History of NU-AID

NU-AID was founded in 1999, in the wake of Hurricane Mitch which had devastated much of Central America. A group of second-year medical students traveled to Nicaragua and provided acute care and vaccinations to 1,200 people in and around the cities of Managua and Ocatal. These volunteers returned home exhausted and exhilarated from all that they had seen and done.

After the resounding success of the first trip, there was a significant desire among many other medical students to participate in this amazing experience. Since that time, NU-AID has expanded it's mission to include not only acute care but also public health education in an effort to leave a more lasting impression on the communities we serve. The organization has travelled to several rural communities in Central America, including Nicaragua, Belize, and El Salvador.

Because of NU-AID's long-term outlook for health solutions, we partner with local non-governmental organizations whenever possible. This provides a continuity of presence, and a wonderful source of information for planning our public health initiatives and anticipating what kinds of acute care we will be asked to provide when we arrive.

NU-AID travels to Nicaragua twice each year, in June and in December. We spend our time in two communities: in Matagalpa (where we have been going since 1999) and in the more rural towns surrounding Jinotega (where we have visited since 2002).

Additionally, we sent our first team of students and doctors to Hagley Gap, Jamaica in December 2006. Hagley Gap is served by The Blue Mountain Project, a Chicago-based NGO; and we are confident that in partnership with The Blue Mountain Project we will be able to send teams to there twice every year following our success in December.