Service · Impact · Transformation

SEVA is
the medicine

SEVA Medicine Collective serves as a platform for reciprocity while developing service-driven leaders. Working alongside locally led healthcare initiatives in Peru, leaders transform compassion into measurable action that strengthens both communities and the leaders who serve them.

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SEVA Medicine Collective

SEVA is a word that translates to "selfless service" - a practice that shifts from the "me" to the "we."

Who We Are

Investing in

locally led healthcare and service-centered humans

The Amazon Jungle and the people of Peru have given so much to this world - their land, their knowledge, their medicine, their wisdom. Ayni, the Andean principle of sacred reciprocity, teaches us that what we receive from the earth and from each other must be returned with equal care. Because when we give back, we are not just helping someone else - we are remembering that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. That we are connected. That our wellbeing is tied to the wellbeing of others. In a world that often pulls us into isolation, Ayni is a reminder that to serve is to belong - and that belonging is what heals us all.

SEVA is a platform to practice that. We create service experiences where people come to Peru not just to give, but to be changed - to build initiatives alongside local communities, learn from them, and have an opportunity to be of service. An opportunity to remember that meaning lives in the "we."

What makes SEVA unique is building upon 20 years of relationships in Peru via Peruvian nonprofit TPAIDA (see our YouTube video for more details). This groundwork has set up access and working trusted relationships with local leaders of Peru. We are stepping into something that already has roots, and using those roots to mobilize resources and make real impact.

While we will give opportunity for all service-driven humans, SEVA Medicine Collective also offers a scholarshipped fellowship for healthcare leaders. Our fellowship model is inspired by the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.

सेवा

The Meaning of SEVA

SEVA is a word that translates to "selfless service" - a powerful practice that shifts from the "me" to the "we." It is an act of human compassion that reminds us of our shared humanity. We hope it transforms you.

What We Do

Pillars we
stand on

In Andean cosmology, Ayni is the principle of sacred reciprocity - the understanding that what we give and what we receive are one. This is the spirit that guides everything we do in Peru.

01

Providing Clinical Care

Delivering direct clinical care to the people of Peru - in hospitals, Amazon Jungle Clinics, and the communities that need it most. We plan to invest in and train community health workers, set up surgery clinics, and provide access to people who traditionally do not have access otherwise.

02

Mobilizing Resources

Channeling resources toward locally identified healthcare needs - scholarships, medical equipment, supplies, and grassroots health initiatives - guided by the people of Peru, not by us.

03

Service-Based Experiences

We create service retreat experiences where people come to Peru not just to give, but to be changed. Service, when done with presence and humility, has the power to fundamentally transform who we are. That transformation is part of the work.

Dr. Dan

Co-Founder

Dr. Dan

Dr. Dan is an Orthopedic Spine Surgeon and former Army Major Combat Surgeon. During his deployment to Afghanistan, he served as Head of Orthopedic Surgery on a multinational mission, providing patient care and training local surgeons. He also has experience working in rural, low-resourced communities across America. He will spearhead SEVA's surgical initiatives in Peru.

Dr. Kat

Co-Founder

Dr. Kat

Dr. Kat is an Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine Physician and Director of Humanism in Medical Education at a residency program. She creates curriculum and teaches doctors-in-training how to remember our humanness in a system that often disconnects. She is also an Albert Schweitzer Fellow for Life and knows how to implement sustainable community health initiatives. She will spearhead SEVA's service-based experiences.

Our Story

How SEVA
came to be

SEVA Medicine Collective was born from an unexpected encounter in Peru. At a leadership retreat called Warrior Retreats X, they met a translator named James, and realized that one act of service could become something much larger.

The Encounter

A Pivotal Retreat

Dr. Kat and Dr. Dan traveled to Peru for Warrior Retreats X, a leadership retreat led by Branden Collinsworth - Dr. Rolling's son, who has kept his father's humanitarian spirit alive. Their translator was James, who revealed what a true Warrior embodied. He has a remarkable story of resilience and purpose, and is so close to becoming a doctor.

The Legacy

Dr. Rolling & TPAIDA

Dr. Lane Rolling founded TPAIDA, a Peruvian nonprofit that brought American students to Peru for service experiences while reinvesting deeply in Peruvian healthcare. He taught at a local university medical school, supported hospital training, and gave back to Amazon jungle clinics. James was a critical part of TPAIDA, and Dr. Rolling's plan was always to leave it to him. James was not just a student but the future steward of that mission.

James's Story

A medical student who had to stop

James was born and raised in Iquitos, Peru. A series of serendipitous events led him from poverty to five years away from becoming a doctor. This story spans 20 years.


2003 - James met Dr. Rolling at the Iquitos airport.


2003–2005 - James worked as Dr. Rolling's bag boy.


2006–2018 - James became a medical interpreter, growing into a critical part of TPAIDA's work in Peru.


2019 - Dr. Rolling committed to sponsor James, including his family, to attend medical school. James earned admission ranking 5th out of 300 applicants for 10 spots.


2020 - James started medical school.


2021 - James contracted COVID and almost died. He was intubated for two months. It took him a year to learn how to eat and walk again.


2022 - James returned to medical school.


2023 - At the age of 59, Dr. Rolling tragically and unexpectedly passes away. Everything comes to a stop.

The Realization

More than a scholarship

By caring for Dr. Rolling's legacy and ensuring James becomes a doctor, SEVA gains access to the platform TPAIDA already built: the hospital relationships, the jungle clinics, the community trust built over 20 years. This is not just about a scholarship. James is the key to expanding healthcare in Peru using infrastructure that already exists and already works.

See Our Work

Watch the work
come alive

Follow along on YouTube to see our teams in the field, the communities we serve in Peru, and the stories of individuals whose lives are changed through selfless service.

Visit Our Channel

Join the
Collective

Whether you're a clinician, student, or someone who believes in a more equitable world. There is a place for you in this work.

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© 2026 SEVA Medicine Collective. All rights reserved.

SEVA Medicine Collective is a pending 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Final approval is currently awaited. Donations may not be tax-deductible until approval is granted.