Amanda Clark knew even before she went to college that she wanted to participate in some sort of medical service trip. But when she got to Elon University in North Carolina, she found that there were no clubs or organizations that did such a thing.

The Skaneateles native and junior biochemistry major took the matter into her own hands, looking to start her own service trip. But a better option presented itself - Global Medical Brigades.

“I received an e-mail from a student who was at the meeting telling me about a program she had heard about,” Clark said in an e-mail to The Citizen. “After looking at the Web site, I realized that it was very organized and going through GMB would make my job much easier.”

Clark recently returned from a week-long brigade in Honduras. During the last week of May, she and a group of about 25 students helped bring medical care to about 650 people.

Throughout the week, they set up free medical clinics in rural areas around the capital city, Tegucigalpa. Many of the patients they saw came to seek care for skin issues, parasites, pain and malnutrition, Clark said. The most common prescriptions handed out were anti-parasite medications and pain relievers, and they also gave vitamins to each visitor.

The operations also included vision clinics for patients who wore or needed glasses.

While most of the patients were not extremely sick, Clark said, many of them only saw a doctor every three to six months when a clinic came through town.

“It was interesting to see all the women and children dressed in their best outfits to look presentable for us,” Clark said.

Global Medical Brigades is a non-profit organization based out of California that puts together trips like Clark's around the world. The organization is a network of university clubs and volunteer groups that carry out the clinics.

GMB is currently doing extensive work in Honduras, where about 1,000 volunteers work annually, according to the GMB Web site, www.globalbrigades.org. In 2007, volunteers served 40,000 villagers in Honduras, the Web site states.

Clark said she considers the trip to be a complete success, and she plans to organize a similar brigade next year. Many of the people who live in the mountainous areas have no electricity and few amenities, often living on whatever food they grow, Clark said.

“These people really do need other resources for an income, as well as health care,” she said.

Of course, helping others feels good, too. Perhaps the most vivid memory Clark recalled is of an elderly man with glasses leaning against a wooden support. The man, she said, noticed the students were watching him, and he said something to them in Spanish that had to be translated.

“He turned to us and said, 'I can see now that I have glasses,'” she said.

Clark added, “Being able to organize a group of people to go to Honduras and provide much-needed medical care was the most rewarding thing I've ever done.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net