From a homeless shelter to founding a nonprofit serving thousands: Jean de Dieu Mukunzi built Ebenezer Healthcare Access to help fellow immigrants navigate the healthcare system he once struggled to access himself.
“The migrant crisis is a reality not only in the US but also in many central and Latin American countries with much fewer resources. We are doing our part by improving access to dignified health and reducing the burden on the overwhelmed healthcare systems in Ecuador and Colombia.”
The 2013 collapse of the Venezuelan economy and its political institutions has produced a crisis affecting all of Latin America, growing into the largest migration crisis in the Western Hemisphere. In response to the crisis, MedGlobal has established a number of programs in both Colombia and Ecuador.
As more migrants were making their way from the border to the Chicago area, a group of University of Illinois Chicago medical students formed the Mobile Migrant Health Team to provide care for them.
Volunteer medical students are working to fill the gap, providing free care at police stations and other locations where migrants are first housed.