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A New Home For Julio

One person’s efforts and generosity resulted in a new home and better quality of life for follow-up patient Julio Mendez Tica. Lisa Pace, a student from the United States, heard Julio’s story and how his accident has caused his family immense pain and suffering. Moved by their situation, she set her goal to raise enough money to afford Julio and his family a new home. After 10 days of hard work, the new home is finally complete and ready for Julio’s family to start their new life. See some photos from the project’s progression below.

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Images of Julio’s house before the project show the mold ridden walls, a mangled dirt floor and a deteriorating roof with many holes. The home was in terrible condition, especially for a large family with many small children like Julio’s.

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Construction began with tearing the old house’s walls down, laying a concrete foundation and rebuilding the house with sturdy materials. 

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Julio’s entire family was part of the process, helping with the construction and working alongside MEDLIFE staff.

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After the house was rebuilt, the last step was to fill it with new, clean furniture for Julio’s refurbished room. MEDLIFE interns carried dressers up a long flight of stairs up the hill the house sits on.

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The new house is complete and decorated for the official inauguration! The bright yellow color represents “alegria”—happiness, and illuminates its surrounding area.

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Julio’s family gathered together to celebrate the beginning of their new life in a safe and clean environment. After so much hardship and sadness caused by Julio’s accident, his family sees a happier future ahead, beginning with a positive home environment. 

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Julio, his family and MEDLIFE are extremely grateful for Lisa Pace’s generosity and devotion to this project. Without her, none of this would have been possible. It is truly amazing the impact one person can make on others’ lives.

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Hear it From MEDLIFErs

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Reya Seby
Western University

This trip motivated me more to pursue a career in the healthcare field so that I can use my resources to help those who need it the most, similar to MEDLIFE’s mission.

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Victoria DiCanio
University of Connecticut

It was most enjoyable to finish the hard work and see how big a difference a group of individuals can make. It was such an amazing experience.

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Anita Woo
University of Toronto

I enjoyed the mobile clinics the most, especially the dental and triage portions. I would definitely recommend a MEDLIFE trip, it was a great experience.

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David Saff
Maclay High School

The most enjoyable part of my trip was hanging out with the amazing group of kids I was with. I would highly recommend a MEDLIFE volunteer trip to others.

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Sydney Sansone
Nova Southeastern University

This trip made everything that I was learning in my public health courses come to life and immersed me in a new culture while also learning about medicine.

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Abygail Youmans
College of Charleston

Being involved with MEDLIFE is not like joining another club - its bigger than that. It is about joining a movement that seeks to help change people’s quality of life for forever.

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Emi Hofmann
University of Central Florida

Not only was I able to participate in a week long Mobile Clinic, shadowing doctors of all types of specialties including pharmacy, dentistry, gynecology, and more, but I was also able to learn about the culture and visit incredible places.

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Julian Takagi-Stewart
University of Toronto

One thing that I really loved about this trip was that MEDLIFE made sure that the volunteers got an understanding of the complexity of issues that lead to underprivileged people in communities outside of the main city

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Hannah Van Hofwegen
University of Ottawa

Whether it was basketball with the local kids, assisting the doctors, talking with families, building washrooms, holding babies, or spending time with the people who were on the SLT with me, this was an amazing opportunity that I would do over and over again.

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Isabelle Holt
Cornell University

I loved learning about the patients MEDLIFE has followed and how they offer real help to people with chronic/urgent conditions. It is amazing how the organization formed real connections with the communities.

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Valerie Lindeborg
Parent

Our family had the privilege of participating in multiple trips with Nick [founder] and his amazing staff. Their expertise made the trips unforgettable while instilling in my boys the fundamentals of good character: selflessness, compassion, and empathy.

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Harry Vildibill
University of Georgia

As an aspiring physician, MEDLIFE motivated me to further continue my goal of becoming a doctor. In fact, I enjoyed the Tanzania Service Learning Trip so much that I decided to go on another trip to Cusco, Peru.