Strategically placed in the center of the MATC student building, Garifina Rhythms demonstrated an African style of drumming. Led by MATC instructor Reggie Finlayson, Jestine Mueller, Joseph Connelly, Kameron Syles, Demetrus Ford and Alex Olavarria make up Garifina Rhythms.
The audience was made up of MATC students, instructors and other people around campus. There were about 20 people circling the band, and many more on the second and third floor looking down on the music makers. A few people lingered around the drumming set before moving on. The contagious music had many people moving to the beat.
“If I could make music like that I’d stay at home all day and just make music,” Darnell Thomas said. Thomas was at Ethic Fest to support the wife Hanife, an ESL student originally from Turkey. They were awaiting Dr. Castillo’s talk about Health Care and human rights.
Dr. Castillo dressed in a suit briefly joined the drumming circling, helping to boost the audience’s energy. He has a wonderful smile and a joyous laugh that is extremely infectious. It’s apparent that this man has many talents.
Next the International Student Organization (ISO) welcomed attendees with an Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Ethiopian students Nardos Gizaw and Amsake Legesse conducted the ceremony, with a few others helping out. Slides of Ethiopia showed the attendees how people live there, their countryside and how important the coffee ceremony is.
The ceremony is used to show respect for your guests. Usually coffee is served with a sprig of mint in the cup and popcorn on the side.
The girls that are showing the audience their country stood in front of a large Ethiopian flag, dressed head to toe in traditional garb. Their energy is contagious and their smiles full.
“How can you not want to be part of this,” a member of the audience said. Members were encouraged to try some coffee and traditional bread.
The man of the hour Dr. Luther Castillo was close by waiting his turn to captivate the audience. He is on a Mid-West, Western then Eastern American tour. Dr. Castillo is talking about Health care and whether or not it is a basic human right. On his tour he will visit UWM, MATC in Milwaukee, along with Carroll University in Waukesha and UW-Madison. He will also visit Harvard while on the East Coast.
Luther Castillo grew up in a small village of Tocamacho, in Honduras. He grew up without many resources including electricity, running water and paved roads and sufficient health care. This motivated him towards the decision to study medicine.
“No person should be without healthcare,” Dr. Castillo said. “There is no need for people to be dying of preventable diseases. I want to help prevent life loss.”
He was granted a scholarship to attend the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba and graduated in 2005. He did his residency in family medicine from 2006 to 2007 in Honduras. Rotary International later named him “Honduran Doctor of the Year.”
In 2008 he went on to get his Masters in public health. Dr. Castillo is thinking of getting his PhD in infectious diseases and science next year.
The director of a hospital and foundation (‘Health of our people’) Dr. Castillo is a busy man. The hospital he is director of services many villages in his area as it is the only facility close by. They offer free medical care, even though they are not government subsidized. The hospital relies on national and international sponsors.
“The most expensive cost in crisis is human resources,” Dr. Castillo said. “We have the human resources.” Presently Dr. Castillo is one of the doctors involved in putting Medisur together. It will be a group of approximately 10,000 doctors that graduated from Latin American School of Medicine. This will be a global team from roughly 50 countries. The group will be readily available for global disasters.
Dr. Castillo is trilingual. He speaks Garifuna, the language of his village, Spanish, that was taught in school and English, which he learnt on the streets of Cuba.
The current ISO president is Zach Gross, an American MATC student. Cynthia Jill Cherny is the International student advisor for the organization. To find out more about this organization contact Cynthia Jill Cherny on (414) 297 8319, [email protected].
The ISO is open to all students, not just students on student visas. Many members of the ISO are refugees or immigrants that are living in the USA, and studying through MATC. Although there are about 150 members of ISO there are only about a dozen or so ‘active’ members.
