The reason behind this website is a medical caravan to Ecuador and the Spanish class that has been created around it, SPA 204. This course, Spanish for a Medical Caravan to Ecuador (Spring 2023) is an interdisciplinary initiative to bridge health education, humanitarian engagement, and the Spanish language. In collaboration with Conestoga Eye (Lancaster, PA), the goal of this course is to provide twelve Princeton undergraduate students an unparalleled exposure to global health policies and health care through hands-on work in Ecuador. Conestoga Eye has worked in clinics in Riobamba, Ecuador, since 2012 implementing the work of FIBUSPAM (Fundación Internacional Buen Samaritano Paul Martel).
In preparation for the trip, the twelve Spanish students from SPA 204 will learn about the culture, health policies, and humanitarian work in Ecuador, along with medical vocabulary in Spanish. They will join the Conestoga Eye group during the Spring Recess trip and, upon their return, are responsible for presentations and research papers about their experience.
This web platform serves as a way to share practical information about the area, a medical glossary and an archive of the memories, intellectual and personal reflections the students experienced during their work. We wish this becomes a small window into the life of many indigenous peoples in the remote communities of the Andean region of Ecuador, and of global issues on health policies and care.
We hope that you find it resourceful, inspirational, or simply interesting. Thank you for your visit!
Note: since this is after all a Spanish course, most of the material posted will be in Spanish. Sorry for the inconvenience!
