Mission trips constitute only one aspect of our year-round work, but these visits provide unique opportunities to expand our minds and hearts.

There is growing consensus that pre-travel preparation is one of the most important practices for a successful global health mission. This fall, we are offering our preparation curriculum via an online learning platform tailored to each team, specific to their host community and medical specialties.

Embracing solidarity assumes the truth well-expressed by Fr. Greg Boyle: “The measure of our compassion lies not in our service of those on the margins, but in our willingness to see ourselves in kinship with them, in mutuality.” Out of both necessity and desire, I’m learning to make a permanent place in my heart for the ills of our world while making sure I have additional room for life’s joys.

Personal experiences of healing draw us closer to the reality of those who suffer around the world. In the name of all those who must wait for healing care, our work to increase access to safe and timely surgery continues.

We have been addressing healthcare inequities for more than 20 years and thanks to the deep partnerships we’ve formed in South America, we are well-positioned to respond to the heightened needs of today’s crisis—and we feel called to do so as faithfully and ambitiously as possible.

Today more than ever, we recognize that we are one human family interconnected across geographic borders. We are renewed in the belief that we must eliminate boundaries around our healthcare and prioritize the needs of those who are most vulnerable.

Our executive director shares an update from Paraguay and reflects on the need for a wide variety of resources to strengthen our mission work.

As 21 missioners fly south to serve patients in Punata, Bolivia, Solidarity Bridge Executive Director Ann Rhomberg reflects on the trip as a chance to heal, connect, and find nourishment.

Through our work to resource Bolivian surgeons and their affiliate hospitals, we have witnessed the many ways quality surgical care can positively impact the health of patients, and the well-being of their families and entire communities. Yet still, “in low- and middle-income countries, 9 out of 10 people cannot access even the most basic surgical services.”

 In addition to our activities that support high-complexity surgeries we fervently strive to bring about inner healing and transformation to all who participate in this mission.