Missions

Georgia Southern students, faculty and alumni often step outside the bounds of comfort and convenience, reaching out a helping hand to less fortunate people around the world. Here, we present a small sampling of efforts to raise the quality of life and alleviate suffering among the world’s poor and sick.

Al Allnoch (`91) – South Africa

Al Allnoch first visited Cape Town, South Africa in 2007 on a short-term trip with LowCountry Community Church in Bluffton, S.C., in partnership with a ministry called Living Hope which focuses on HIV/AIDS care and prevention. After another trip in 2008, he decided to make a third and longer stay to help the poor living in the countryside.

“In addition to providing respite care in a 22-bed health care center, Living Hope works in several townships and informal settlements, bringing home-based health care, support groups and prevention education. As part of the prevention work, we teach Bible-based life skills and abstinence education in after-school programs for children and teenagers. The main work I’m involved in is teaching life skills in a small community called Red Hill. Red Hill is an informal settlement, which is basically a collection of aluminum shacks with shared water taps and outdoor toilets – a pretty tough living environment. Four afternoons a week we ran a program that included music, a Bible lesson, games, crafts and a light meal.”

Mike Sizemore (`79), Swaziland

Alumnus Mike Sizemore, a medical case management business owner, has plenty of interaction with elderly residents around the state of Georgia in need of personalized care, but he and his son Scott recently experienced caregiving on another level during a mission trip to Swaziland.

The pair joined members from their church in Augusta, Ga., and members of Children’s Hope Chest, a nationwide mission organization based in Colorado, in distributing shoes to orphans in the impoverished country that has been ravaged by poverty and AIDS. “This was a chance to be the hands and feet of Christ, and it’s hard to forget an opportunity like that,” Sizemore said. He and his son, Scott, were based in one of the 27 Care Points located throughout the countryside, and two times each day, they would watch small orphans walk there to be fed. After a meal, the Sizemores would place each child on a bench, wash their feet and put new socks and shoes on them. The father and son collected and purchased more than 350 pairs of shoes for the trip.

Susan DeBonis – Communication Arts professor, Betty Nelson – Teaching and Learning professor, Maria Smith – School of Nursing emerita

Three University faculty members joined others from Statesboro on a week-long medical mission to earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Communication Arts professor Susan DeBonis described the team’s experiences:

“Our job was to give basic medical care to as many people as possible in a short period of time. Working Monday through Friday, we actually treated almost 700 patients. That’s about 140 on average a day. In the U.S., a doctor’s office, on a busy day, would see 30-40. Monday was spent at Village Hope School seeing the school’s children. Tuesday and Wednesday the team held a community clinic at the school. Thursday was, without a doubt, the best day for the team. We saw more patients that day, in remote conditions, treating people at a tent camp. Millions still live in tent camps and these have become communities of their own, with committees for safety, health, etc.

“We got up at 5:30 a.m., went to bed at 8 p.m., had no hot water and little electricity, but we were fed well. The dust is everywhere, the garbage is all over, and the people continue to cook over open fires. Would I go back? In a heartbeat!”

Mesha Byrd, University student

Mesha Byrd was among a group of University students who traveled to the Bahama Islands through the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. The group worked to help improve the facilities of a local ministry which offers training that enables them to make a living from the tourist trade. “We power-washed the building, did some gardening, organized a library, stained shelves, and painted the inside and outside of the building.

“From experiencing the Bahamian culture to bonding as a group, I know when we left that island many people knew about Georgia Southern. We made goals at the beginning of the trip and I know we accomplished what we came to do.”

Heather Jo Harralson, Student Leadership coordinator

“While in Honduras the trip participants were afforded the opportunity to serve in multiple capacities. Students spent time building schools with the non-profit “Students Helping Honduras,” interacted with children at El Copprome Orphanage, and even recruited students from several local high schools to attend Georgia Southern. Along with doing service, the students had the opportunity to partake in experiences that taught them about the Honduran culture, including hiking to a look-out point over the city of San Pedro Sula, touring a Chiquita banana plantation, and visiting the local market.

“The trip was a wonderful experience – the perfect balance of service, education on issues that affect Honduras, and a glimpse into the everyday lives of native Hondurans.”