Healthcare service-learning program gives students a new perspective on humanitarianism abroad

Through a guarded fence in Athens, Greece, nurse Allie Loehr gazes on a maze of shipping containers and the diverse faces of refugees from Ukraine, Iran, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Afghanistan among others.

“It was nothing like I expected, though I didn’t know what to expect,” Loehr shared. A 2022 graduate of Auburn’s College of Nursing, Loehr is one of 50 students, faculty and alumni who traveled to Greece for the Auburn University Office Outreach Global Healthcare Service-Learning trip this summer. “The containers each had a different purpose:  a school, an office, a health clinic. Others were homes. Our job was to knock on doors, give people information about health testing and encourage them to visit the medical office. Though many of them spoke multiple languages, most of our communication was through gesturing and handing out pamphlets.”

The 10-day program partnered with nonprofit Doctors of the World, Greece and local community leaders in Athens to address the healthcare needs of underserved communities. Auburn students shadowed the doctors and helped administer healthcare services during the unique service-learning and cultural immersion opportunity. Participants hailed from Auburn’s College of Nursing, Harrison College of Pharmacy, College of Education, College of Mathematics and College of Forestry Wildlife and Environment.

“Refugees are a really misunderstood population and to have encountered them in such close quarters and to get to take care of them really was a privilege,” Lalah Rose Hasbrouck said. Hasbrouck graduated with her nursing degree from Auburn in August and is starting her master’s in child life sciences. “It impacted how I approach health care here in the United States.”

Beyond assessing health care needs in the refugee camp, the students and support staff participated in street work to administer health care to the homeless and other underserved populations in Athens. Students shadowed doctors, developed clinical skills and deepened their understanding of global health challenges.

“The street work was my favorite part. It broadened my understanding of what health care is, what it looks like,” Hasbrouck said. “We talk about cultural competency and embracing diversity. Doctors of the World, Greece focuses on the humanitarian approach to care. The Auburn Creed is to have that human touch in all that we do, and that was really present in our work in Greece.”

“Doctors of the World, Greece went above and beyond to make opportunities for us,” Loehr agreed. “We worked with and learned from social workers, pharmacists, doctors and nurses. The communication barriers were not unlike some that I experienced with patients in the United States, and I learned so much about how resourceful community health care workers can and have to be when there are not supplies at hand.”

Participants met with the mayor and deputy mayor of Athens to learn about how the government partners with nonprofits like Doctors of the World, Greece to address the humanitarian needs of refugees, homeless and underserved citizens in Athens.

“Meeting the mayor and the deputy mayor of Athens was an awesome experience,” Jaylynn Fortenberry said. The Greece trip was the first time Fortenberry, a pharmacy student, had traveled outside of the U.S. “I could tell that they really cared about what they were doing and were open to finding solutions for the refugees and homeless from health care to getting them settled in Greece or helping them travel to another safe country.”

“It was eye-opening. We worked with families fleeing their countries due to terrorism. We worked with children who will never go home,” Fortenberry continued. “I think the more people who can experience a trip like this will help them develop more compassion for other countries and people going through this abroad and in the United States.”

This type of perspective is what Auburn University Office of Global Outreach, a unit under University Outreach, is all about. The office creates opportunities for global engagement, cultural immersion experiences and contributions toward community development across the globe. The goal is to create affordable, short-term service-learning experiences to make education abroad accessible for more students. Beyond their service work, students also traveled to historical landmarks in and near Athens, including the Acropolis, the Parthenon and Delphi.

“We live in a global village,” said Elisabeth I. Quansah, director of Auburn University Office of Global Outreach. “Our students need to be holistic, and one way is to expose them to diverse populations, multicultural education and community outreach in an international program.”