Gundersen Global Partners Vision Initiative 2018 Trip to Nicaragua

DRC Sponsor: Jennifer Gipp

From January 16-23 this year, a team from the local Gundersen Clinc traveled to Matagalpa, Nicaragua. These annual trips under the auspices of Gundersen Global Partners provides comprehensive eye exams and glasses to rural Nicaraguans who do not have access to this level of care. Our club sponsored current Optometry Resident George Bouras and one of the local Optometry Interns, Murphy Grotewold, with $500 grants in order to faciliate their participation on this trip. They will offer a presentation and will discuss the work they did while in Nicaragua.

Global Partners-Nicaragua aims to improve the health of the people and their communities in the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua by promoting education and collaboration with Nicaraguan medical providers to improve access to vital healthcare. The program also supports changes that are seen as valuable by the citizens of the region and can be sustained by their own efforts. Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, second only to Haiti. Most of the country is mountainous and rural, making it difficult for people to access needed services and opportunities. The state of Wisconsin and the Coulee Region, in particular, enjoy a long history of partnerships with Nicaragua, making it a natural fit for Global Partners.

Feel free to visit http://www.gundersenhealth.org/foundation/programs-events/global-partners/nicaragua/#Why-Nicaragua for more information about the Global Partners projects.