Avi Kerendian or the ascent of a medical non-profit leader: GGHTx is on a mission in changing lives through the power of global health. “Gracias” Global Health Trips, otherwise known as GGHTx, is a global health-oriented nonprofit organization/NGO that brings together young volunteers from medical and dental backgrounds to aid in intensive, week-long medical mission trips in rural villages throughout Latin America and Uganda. Led by Co-Founders Dr. Arash Hakhamian and Avi Kerendian, register for the volunteer experience of a lifetime!
Avi Kerendian is the Co-Founder and Program Director of GGHTx. GGHTx, also known as “Gracias” Global Health Trips, is an active public health non-profit improving global health in underserved, indigenous communities in Latin America and Uganda through community-based partnerships (CBO’s) with the end goal of fostering self-sufficiency.
Avi Kerendian latest project: By developing and increasing access to educational HIV programs that focus on prevention and awareness, GGHTx hopes this partnership will help in creating better health outcomes for individuals and families in Uganda. Zidan Benevolence International will help facilitate the work with providers, community leaders, patient advocates, and government officials to identify gaps, then develop and scale up the best practices to achieve sustainable and scalable improvements.
How about after finally arriving there you realize that the doctor has run out of the most basic medical supplies used to treat and evaluate your 2-month old baby who has been coughing in sheer pain for the last 3 days and likely has a severe case of pneumonia; something totally preventable and treatable with basic medicine, but without which can now be life-threatening. You are turned away and told to go back home. You now have no choice but to wait until next week – hoping and praying – that this time the doctor will not have run out of the medicine your child desperately needs.
To empower young adults – students and professionals – to create sustainable change for vulnerable communities in Latin America and Uganda through nonprofit service mission trips. Creating sustainable projects in developing communities, while also offering volunteers the opportunity to engage in fun afternoon extracurricular activities that embrace the life, language, and culture of the places we visit. In Latin America, adventure is everywhere! Be patient. Do not give up when things feel difficult or disorganized. Warm up to your project and the people working there. Remember, you need to take initiatives and to be very proactive in order to integrate into your project.
Avi Kerendian – Cancer Researcher : Before becoming the program director of GGHTx, Avi Kerendian also participated at the prestigious Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) as a Neurology Cancer-Research Assistant at the renowned “Ronald Blasberg Lab.” While there, Avi Kerendian used his skills to actively contribute towards two research projects that seek to reverse the progression of tumors in glioblastoma and breast cancer in terminal cancer patients. As one of the youngest researchers on his team, Avi Kerendian successfully trained in small animal surgery and medicine. Discover extra details at Avi Kerendian.