With a Young Changemaker’s grant from Luena Foundation, Benjamin Lam was able to purchase nine blood pressure cuffs and blood pressure medications that were used to treat hypertensive patients in the rural villages of San Pedro, San Narciso, and Libertad in northern Belize.
Ben Lam is an incoming freshman at Tulane University who plans to major in neuroscience on the pre-medicine track. Throughout schooling, he was always infatuated with the human body. This interest coupled with his experiences in medical missions manifested in an interest in medicine. He graduated valedictorian of his high school and was the captain of his track team.
Ben was first exposed to the rampant issue of hypertension at the age of twelve during his first medical mission to Belize. The first thing he noticed was how prevalent it was; it seemed that nearly every adult unknowingly suffered from this issue. He realized that simple measures such as dietary education and access to anti-hypertensive medications could have a profound impact on their community. He became motivated to reduce the burden that this condition has on rural Belizean villages and provide widespread education on preventing hypertension through lifestyle changes.
Becoming a Luena Changemaker
Ben applied for and was awarded a Young Changemaker’s Grant from Luena Foundation which gave him the opportunity to fund the supply and transport of antihypertensive medications and blood pressure cuffs as well as the development of dietary educational material.
These supplies were sent to rural Belizean villages with the goal of providing resources to help prevent and monitor hypertension while also raising awareness towards the external causes of hypertension. Ben met with government officials from the Belizean Ministry of Health and Wellness to coordinate the logistics of the implementation of this project, and gained their approval for its initiation.
With the help of the organization Partners for Medical Relief – an organization dedicated to filling medical gaps, building medical capability and providing needed supporting services – patients were screened and those who met the criteria for hypertension met with a cardiologist to become educated on hypertension and preventative measures, received their antihypertensive medications, and were scheduled for biweekly follow-up appointments with local healthcare professionals to monitor their blood pressure.
“These rural villages don’t have reliable access to medications and patients often have extremely elevated blood pressures that increase their risk of stroke, heart attacks, heart failure, kidney disease, and vision loss. Luena Foundation’s Changemaker’s Grant has allowed me to work with local groups to implement a hypertension treatment program that teaches people how to monitor and effectively lower their blood presses to improve their health.”
– Benjamin Lam
