VIDA Volunteer

Texas A&M Vida Volunteer is a non-profit humanitarian volunteer organization whose mission is to provide quality healthcare to underserved communities while providing volunteers with a life-changing experience. Along with affiliate groups at other distinguished universities, our Vida team recruits student volunteers and medical professionals, gathers donations, and then travels to Central America to perform these medical, dental, and veterinary medicine brigades under the direct supervision of local professionals, such as physicians, dentists, and veterinarians. Our current focus is directed toward the impoverished villages of Guatemala and Costa Rica in collaboration with non-profit organizations, local Ministries of Health officials, schools, and local community leaders. We will orchestrate one to two trips to Central America per year; these trips will take place during the summer and winter break. We will recruit dedicated students focusing on pre-health care professions such as pre-nursing, pre-dental, pre-pharmacy, pre-medical, and pre-veterinary. Along with providing free basic medical, dental, and veterinary care, students will visit several communities and participate in community projects that aim to better the quality of life in these impoverished areas. All of these activities, and more, will give the students a better understanding and appreciation of the culture. There will also be an emphasis on Public Health and Education for the clinic patients and community members.