For NIU graduate students Karine Richardson and Abagail Stalcup, AIDS was a daily part of life this summer.

Richardson and Stalcup, along with nursing professor Judith Popovich, were part of a select group of nursing students who spent nine weeks in Swaziland, Africa.

For Stalcup, a graduate student with a bachelor’s degree in biology, the trip not only was a learning experience for the citizens of Swaziland, but a learning experience for her as well.

“It was a wonderful experience to help those in Swaziland,” Stalcup said. “I was able to know that my efforts made a difference in the lives of so many people. In the same way, those in Africa also helped me by allowing me to live and learn from them while embracing me into their culture. It was definitely a two-way learning street.”

Popovich contributes much of the success of the trip to the Minority International Research Training program, which funded the trip through a grant.

“Because of the research monies provided by MIRT, we were able to combine our skills with those of local nurses, faculty and nursing students to carry out evaluations the country really didn’t have the resources to do,” Popovich said in a press release. “We were able to get input on the impact of the community, home-based care training and what could be done to improve the training for the community health workers.”

Richardson was able to go to Africa to earn credit for graduate school. For her, the experience of going to Africa is something she never will forget.

“I feel I made a difference among the people in Swaziland,” Richardson said. “I was part of a team that evaluated a national training program. Many stereotypes that people have about Americans being greedy and arrogant were dispelled by the research team’s words and actions.”

Stalcup is excited about the idea of possibly returning to Africa, because she thinks there are many opportunities for herself within the nursing profession.

“I actually can’t wait to go back to Swaziland because there is so much more that I would be able to do once I receive my RN [registered nurse] degree,” Stalcup said. “I am looking forward to being able to collaborate with other health care workers in other African countries in order to help facilitate better health care.”

Stalcup is optimistic about the future of health care in Africa.

“I think that when most people hear about Africa, they think of poverty, drought and civil unrest,” Stalcup said. “But Africa, as a continent, consists of many countries, each with its own struggles and triumphs.

“There are a lot of good things that are taking place in these countries,” Stalcup said. “They are working to make the future brighter for their people in whatever way they can.”