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# Teen Caitlin Meredith Builds Latrines in Ecuador, Vows to Bring Medical Care to Remote Villages
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/c-o-m-m-u-n-i-t-y-p-r-o-f-i-l-e-s-i-s-a-w-e-e-k-l-y-s-e-r-i-e-s-t-h-a-t-a-p-p-e-a-r-s-e-a-c-h-m-o-n-d-a-y-a-n-d-d-e-l-v-e-s-i-n-t-o-t-h-e-p-e-o-p-l-e-20060130/
- Published: 2006-01-30T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:05:55.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Health, Main St, #archive-import

MAIN STREET — While the average 16-year-old girl is fascinated with pop music, fashion and that cute guy in her history class, Caitlin Meredith had more important things on her mind at that age. Instead of hanging out at the local mall or lounging at the beach all summer, Meredith chose to fly to Ecuador and build latrines to prevent a cholera epidemic.

It was there that she first realized her calling: to provide sorely needed medical services to remote villages all across the world.

“When I got there, I looked around and wondered where the nearest hospital was,” she said during an interview near her family’s home on Ocean Park Boulevard,

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 30, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/013006.pdf?ref=smdp.com)