The Spring 2023 Service-Learning Trip began with our participants learning about the program they will be involved in as well as a tour and orientation of Agadir. They also spent time reviewing the instruments they will using and taking part in a workshop and practice of the ultrasound machine. They then spent time in the Hospital shadowing and assisting Moroccan Physicians in the departments and clinics. Moving on they visited an orphanage where they assisted with the care of the newborns, babies and young children (toddlers).
They traveled to the central part of Morocco to take part in a rural health clinic. Upon arrival at the village, the volunteers set up the area for the rural health clinic. They then spent the day shadowing and assisting Moroccan Physicians and assisting Moroccan Pharmacists in the set up and distribution of medication. They also took part in the screening of the people who came to the clinic by monitoring blood pressure, screening for diabetes and checking oxygen levels in the blood. They also provided a Dental Hygiene Clinic for the children, teaching them how to properly brush and floss their teeth and putting a fluoride varnish on their teeth. The final day of this rural health clinic they returned to their base in Agadir, Morocco.
In Agadir they had a tour of the medical school and attended a workshop about the Healthcare Delivery System in Morocco.
In a rural village they took part in Community Home Health Care visits where they performed health care screening for the elderly, disabled and sick residents in their homes. They later moved onto another village and set up a diagnostic health clinic to help prepare patients for the upcoming June 2023 Ophthalmology Medical Mission.
While they were involved in all these activities related to the Service Learning Trip they also visited a number of Souks (tradition Moroccan markets) historical sites and points of interest as well as being introduced to the culture and traditions of the Moroccan people. They were involved in a number of community service projects such as cleaning the beach, working with a program to reduce illiteracy in women, helping renovate a village headquarters with painting and planting around the building. They also took part in a workshop on Understanding, fighting and preventing stress, the first part being a lecture on the topic and then later they participated in a yoga session on the beach to put into practice some of the theories mentioned in the lecture. They also had free time to explore the areas they visited and spent time at the beach, staying in a beach house and visiting another beach outside of Agadir as well as access to the beach in Agadir, which was a few minutes’ walk from their hotel.