I would have to say hands down that the most rewarding experience I’ve encountered during my time at the University of Kansas would have to be my experience on the Jayhawk Health Initiative’s medical brigade to the Darien province of Panama. During our week in the community, we were able to participate in the newly established public health brigade as well as help set up a free medical/dental clinic for surrounding indigenous areas of the province.
Before heading out into the Èmbara community to participate in the public health brigade initiative that was newly implemented in the region, we were able to read through the personal statements written by the families who had requested to participate to receive a new latrine for their household. The reasons ranged from “I’m tired of climbing the mountain behind our village to use the restroom to avoid the community’s water source” to “the snakes by the river where we use the restroom are dangerous”. It was definitely eye opening to read through the safety concerns the families had in regards to simply using the restroom. When we arrived we met the woman whose latrine we would be laying the foundation for. She was a younger woman, only a few years older than us volunteers, and a mother of five young children. She had spearheaded an initiative of her own to bring clothes from Panama City out to their small village to give the women more of a selection of clothes than many were used to. Witnessing the cohesiveness of the community was another unique aspect of the public brigade. These were able bodied people who desired to improve the living environment and health of their community while maintaining the cultural aspect of their people.
My first day in the clinic I was stationed in the dentist station. For me this was the most impactful station in the clinic. The main duties of the volunteers were to hand the dentist and her assistant the dental equipment; this mostly consisted of loading shots of anesthetic and tools that looked like pliers. Another more strenuous role was helping calm the children in their parents’ laps as the dentist attempted to perform extractions in a school desk. The dentist also had the difficult task of confronting the parents regarding their crucial role in the oral care of their infant children. She encouraged demanded that these parents start to take responsibility of forming healthy habits for their young children in hopes that the hygiene habits of the community as a whole would begin to improve through the generations.
This experience opened my eyes to a whole new window of healthcare I’d never thought to pursue before. I now have a much greater interest in public health and more specifically international health care practice and policy. One thing that remained the same was the friendliness of the people with whom we were working with. I entered the clinic with a fear that we would be perceived as well-off American students who simply desired an exotic week abroad giving our aid to an under deserved community. While that may have been the perception of some of the elders in the community, the overwhelming majority of the people we were welcoming and accepting of our presence in their community. I distinctly remember smiling and babbling at a baby in the arms of his mother and her friendly and welcoming reaction. That ordinary interaction between two people who live over 3,000 miles away in two very different nations was just as impactful on my experience as shadowing the Panamanian doctors.
Before heading out into the Èmbara community to participate in the public health brigade initiative that was newly implemented in the region, we were able to read through the personal statements written by the families who had requested to participate to receive a new latrine for their household. The reasons ranged from “I’m tired of climbing the mountain behind our village to use the restroom to avoid the community’s water source” to “the snakes by the river where we use the restroom are dangerous”. It was definitely eye opening to read through the safety concerns the families had in regards to simply using the restroom. When we arrived we met the woman whose latrine we would be laying the foundation for. She was a younger woman, only a few years older than us volunteers, and a mother of five young children. She had spearheaded an initiative of her own to bring clothes from Panama City out to their small village to give the women more of a selection of clothes than many were used to. Witnessing the cohesiveness of the community was another unique aspect of the public brigade. These were able bodied people who desired to improve the living environment and health of their community while maintaining the cultural aspect of their people.
My first day in the clinic I was stationed in the dentist station. For me this was the most impactful station in the clinic. The main duties of the volunteers were to hand the dentist and her assistant the dental equipment; this mostly consisted of loading shots of anesthetic and tools that looked like pliers. Another more strenuous role was helping calm the children in their parents’ laps as the dentist attempted to perform extractions in a school desk. The dentist also had the difficult task of confronting the parents regarding their crucial role in the oral care of their infant children. She encouraged demanded that these parents start to take responsibility of forming healthy habits for their young children in hopes that the hygiene habits of the community as a whole would begin to improve through the generations.
This experience opened my eyes to a whole new window of healthcare I’d never thought to pursue before. I now have a much greater interest in public health and more specifically international health care practice and policy. One thing that remained the same was the friendliness of the people with whom we were working with. I entered the clinic with a fear that we would be perceived as well-off American students who simply desired an exotic week abroad giving our aid to an under deserved community. While that may have been the perception of some of the elders in the community, the overwhelming majority of the people we were welcoming and accepting of our presence in their community. I distinctly remember smiling and babbling at a baby in the arms of his mother and her friendly and welcoming reaction. That ordinary interaction between two people who live over 3,000 miles away in two very different nations was just as impactful on my experience as shadowing the Panamanian doctors.