UCSD Fall 2006

El Hospital Antonio Lenin Fonseca (9/10/06 – 9/18/06)

Managua, Nicaragua

Team Members

Stanley Park

Tito Balbino

Teny Philip

Click here for Team Testimonials

Groundwork and logistics were laid for sixteen months before fully launching Project Nicaragua’s UCSD Chapter in January 2007. One crucial step during this span of time involved employing efforts towards creating sound relations with the neurosurgeons at El Hospital Antonio Lenin Fonseca. In the fall of 2006, Stanley Park, the chapter’s founder and first campus director, successfully led a small team of UCSD students to Nicaragua to accomplish the necessary networking needed for such a partnership. The experience and knowledge documented from this trip served as an invaluable resource and template for the subsequent field teams sent by the budding UCLA and UCSD chapters during the following year. The trip’s success also served as a launching point to recruit and train the adept team of directors that operate the UCSD chapter today. In addition to accomplishing these things, the team was able to deliver over 150 lbs of medical supplies ranging from syringes to neurosurgical tools generously donated by Dr. Jorge Lazareff himself. Moreover, the team was highly privileged to be given an opportunity to shadow the neurosurgeons and stand in surgeries throughout the day. The team also conducted clinical research to elucidate general healthcare barriers and causes of the high incidence of spina bifida in Nicaragua.