By THERESA HOGUE
| Posted: Friday, December 1, 2006 12:00 am
Gazette-Times reporter
Of all the lectures students sit through during their university career, only a handful are usually particularly memorable, and very few are actually life-altering.
But Oregon State University student Tim Harris is about to board a plane for Zimbabwe after hearing a lecture in late September by OSU alumnus Darrell Ward.
Ward is associate director for cancer communications at the Ohio State University Medical Center, but he is also an advocate for the work being done at St. Albert's Mission Hospital in northern Zimbabwe. The hospital serves people ranging from HIV-positive pregnant mothers to malaria patients, and does so with little funding and support.
Speaking on the eve of today's World AIDS Day, Harris, a Californian who is taking pre-nursing classes at OSU in the hopes of being accepted into nursing school, was especially interested in Ward's enthusiastic praise of Dr. Elizabeth Tarira, one of the three doctors serving patients at the hospital.
"He was passionate about the doctor and her hardships," Harris said.
During the lecture, Ward mentioned a nurse volunteer from Germany who had helped at the hospital, and Harris wondered if he might be able to do something similar.
He contacted Dr. Tarira about volunteering over winter break, and was immediately invited to visit. Although Harris normally works during break to help pay his way through school, he was willing to give up both his holiday and the pay in order to volunteer at the hospital.
"It's in a rural setting and I'm drawn to out-of-the-way places," he said.
From 2002 to 2004, Harris served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho in southern Africa, so he was already familiar with working abroad. He also hopes to travel after becoming a nurse.
After deciding to volunteer, Harris contacted local and West Coast health care providers and community members to gather medical supplies and books to take with him to St. Albert's. The items range from syringes to stethoscopes to blood pressure cuffs.
"People have been really generous," he said.
He'll pack as much as he can into his suitcases and ship the rest when he leaves next week for Zimbabwe. He's hoping to gather a few monetary donations to help him with shipping costs.
Harris returns Dec. 30, and plans on sharing his experiences with others, and sending photographs of his trip to Ward, who can post them on the St. Albert's Web site.
Theresa Hogue is features reporter for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at theresa.hogue@lee.net or by phone at 758-9526.
At a glance
For more information on St. Albert's Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe, see www.stalbertsmissionhospital.org.