Dear family and friends,
As most of you know, I am in my 4th and final year of medical school. The 4th year is the best year of medical school because you get to choose the specialties you rotate in and find cool places in which to do those rotations. I have already spent a month in an Emergency Department in Chicago. While Chicago was amazing and exciting, the rotation I am looking forward to the most is my participation in the SHARE Kenya program offered through the University of Ohio College of Osteopathic Medicine. Several medical students, residents, and physicians will be making the annual voyage to Marasa, Kenya on November 27th through December 15th this year.
Dr. Bonyo, an Osteopathic physician from Kenya, founded the program several years ago as a promise made as a child to help underserved Kenyans through medical care. It is a 3-week clinical program in which students, faculty and clinicians deliver healthcare in rural Western Kenya. In 2006 a new free-standing clinic in Masara was opened, a donation from Dr. Bonyo.
I heard about this program during my first semester of school in 2006 and have been anxiously waiting until I would have my turn to participate. Since I plan to practice part-time international medicine as a regular part of my career, I know that delivering health care to the people of Kenya will help me gain a better understanding of what all is entailed in international medical work and help me better understand the needs of those I will be serving.
The expenses of the program are the responsibility of the participants and will total approximately $5000. This includes pre-travel preparations such as vaccinations, travel, lodging, food, and some clinic supplies. Participants are also responsible to bring additional supplies for the clinic. Many of these are things that can simply be picked up at the grocery store like toothbrushes and toothpaste, bandaids, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, aspirin, antibiotic and antifungal ointments. So, anything you would use at home, the patients in Kenya will likely need as well.
Any support, whether it be financial, medical supplies, or prayers is greatly appreciated. While participating in this program means a lot to me, I know it means a lot more to the people who are receiving health care that would not normally be able to do so. It’s just a start to a greater lifetime goal I have of serving the people of third world countries with medical care.
If you would like to learn more about my Kenya travel experience, you can visit www.AliciaInKenya.org. Here I will have different avenues in which you can donate, more information about the SHARE Kenya program, updates on meeting my financial goals, needed supplies, and pictures and stories from Kenya.
Thank you,
Alicia Cleaver