Philippines Medical Mission
In the midst of all the political and religious turmoil we as a culture and generation face today, it seems that many of us have forgotten the foundation and core principles that religion was built on; to love mankind and to help one another.
Brianna Lareau and Hayat Shawwa first met while working at InterAct, a domestic violence and sexual assault agency in Wake County that provides safety, support and awareness to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault/rape. Brianna, an American, born and raised Christian, and Hayat, an Arab-American born and raised Muslim, both share the belief that we must honor the dignity and worth of all individuals, regardless of race, religion, creed, nationality, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.
The two not only share a deep passion for the victims and survivors they helped serve while working at InterAct together, but also those hurting worldwide. Their love for people and vision for a safer world has brought the duo together to lead a team to the Philippines this December with the hopes of bringing medical and emotional support to orphans and untouchables who are denied even the most basic of needs. Putting everything else aside, this duo has teamed up to carry out the basic principiles of each religion; which is to help those in need.
Meet our team!
Brianna Lareau, 20, has been traveling the world to help those in need since 2012. Her trips have taken her to Venezuela several times to build houses for underpriviledged, provide resources to local orphanages, and rescue children from sex-trafficking. She has also been to Nicaragua to help rehabilitate women who were victims of sex trafficking, and she just recently returned from the Philippines where she led a team to provide medical care for the untouchables. 
Hayat Shawwa, 26, a second year Master's of Social Work student at NCSU, currently coordinates a tutoring program in Wake County helping young children build strong relationships with mentors in the community while promoting educational success. She currently works at Broughton Highschool as a school social work intern serving students and families in the broughton community. In 2010 she traveled to Rome, Italy where she met with representatives from the World Food Program to learn about their efforts to alleviate global hunger while promoting food security. During her stay, she worked at a food kitchen run by the city providing meals to the poor with a focus on its refugee population.
Micheal Ciardella, 27, is currently a student at the University of Rhode Island studying fine arts with a concentration in photography. He hopes to expand his portfolio by being the exectutive photographer and videographer for this medical mission.
Dr. Ciardella, a Primary Care Internist from Southington CT, has been in practice since 1983. He graduated from Rutgers Pharmancy School in 1970 and NJ Medical School in 1980. Dr. Ciardella is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the UCONN School of Medicine and the Medical Director of The Summit, a 150 bed acute rehabilitation and nursing home. He has done four medical missions as oart of medical training in Mexico and was the organizer and team leader of "Hearts For Haiti", a medical mission after the 2010 earthquake. He has been married to Susan Ciardella for 29 years and has 3 sons, Thomas, Jonathan, and Michael, and has 11 grandchildren.
Our goal is to raise $8,000 to help cover the cost of this trip - including medical supplies and some travel expenses for the team. EVERY bit helps and NO donation is too small.
"This past June my team was able to treat over 700 people in desperate need of medical care. It was truly a life changing experience and I'm so thankful to have been given the chance to lead another team this winter. Please consider partnering with us in any way possible as we strive to show the world that unity is possible." ~ Brianna
Help spread the word and always #lovemankind