Doctor to share stories from West Africa with project Bokonon students

Dr. John Spangler, associate professor of family medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, will share his experiences of working in the West African hospitals of Benin with some Wake Forest students raising money to send supplies to the hospitals tonight at 7.

The students are part of Project Bokonon, which means “medicine man” in Benin’s native Fon language. The project is a fund-raiser to buy basic medical supplies for several open-air hospitals in Benin— including the hospital where one of their professors was born.

The event will take place in Winston Hall, Room 125.

The group gives a bandage to every donor who gives $5 in a campaign they call “Band-Aids for Benin.” They have also encouraged student donations by arranging for students to be able to use their university debit card for contributions to the project. They will be selling the bandages before and after tonight’s program. Already, the students have raised more than $1,000.

The event is co-sponsored by Alpha Epsilon Delta, Wake Forest’s pre-medical honor society.

To arrange an interview with the student coordinators or the professor, contact Sarah Smith at manselss@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

Categories: Events, School of Medicine, Speakers