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Bast going to Cambodia
Anna Bast
Anna Bast

Platteville High School graduate Anna Bast will complete her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the Edgewood College nursing program in May.

Immediately after graduation, Bast will travel with a small group of nurses and nursing students to Cambodia and Laos to provide much needed health care services.

“We’ll be serving approximately 500 children, most of whom have never seen a doctor,” said Bast.

From 1975 to 1979, Cambodia was under dictator rule and experienced the genocide of nearly 3 million people.  Those not killed were often displaced, disrupting families and destroying homes and livelihoods. The nation has been poverty stricken for decades.

“This is a service-learning opportunity to put my recently acquired nursing skills to good use while helping those in need,” said Bast. “I think of it as a mini-Peace Corps experience.”

In addition to paying their own travel costs, the contingent of nurses must gather a variety of medical (medications, syringes, bandages, etc.) and health care supplies (soap, tooth paste, etc.). Each nurse is expected to collect enough supplies to serve 100 patients.

Bast is a 2011 PHS graduate who is familiar to many as a lifeguard and assistant manager at the Platteville Family Aquatic Center. 

To help with a donation, a check, payable to Edgewood College (memo line: Bast Cambodia May 2015), may be sent to Anna Bast at 1015 N. Fourth St., Platteville, WI 53818.