Armenia A Call to Serve
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n June, a small team of six medical students and two pharmacy students, along with three faculty members – two physicians and a pharmacist – participated in partnership with the North Carolina Baptist Men (NCBM) in a medical outreach trip to Armenia, led by Dr. Victoria Kaprielian.
"The NC Baptist Men have been going to Armenia for years," said Kaprielian, "and they were the ones who first took me to Armenia." Dr. Kaprielian is an ethnic Armenian, and her grandparents were refugees during World War I. Because Armenia was part of the Soviet Union for 70 years, her parents were never able to travel there. Armenia was a Soviet Republic from 1920 to 1991, and its major industry was munitions manufacturing. They were one of the best producers of weapons for the Soviet Union. When the MEDICINE.CAMPBELL.EDU
Soviet Union broke apart, not only did the Russians leave, they took all the manufacturing equipment with them, leaving behind empty factories and lack of employment opportunities. This situation coupled with a blockade on two sides by hostile nations led to a major economic collapse in the 1990s, from which Armenia is still recovering. Armenia also suffered a major earthquake in 1988, and there are people still living in temporary shelters, which were supposed to last for six months. Now, 30 years later, many are still living in tin boxes. There's very high unemployment and a lot of need throughout the country. "It was a very touching experience on a lot of levels for me," she shared. "But the students who go gain exposure to a different culture, while getting to serve people who are underserved."
CAMPBELL MEDICINE NE WSLET TER
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