Rwanda Public Health Education
Donation protected
Hello and thank you for reading about my upcoming trip this summer. I am currently a first year medical student at Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Medical College and am hoping to pursue a career in population and global health. This summer I am going on a 5-week trip to rural Rwanda in order to participate in Health Education and many other population health oriented tasks. We will be staying in a parish house and working in two small villages, Akarambi and Ruli. To make this trip financially possible I need your help!
JeffHEALTH:
The program that created this trip is called JeffHEALTH (Helping East Africa Link to Health). It is a Jefferson created program with a collaborative of students and faculty, which works to provide education and community health programs in several Rwandan villages. The basis of the program is a student exchange where about 8 American medical students (and other health science students) visit Rwanda while several Rwandan medical students visit Philadelphia for clinical rotations. While in Rwanda JeffHEALTH works with the Rwandan medical students, local community health workers, local political leaders, and village elders to provide the education and services they are in need of. Additionally other groups of upper year medical students and faculty visit for clinical rotations and clinical medicine assistance to the population of Rwanda.
The first village that JeffHEALTH worked with was Rugerero. Recently JeffHEALTH students have been concentrating their efforts on Akarambi and this year we will be starting to work with Ruli while continuing to monitor the progress of programs in Akarambi.
Plans:
JeffHEALTH uses the method train the trainer to empower local health workers with knowledge that they can then use with their fellow villagers. Lessons cover topics such as nutrition, drug and alcohol abuse, hygiene, family planning, and HIV/AIDS. These topics were chosen based on the needs of the community, which are communicated by the translator and village worker, Andre Munyantanage. Beyond the training that students provide, students also bring other necessary programs to the villages such as animal husbandry to provide protein, electrification, and improved access to water.
When students are not working in the villages they are traveling around the country to shadow at different medical centers. This is an important aspect of the program because it allows students to gain insight on other health systems and gain important skills like cultural competence (being able to understand a patient's culture and how that will affect their health while also being culturally sensitive). Especially with cultural competence, these are skills and lessons that students can carry with them throughout their clinical careers.
Why:
Ever since I became interested in the field of medicine I have wanted to be involved with global medicine. I hope that these global health experiences can help open my mind and shape my view of health. I want to infuse everything I learn while in Rwanda into my work as a clinical physician.
As I have learned more about population and global health I knew that I wanted to be involved with sustainable programs without crossing the boundaries of medical tourism. I want the work that I do to go beyond the short time I visit Rwanda. JeffHEALTH offers sustainable programs with intense personal connections to the individuals living and working in Rwanda.
Finally I think that experiencing a world other than your own is an important thing. I hope that living in third world living conditions will really help me shape my outlook on life and my future career as a clinician!
Price:
The estimated price based on current flight information and past student reports.
$2,000 - flights
$180 - ground transportation
$600 - room and board at the village parish house
$30 - Rwanda travel visa
$210 - travel/international health insurance
$600 - estimated costs for prophylactic malaria medications, yellow fever vaccine, and typhoid vaccine
$200 - books and supplies
$800 - spending money (including a bit of travel and sight-seeing on a couple of the weekends)
Beyond what I have personally and the $1,000 (specific amounts will be released in April) from Jefferson grants, I need $3,200 to be able to travel to Rwanda this summer! Any donations beyond my goal will be put toward the group funding of projects.
Given that it is financially possible, this trip will help my fellow students and I create sustainable programs in Rwanda and empower the villagers to take control of their own health. JeffHEALTH will help me start my lifelong dream of a career in population and global health!
Thank you!
Amanda
JeffHEALTH:
The program that created this trip is called JeffHEALTH (Helping East Africa Link to Health). It is a Jefferson created program with a collaborative of students and faculty, which works to provide education and community health programs in several Rwandan villages. The basis of the program is a student exchange where about 8 American medical students (and other health science students) visit Rwanda while several Rwandan medical students visit Philadelphia for clinical rotations. While in Rwanda JeffHEALTH works with the Rwandan medical students, local community health workers, local political leaders, and village elders to provide the education and services they are in need of. Additionally other groups of upper year medical students and faculty visit for clinical rotations and clinical medicine assistance to the population of Rwanda.
The first village that JeffHEALTH worked with was Rugerero. Recently JeffHEALTH students have been concentrating their efforts on Akarambi and this year we will be starting to work with Ruli while continuing to monitor the progress of programs in Akarambi.
Plans:
JeffHEALTH uses the method train the trainer to empower local health workers with knowledge that they can then use with their fellow villagers. Lessons cover topics such as nutrition, drug and alcohol abuse, hygiene, family planning, and HIV/AIDS. These topics were chosen based on the needs of the community, which are communicated by the translator and village worker, Andre Munyantanage. Beyond the training that students provide, students also bring other necessary programs to the villages such as animal husbandry to provide protein, electrification, and improved access to water.
When students are not working in the villages they are traveling around the country to shadow at different medical centers. This is an important aspect of the program because it allows students to gain insight on other health systems and gain important skills like cultural competence (being able to understand a patient's culture and how that will affect their health while also being culturally sensitive). Especially with cultural competence, these are skills and lessons that students can carry with them throughout their clinical careers.
Why:
Ever since I became interested in the field of medicine I have wanted to be involved with global medicine. I hope that these global health experiences can help open my mind and shape my view of health. I want to infuse everything I learn while in Rwanda into my work as a clinical physician.
As I have learned more about population and global health I knew that I wanted to be involved with sustainable programs without crossing the boundaries of medical tourism. I want the work that I do to go beyond the short time I visit Rwanda. JeffHEALTH offers sustainable programs with intense personal connections to the individuals living and working in Rwanda.
Finally I think that experiencing a world other than your own is an important thing. I hope that living in third world living conditions will really help me shape my outlook on life and my future career as a clinician!
Price:
The estimated price based on current flight information and past student reports.
$2,000 - flights
$180 - ground transportation
$600 - room and board at the village parish house
$30 - Rwanda travel visa
$210 - travel/international health insurance
$600 - estimated costs for prophylactic malaria medications, yellow fever vaccine, and typhoid vaccine
$200 - books and supplies
$800 - spending money (including a bit of travel and sight-seeing on a couple of the weekends)
Beyond what I have personally and the $1,000 (specific amounts will be released in April) from Jefferson grants, I need $3,200 to be able to travel to Rwanda this summer! Any donations beyond my goal will be put toward the group funding of projects.
Given that it is financially possible, this trip will help my fellow students and I create sustainable programs in Rwanda and empower the villagers to take control of their own health. JeffHEALTH will help me start my lifelong dream of a career in population and global health!
Thank you!
Amanda
Organizer
Amanda Nemecz
Organizer
Wilmington, DE