Hello! My name is Preethi Kannan and I am a sophomore Public Health student at the University of Texas at Austin. This spring, I am so grateful for being selected to volunteer abroad as a part of UT Austin's Humanity First team in Guatemala. Humanity First is a 100% non-profit international humanitarian organization established to promote and safeguard human life and dignity.
This spring break, my team and I will be striving to achieve health equity for Guatemalan women and children. Some of the major goals of our trip are to provide prenatal and birth kits for midwives (known locally as comadronas), assist in the local gynological clinic, educate mothers on nutrition to prevent common diseases such as osteoporosis and child malnutrition. I will also help lead interactive workshops to share information addressing the needs and interests of Guatemalan women such as cervical and breast cancer, domestic violence, and nutrition. Our project is based on sustainability: our efforts are designed to be intergrated into the community as permanent change.
I began volunteering in elementary school through my Girl Scout troop, and have been involved in community service ever since. Giving back to my community holds a very important place in my heart, so I am overjoyed to be able to continue dedicating my time to helping young women like myself. Although they may be in a community completely different from mine, I am looking forward to connecting with and learning from them through this experience.
I am beyond excited for this opportunity to pursue my passion for volunteering and be fully immersed in a new culture! As this is a volunteering trip, I am hoping to fundraise as much of the fees as possible. This is why I need your help to make my dream of helping these women possible. Any donation amount would mean so much to me. I am so grateful to you for showing your support for my aspirations through your donations. I am hoping to reach my fundraising goal by March 1st so I can serve on this trip. 100% of donations will go towards materials and logistics for the project in Antigua, Guatemala. In other words, this project is entirely based on donations. Your donation will directly impact the lives of women and children who desperately need it. It would genuinely mean so much to me if you would consider donating to this cause!
Note: Many employers also provide corporate donation matching; if you are interested in donating, please check with your employer if they offer donation matching so your donation will have double the impact. You can find donation matching and tax deductible information for Humanity FIrst USA here under the subtitle "Corporate Gift Matching": http://usa.humanityfirst.org/index.php?...&task=view&id=85
