[Florida] Caridad opens intern's eyes to poverty

from The Palm Beach Post

By Julie Waresh
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

In Indiana, where Megan Davenport is from, the disparity between the haves and have-nots is not so extreme as it is west of Boynton Beach.

The 20-year-old Notre Dame student noticed that immediately when she toured the area last month at the start of her summer internship at the Caridad Center.

"You see trailers, and right behind the fence is a big mansion," she said. "It's surprising that you have the richest of the rich next to the poorest of the poor - it's eye-opening."

Davenport is taking part in the University of Notre Dame's Summer Service Learning Program, which aims to expose students to the injustices of poverty and other social issues facing the nation's poor.

The program, which is run by Notre Dame's Center for Social Concerns, sends students to 200 sites each summer to spend eight weeks volunteering.

This is the first time the Caridad Center has participated, but it probably won't be the last, said Veronica Bernardo, Caridad's director of program services.

"She's not here to change things," Bernardo said of Davenport. "She's here to understand and learn."

The idea is to plant a seed, Bernardo said, "and hopefully she will help someone else who may be in need."

There's plenty to absorb at the center, which provides free medical and dental care primarily to the families of poor agricultural workers who continue to struggle as housing developments overtake vegetable fields.

"The fields are sprouting half-million-dollar homes," Bernardo said. "These families are still here - now they are looking for employment."

At its West Boynton Beach Boulevard campus, the center treats 7,000 patients a year on an annual budget of about $3 million, half of which comes from grants and donations. Volunteer services and in-kind donations, such as medicine and other supplies, make up the other half of the budget.

Among the volunteers is Dr. Harvey Beaver, associate professor in the pediatric dental department at Nova Southeastern University in Davie.

On a recent morning, Beaver and six senior dental students from Nova were busy treating a group of children to their first-ever dental cleanings.

Davenport, a Notre Dame senior who has applied to dental school herself, was assisting.

"I know you're hungry, but you can't eat for 30 minutes," she told a young girl who complained of hunger immediately after a fluoride treatment.

Beaver said Davenport's friendly disposition has helped make nervous kids more comfortable and has lightened the atmosphere in general.

"I hope she gets into dental school soon so we can all celebrate," he said.

While Davenport helps out in the dental clinic two mornings a week, she also does less glamorous jobs throughout the rest of the week. They include answering phones, filing and reading to fidgety kids.

That's OK with Davenport, who said she chose this site after learning it was a migrant clinic, in part so she could practice her Spanish.

But, she said, the experience so far has surpassed her expectations.

"It's great to see everything this center does," said the Mishawaka, Ind., native. "That they can do all this with volunteers, grants and donations."

While Davenport works for free, she said she will receive three theology credits for the program and a $2,300 scholarship toward Notre Dame tuition.

She also must complete a series of weekly reading and writing assignments designed to foster reflection on social justice, poverty and suffering.

The goal of the program, which relies on Notre Dame alumni families to house the students, is to build a foundation that will lead to further community involvement and social change.

Davenport, who is staying with a Boca Raton family, said she already has plans to "give back."

"I've seen myself going abroad," she said, "but the more I see here - there is so much need in our own country."