MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — A Manitowoc woman is preparing to begin the new year on a mission to help others far from home.
Cayla Gunderson, a Manitowoc Lincoln High School graduate and Bellin College radiology student, has spent months working concessions at Lambeau Field to fund a medical mission trip to Guatemala. She and her classmates raised around $20,000 to support their upcoming journey.
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"A portion of the sales was donated to us every single time that we worked which goes towards our flight, what we are bringing over there," Gunderson said.
Now that funding is secured, the trip is just days away. The preparation has been extensive for Gunderson, who has never traveled internationally before.
"Personally I've never flown out of the country before so I had to get a passport, I also had to make a travel vaccine appointment," Gunderson said. "We had to get different things like pills for malaria, typhoid vaccines, just certain things that we are not used to over here."
The group spent the last few weeks organizing and packing supplies for their mission.
"We packed about 20 to 30 suitcases, they were all filled with pill packing, clothes, toys, shoes," Gunderson said. "We had certain medications, pills, childrens vitamins are super important over there."
Gunderson said those supplies will be spread across Guatemala, helping many people through rotating medical stations in different villages.
"We rotate through different villages where we have stations set up. Some are just height and weight, some are eye stations, some are dental stations, one is hands on with a physician to just do those physicals, offer medication," Gunderson said.
For Gunderson, the trip represents more than just providing medical care.
"At the end of the day, we're all human so it's important just to give back when we are able to," Gunderson said.
The group leaves January 4th and will return to the United States January 18th.
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