Global Citizens

Mary Loftus, Nyack, New York

This nurse, mother, and grandmother has made four trips to Haiti in the past two years to volunteer at a rural health clinic on the south coast with a group called Friends of the Children of Haiti. Loftus travels with a team of medical personnel for two-week visits during which they treat more than 2,500 Haitians who cannot afford medical care. She's seen the devastation of the recent earthquake firsthand. "To be honest," says Loftus, "it's not actually that much different for our patients after the earthquake because they had it so bad before. But it's rewarding to know that we're helping to save and improve lives." Loftus, who is a diabetes educator as well, has also worked to get diabetes information translated into Creole for Haitians who know little (or nothing) about the potentially deadly disease.