Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/8/16
From Press Release
Former Saint Joseph’s men’s lacrosse player Matt Sarcona (Northport, N.Y/Northport) made a service trip to Montrouis with Team Be The Change this summer. The trip marks his second since graduating from Hawk Hill in May 2015 with a degree in Interdisciplinary Health Services. Sarcona now works as a medical assistant at a primary care physician’s office in New York.
Matt Sarcona
The mission raises money and receives donations of medical and living supplies to bring along to the village of Montrouis, a coastal communal section in western Haiti. The group sets up mobile clinics in remote areas and treats the patients. This year, Sarcona and his group set up an education program about hand washing, tooth brushing, and mosquito prevention among other healthcare issues facing the population. Sarcona also brought down a bunch of lacrosse sticks and showed the children at the local school how to play.
“Theresa Curcio, the mother of one of my friends from St. Joe’s and former women’s lacrosse player Molly Curcio, has been organizing a group of nurses and doctors to go down there every year,” said Sarcona. “When she told me about the poverty and lack of basic healthcare in the country, I was immediately interested in seeing if I could help.
“Donating your time and energy to help those who are less fortunate than you is something I believe most people have an intention to do. However, it is not always clear or easy in how to go about doing so. My education at St. Joe’s truly brought the act of social justice to light for me. The implementation of service and the emphasis of focusing on ‘Community’ by Coach Wray has been an inspiration for ongoing service for me post graduation.
“It’s safe to say the lessons and character building experiences of being a lacrosse player at St. Joe’s has helped me make a valuable impact on society. Seeing the extreme poverty and despair is truly eye opening and no words can really portray how sad life is in Montrouis. There is rarely any electricity, running water, infrastructure/shelter, or access to education in the village. We have made tremendous strides in bringing about change, but still, so much needs to be accomplished to help give these people decent lives. I will continue to travel there every year and give what resources I help acquired, because the people are desperate for our aid and we have an obligation to help.”