Written by: Nayani Ramakrishan (Vice President Operations, MEDLIFE UTSC) Freshman year. New beginnings, new adventures, new perspectives. I was an ecstatic first year student who happened to come across MEDLIFE UTSC, which, not surprisingly, changed my perspective on many things. Time to fast forward 2 years.... _____________ Hi! Let me introduce myself-my name is Nayani Ramakrishnan, a third year student at the University of Toronto (Scarborough campus) completing a double major in Neuroscience and English. I have been an active member of MEDLIFE UTSC for the past two years and in this time, MEDLIFE has managed to completely alter my perspective on global health. I joined MEDLIFE because of its unique structure. Yes, it is an organization that brings healthcare to low-income families, but the organization also focuses on aspects of education and development at the same time, thereby improving the quality of living for people in these communities. I believed that joining MEDLIFE would fulfill my dream of bringing change to third world countries and improving global health. Well…let’s just say things have changed a lot since first year. In 2015, I got the opportunity to take part in a mobile clinic trip to Peru and my entire point of view changed after this experience. Now, while I could write about how amazing the experience was, or how it was so great to spend time with the little bundles of energy (the kids in the community), I’m not going to. Why? Because you already know what that’s going to be like. “The trip was the best experience of my life….etc.” Don’t get me wrong, it really was one of the best weeks of my life, and words cannot begin to describe how wonderful the trip was….but, I’m going to save that for another blog post. I would like to discuss something more important that struck me while I was volunteering… As an enthusiastic volunteer I wanted to devote my entire day to volunteering at the clinics. It was an exhilarating (clearly, I only know adjectives that begin with the letter e) feeling being immersed in the culture and lifestyle of Peruvians in these communities. However, clinics were only held for half the day, which troubled me. I asked my group leader, “Why are we closing the clinics at around 3-4pm everyday?”, “Why aren’t they held longer?” To which he stated that MEDLIFE could not fund for clinics to be held for a long period of time. Not having the clinics open longer meant that the majority of men would not be able to attend the clinics because they work during the day. In the years to come, MEDLIFE would probably be able to change this system (as it is an organization that is continuing to grow). What I love about MEDLIFE the most is that the organization emphasizes the importance of education. MEDLIFE educates women to help them take better care of themselves and their families. However, another thought came to mind…how about we educate children on a daily basis? The school located in the area where we worked, was both dangerous and too far for the kids to attend. During the clinics, I noticed many children wandering around in the neighbourhood. Why not emphasize the importance of children’s education? So that perhaps they can become physicians, engineers…etc. and be able to help out their own communities? After I returned from the trip, I was discussing the remarkable experience with family and friends, and I was made aware of something called voluntourism. What does that mean? Well, here’s what google gave me: “Voluntourism is a combination of both volunteering and tourism. If you are looking to visit a foreign country and use your time effectively, a voluntourism trip through Projects Abroad may be the perfect opportunity.” While, this is an accurate definition, why does this matter? I’m sure if you have read this far into the blog you are interested in volunteering in the global south. Although you have great intentions please realize that, invading another person’s community helping them for a day or two, and then touring the country and eventually leaving actually does more harm than good. How? Because, the citizens become dependent on YOU. Taking selfies with children you’ve met five minutes ago and talking about how they’ve changed your perspective is great…but what about THEM? You drop in, make this commendable change in their community, maybe make a special bond with the kids and then just leave? How does that affect the children? Just because it makes a great hashtag, it doesn’t mean you are actually making a sustainable change as a humanitarian. This is the exact opposite of what MEDLIFE is all about. My concern is that we (aside from those good intentions) are slowing the development of these communities, and it is time to spread the word. Though it is important to provide healthcare, education and continue to participate in development projects in low-income communities, one must ensure that these efforts are sustainable, so that individuals of the community don’t become reliant on organizations. This made me question my own volunteer trip…did I really make an impact? After quite a bit of research, I realized that MEDLIFE is one of the few organizations that realize the importance of making a sustainable change. I am proud to be a part of an organization that is open to both growth and development in various forms. MEDLIFE involves community members during both the planning and execution of clinics and projects. They have patient follow-ups and much more! Most importantly, they ask EACH community they work with what they would like to have done and ensure that they are involved in the process so that they can become independent. We were also told during the clinics to get to know the children before taking pictures with them, and at times the parents of the children asked for our contact information to keep in touch. My previous concern about children not being educated is also being addressed as MEDLIFE is commencing to work on mobile schools! So yes, I did make an impact. Building a staircase in Lima, Peru so that people would be able to safely go up and down to collect water was an incredible feeling. In 10 years, the staircase I helped build will still be there, gleaming in bright red paint. But, now I would like to do more, so that community members (in the generations to come) will be able to become independent. One day I hope that citizens will become educated and take initiative in their respective communities. I hope that MEDLIFE becomes an organization that solely assists with projects LED by community members. I could sit here for days and days to write more about voluntourism and its effects. This blog post is just a glimpse into the critique behind voluntourism and how MEDLIFE is addressing these issues. But, for now if you’re thinking about volunteering abroad, do a bit of research. We would all like to make an impact in regards to global health, but the question you should be asking is, how can we make a SUSTAINABLE change? Join MEDLIFE to find out more!
0 Comments
|
|