it serves as a testament to the community’s ability to give and serve those in need, expanding beyond just the walls of the school and into the global family.
