DORCHESTER -- "Oh my goodness, she's going to die in front of me."

Dr. Laura Stachel had that thought as she stood in a hospital and watched a pregnant woman suffering from eclampsia, a pregnancy complication that causes dangerously high blood pressure. The woman lay on a cold, hard metal table, with no monitors to keep track of her vital signs.

Dr. Stachel, who grew up in Brookline, was once an OB-GYN with a passion for delivering babies, until she felt excruciating back pain. Discs in her spine had fused together, forcing her to stop practicing medicine. She decided to go back to school to study maternal health care. Her studies took her to a hospital in Nigeria, which, like many in rural sub-Saharan Africa, was an unclean facility with very little equipment, no running water, and sporadic electricity. The sun is often the only light doctors work under. The night is always deadlier. Healthcare facilities are pitch black, save for kerosene lanterns or sometimes candles. Hundreds of people -- the suffering women, their families, and the frantic doctors and nurses, who often find themselves running through the hospital looking for help because there are no pagers -- are invisible.

"I realized that, even though I was a doctor from a country that had a lot of resources, I had no idea that the situation was this dire in other countries," Dr. Stachel said. "And I thought maybe, maybe I can do something. Maybe I can be a voice for these women who are dying in silence."

Dr. Stachel and her husband, Hal Aronson, a solar energy educator, teamed up to found We Care Solar, a nonprofit that provides "solar suitcases" that power healthcare facilities in developing countries. Dr. Stachel paid a visit via Zoom to seventh graders at Pope St. John Paul II Catholic Academy Lower Mills Campus in Dorchester on Jan. 15, explaining her work and offering some inspiration.

"The smallest thing can turn into something so incredibly impactful for other people, which is exactly what she did," seventh-grade English teacher and self-professed Dr. Stachel "fangirl" Rhonda Eaton told The Pilot.

Matt Rinaldi, who is on the Campaign for Catholic Schools Board of Advisors, introduced the school to We Care Solar. Eaton had the idea to incorporate the nonprofit's work with the book her students are currently reading: "They Cage the Animals at Night," a memoir by Jennings Michael Burch about his experience in a series of abusive foster homes. Eaton told her students to put together a different kind of suitcase -- one for the belongings of foster children, who only have a single piece of luggage to carry all of their needs. The seventh graders created their own fictional nonprofit, called Kits-4-Kids, and imaginary foster children to be its beneficiaries. They filled the suitcases with items their children would need based on their age and gender, and wrote personal letters to them. Two groups of students presented suitcases to Dr. Stachel, which both contained a stuffed animal, toiletries, skincare products, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hat, a scarf, a diary, writing utensils, and feminine hygiene products.

"We heard that you're in a new and unfamiliar environment and might not have all of your necessities," seventh grader Na'Zyah said, reading a letter to the foster child "Amelia." "We've put together a brand new suitcase; it's customized just for you."

"We hope you like the necessities we provide so your life becomes even more enjoyable," seventh grader Layla said, reading a letter to "Kakomi." "We understand that life may be difficult, but make sure to keep your head up."

"This exercise that you did in creating this suitcase is actually one of the most important types of lessons that you could possibly have in life," Dr. Stachel told the seventh graders. "Because what I'm noticing is that you were really able to imagine what it would be like for another child to be in a situation where they don't have everything that they need. So you were really showing your empathy for another human being."

Dr. Stachel had the same thoughts when she saw the desperate conditions faced by pregnant women in Nigeria. It was an unexpected turn for her research -- she was originally studying maternal health disparities in the U.S., where Black and Hispanic women are more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women.

"There's a lot of problems in this world to address," she said, "and that's one that probably some of you in this room may think about addressing as you get older, or learning more about it to try and understand what is being done."

Dr. Stachel has met with world leaders and received many awards, but the one she is proudest of is the AARP Purpose Prize, which is only given to people over 50.

"You probably can't even imagine what it would be like to be that old," she said, "and when I was your age, I never imagined it either. And I certainly never imagined that at that age, I'd still have enough energy and drive to start an organization that I had no experience in building, and to do things in other countries. But I'd say I'm very proud to show that people can have good ideas at any age, and as long as you have a passion, you can start something new."

She asked the seventh graders if they believe they could create something like We Care Solar. A few raised their hands.

"I most likely think I can do it if I believe in myself and I have confidence and I can help other people," one of them said, "because when I grow up, I really want to be a doctor."