Hempstead resident Zahara Naqvi was among the more than 20 SUNY Old Westbury students who journeyed to Laguna Village, Belize, on their summer break in May to provide free healthcare services to more than 300 local residents through the university’s chapter of the Global Medical Brigades, a student-led mission group focused on servicing underprivileged communities through health education and medical services.
“Growing up in Hempstead, more broadly Long Island has been a journey of understanding privilege,” said Naqvi, a sophomore. “As a child of immigrants, I was always reminded of how grateful I should be to live in a core country let alone a great area and community. The more I ventured out, the more I recognized how there is a large educational and fiscal gaps we need to fill for younger generations.”
Additionally, the student’s community involvement has continued at home. The group has volunteered at the Mary Brennan INN Soup Kitchen in Hempstead, and plans to offer additional workshops and volunteer opportunities for all students throughout the school year.
Naqvi, the chapter’s member engagement chair, says the most “striking” patient she saw was a man who traveled on foot from Guatemala seeking dental help after getting swindled by dentists from his country. “They [previous dentists] extracted a lot of his teeth out, and he was getting infections … it was really sad to hear him talk about how he paid a lot of money and got scammed, and then had to walk over here [Belize],” she said.
The trip was the chapter’s inaugural medical brigade and required months of preparation, fundraising and cultural education before students arrived in southern Belize.
When the group landed, they were immediately thrown into action by exploring the villages and speaking with residents about their quality of life and healthcare needs. On-site health officials affiliated with the brigade and Belize’s Ministry of Health guided students through the process and prepared them for the clinical days ahead.
“They taught us everything that we should know, and all the guidelines that we should follow,” said Muhammed Abdullah, vice president of the chapter. “Then it was the clinical days, and those were honestly some of the most vulnerable experiences you’ll probably ever have.”
For the next three days, students assisted doctors in a series of rotating health stations. At Triage, students recorded patient’s medical histories and vital signs before they moved to consultation with a doctor for a physical examination.
From helping record patient’s vitals to assisting distribution in pharmacies and teaching educational sessions, the Old Westbury chapter gained firsthand experience working alongside licensed medical professionals.
What students learned
For some students, the experience revealed how far patients were willing to travel to receive healthcare.
Other volunteers were most surprised by the stark difference in routine healthcare practices.
President and Founder of Old Westbury’s brigade chapter, Kamran Habeeb, saw that every patient at the consultation station was immediately prescribed with Mebendazole, a one-time medication that combats worm parasites. He said the worm infections stemmed from a lack of clean, accessible water for many local residents.
Sabrina Johnson, the chapter’s secretary, was similarly surprised when she asked patients whether they had visited a doctor that year and many said they had not.
“I noticed that there was a large proportion of people within the community who are just generally unfamiliar with the whole healthcare system,” Johnson said.
The students wanted to make the experience less intimidating for children, too. Johnson and the team purchased toy medical kits for pediatric patients and children of patients in the Charla station.
The crew used the medical playsets to help demonstrate what each instrument was used for and how it can help diagnose symptoms. Johnson hopes that now, those children can become more familiar and comfortable with basic medical tools.
“They were actually using the toy stethoscope to listen to each other, which I thought was a very sweet moment because it showed how they started off very unfamiliar and distant from healthcare [practices], and they grew to actually be comfortable and perhaps even inspired by our presence there,” Johnson said.
Looking ahead
After the intensive onsite clinical days, the work was not yet finished for the group. On their final day, students reflected on their experience and worked with local brigade guides to discuss sustainable ways to support continued access to healthcare after the group returned to New York. Habeeb said the brigade works with Belize’s Ministry of Health and community health workers to support this long-term care.
Choosing Belize was not just a location for the university’s chapter, it was a strategic choice based on data like clinic workflow, the integration of healthcare and the community’s interest in additional programs.
“We’re assessing their needs beyond just healthcare,” Johnson said. “We’re also looking at whether or not they would like financial literacy workshops and things like that. GMB works really closely with those community leaders, in order to then bring what they want to the community.”
The brigade required roughly nine months of preparation. Once the location is confirmed, students fundraise, attend educational workshops such as CPR training and mock brigades to prepare for the experience.
The chapter also prepared for potential language barriers. Although English is the official language of Belize, students encountered patients who spoke other languages.
“Before traveling to Belize, we researched the languages spoken there and held meetings to practice basic Spanish phrases, which helped our team communicate with patients and make them feel more comfortable during the brigade,” said Nabia Faisal, the chapter’s public relations officer.
The group has already selected Panama for their next brigade in May 2027, and is currently reviewing applications. For updates, find them on instagram @ow_gmb.
