For the past two years, Saint Joseph College nursing students and faculty members visited the South American country of Guyana. The group worked at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital (run by the Sisters of Mercy) in Georgetown, Guyana, as well as at some of the other ministries of the Sisters of Mercy. You may read more about their experience by visiting: http://www.sjc.edu/content.cfm/pageid/3454. This year they will be accompanied by Graduate Counseling students.

Situated on the Atlantic coast, Guyana includes a mélange of cultures but is mostly Afro-Guyanese and East Indo-Guyanese. Known as "the land of rivers and plains," Guyana is one of the smallest countries in South America and is home to tropical rain forests, lush mountains and coastal beaches. Guyana also boasts the famous Kaieteur Falls, a stunning waterfall that is four times higher than Niagara. This English-speaking country was a British territory until its independence in 1966. Today, Guyana is very poor with an annual per capita income of about $250.00. Therefore, the work of groups like the Sisters of Mercy is crucial. The Sisters of Mercy have been in the country since the 1890s. Currently, they are involved in running schools, an orphanage, a skill program for school dropouts, and a hospital.

This year from January 11-24, 2004 (dates may be subject to slight changes due to transportation availability) both Saint Joseph College nursing students and counseling students will return to Guyana. As you know, counseling requires that one attend to the cultural context and incorporate the worldview(s) of that specific culture. It is the purpose of this trip to provide students with a first hand opportunity to become immersed in the culture of a developing country and experience counseling as it is practiced in a country burdened by extreme poverty.

This experience is open only to counseling students or graduates who have completed, or will have completed by the departure date, Coun 514, Multicultural Counseling. During this Fall semester (2003) those who plan to participate will attend a two and one half-hour class every other week to prepare for the experience, investigate the Guyanese worldviews, and prepare counseling interventions for target populations. To view the syllabus, Click Here.

While in Guyana, students and graduates will be housed in furnished apartments or houses procured by Saint Joseph College faculty for the purpose of this trip. The cost of the trip will be roughly $2000 per person, which includes a layover in the Barbados, and, at an additional expense, the possibility of an optional trip to the interior of Guyana trip to see the remote Kaieteur Falls in the rain forest. Saint Joseph College registration, tuition, fees, and personal expenses are not included.