Pat Rutter is just like any other freshman-he comes from New Jersey, lives in Southgate Dormitory and enjoys going to the beach.
But he is also one of many Duke students and faculty working to make a difference in the lives of those in need, both in the United States and abroad.
Rutter, a member of the Operation Smile Student Advisory Board, is working on campus to raise awareness of cleft palate deformities-a facial disfiguration-in Third World countries.
"Children with facial deformities in these countries are either abandoned by their parents on the side of the road or locked up in a room," Rutter said. "With Operation Smile, we're trying to give them a new chance at life."
On campus, Operation Smile is planning several events to raise money to support facial surgeries and student trips to developing countries. One possible fundraiser the organization is looking into is a fashion show in New York City that could potentially attract celebrity guests and raise up to $200,000, he said.
On a recent mission to Nicaragua, Rutter witnessed one father who traveled on foot for 10 hours straight with a child on his back so the child could get surgery to repair his face.
"These parents are willing to do anything to get their kids into surgery," he said. "Your heart feels it first when you see the dedication and trouble that these people go through to give their child a second chance at life."
College trips that are funded by Operation Smile include sending students to prepare hospitals for an influx of people and work as ambassadors from the United States, he added.
"This is one of the best ways for Americans to be viewed in positive ways," Rutter said. "Especially with today's state of affairs, this is huge."
In addition to students becoming active in charitable giving on campus, faculty members also work to improve the lives of those in need.
Dr. Michael Haglund, an associate professor in surgery and a neurosurgeon, is one of those professors. In January, he worked in Uganda to improve the quality of care in hospitals there.
"There are only five neurosurgeons for the 30 million people who live in Uganda," he said. "In comparison, the Triangle Region probably has about 25."
On his trip, Haglund said he was shocked by the lack of modernized equipment in the African country. The operating room used antiquated hand drills, no ventilators and nothing to hold patients in place for the surgery, he said.
"There was one man in a coma who was on a ventilator when the power went out and immediately came back on. The ventilator didn't reset and there were no monitors or warnings to alarm the staff that the ventilator was off," he said. "Before anyone realized it, the man had died from poor monitoring. This would never have happened with modern equipment."
When Haglund returned to Duke, he founded Duke Global Health PLUS, an organization to secure supplies for underdeveloped countries. Through his organization, he amassed medical equipment from a surplus store that was selling supplies for pennies on the dollar.
By the time he was done, Haglund had collected over nine tons of medical equipment worth over $1.3 million. This equates to over 25 percent of the hospital's yearly budget, or 50 years-worth of modern equipment, he added.
In addition to donating equipment, Haglund also plans on returning to Uganda and giving his services and expertise to teach Ugandan doctors to perform more advanced procedures with the new equipment.
Although participating in organizations like Duke Global Health PLUS and Operation Smile cost many hours of time and large amounts of money, members of both organizations said the benefits greatly outweigh the costs.
"If you had told me a year ago that we'd remodel this hospital, I would've laughed at you," Haglund said. "And now that it's happened, it's been amazing-both for me and for Uganda."
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