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Concert Choir
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the Lincoln
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A S E, page 4
Student
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Opinion,
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Vol. CXXI Issue 17
THE
EPORTER
Stetson University I DeLand, Fla.
Fraternity lends helping
hand to African non-profit
"People exist for
the sake of each
other. It's hard
to see that when
everyone here
is worried about
their own grades
and themselves."
- Alex Beckett
Photo courtesy: Sigma Phi Epsilon
Caroline Williams
Staff Writer
Five members of a Stetson
fraternity chapter traveled to Cameroon, Africa on a fact-finding trip
with their local philanthropy organization over spring break.
Sigma Phi Epsilon Seniors Alex
Beckett, Brendan Beitler, and Casey
Kelly, along with Freshman Samuel
Loving and alumnus Jose Velez went
to Taiyor, Cameroon to with Mission of Hope to Cameroon, a local
nonprofit.
The organization's goal is to
improve the medical and educational
circumstances in the Taiyor community and surrounding areas. The
fraternity chose Mission of Hope
as its official local philanthropy in
2012, and this was the first time they
were able to travel to Africa to help
the organization.
As a sophomore, Beckett
interned at Florida Hospital DeLand
for Dr. George Besong, who heads
the nonprofit. Beckett said it didn't
take long before he was interested in
helping Besong with his efforts.
"I met Dr. Besong and found out
about this philanthropy that he had
called Mission of Hope," Beckett
said. "I was really interested in it,
and being in a fraternity, I said we
could really extend a helping hand.
One thing led to another and we
started fundraising for it."
While the trip was mostly asses-
sive in nature, the group helped construct a school and medical complex,
serviced the water supply for the
town, and provided over-the-counter
drugs to about 150 people for minor
medical conditions.
Beckett said the group's goal for
the trip was to assess what the community needed most, so future trips
could be more beneficial.
"We didn't need to be there
really long," Beckett said. "Wc just
needed to see what the prevalent
issues were in the community so that
wc could come back and really hone
in on what we wanted to fundraise
for for the next time."
Besong grew up in Taiyor
before coming to America to pursue
his education. He now runs a private
practice and works at Sanford Hospital.
'•I knew the plight of the people
I left behind in the village of Taiyor
and other parts of Cameroon,"
Besong said in an email. He and
his brother, Eddy Besong, started
Mission of Hope to give the people
of Taiyor and the surrounding areas
access to healthcare, education and
sanitation methods.
Besong said he felt "very
positive" about Sigma Phi Epsilon's
involvement with the recent trip.
"Even though we had limited resources, our presence alone provided
the people a moral boost and plenty
of hope for the future," Besong said.
The trip was an eye-opener for
the fraternity members, as well.
"It was literally going from one
end of the spectrum to the other,"
Beckett said. "It puts a lot of things
in perspective, so some guys were
kind of emotional about it. When
you come back here, it's really
rewarding to see them appreciate
living and experiencing what they
have here."
The fraternity plans to return to
Cameroon in spring 2015, and hopes
to bring more medical and school
supplies this time.
"People exist for the sake of
each other," Beckett said. "It's hard
to see that when everyone here is
worried about their own grades and
themselves."
Editor's note: Casey Kelly is
also News Editor of The Reporter.
