Bloggers,
I have officially paid for my program fee for the three weeks of volunteering in Kenya. After exchange rates and taxes, the total cost to volunteer with the organization came to approximately $1,200 CDN. Thanks to the donations I have received from family, friends, and generous sponsors, I have raised nearly $1,800. That is more than half of my goal of raising $3,000 before leaving in February.
Soon, I will be sending off my passport to the Kenya High Commission (Embassy) in Ottawa to get my travel visa. Having this visa is one of the requirements when travelling to Kenya, in addition to the Yellow Fever vaccine card. I am also waiting for my criminal record check to be processed, as I will need to show customs officers this document upon entering this East African country.
Now that the holidays have come and gone, I will be working hard to increase the donations and sponsorships towards this volunteer project. The local newspaper, Barrie Examiner, who took interest in my story, will be publishing the article early this year. I am looking forward to seeing how the article turns out and, hopefully, it will shed some light on my volunteer project.
I have also completed the final questionnaire for my volunteer placement location. I have decided that a more urban experience would be of interest to me; whether it is a government run hospital or community health clinic. In addition, I expressed interest in being placed with other volunteers so that I am not entirely alone in being fresh to a new environment. I am sure wherever my placement shall be it will be one amazing opportunity. I find out two weeks before leaving where I am placed and I will keep all of you up to date.
Please feel free to spread the story of my volunteering adventure to those around you and help me reach my goal. Any support, whether through donations or words of encouragement on this blog, is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jake
Hi,
ReplyDeleteOne of the nurses at SPH directed me to your blog.
I was also an RN at SPH (10C - I'm sure you've heard of it) and am now in 2nd yr med at UBC.
Just wanted to wish you all the best. I remember what it was like simultaneously working as a nurse and completing prereqs and prepping for the MCAT and then having to deal with the wait to hear about my application. The goal seemed so far away, and that was just a couple years ago. Hang in there!
Wow. That was really inspiring. Thank you so much for leaving that comment! I am super stressed with everything but I hope, like you, to be in busy with studying medicine in just a couple years! Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Jake,
ReplyDeleteyou might remember when you met me I had just come back from Tanzania. I spent 8 months in North - East Tanzania, and one month in Kenya for my medical honours research project. You will love it! And you will hate some of it too. The people are lovely, warm and welcoming. The weather is stinking hot (in most parts). You will see things you will never forget: some spectacular, some utterly heart-breaking.
I understand being a student the cost of these trips can completely prevent you from being able to go, which is a shame, because it is a such a rich personal experience. Yet I find the raising of funds to cover your costs contraversial. $3000 would cover a couple of students the whole way through nursing school. Would you consider donations as a loan that you can pay back (eventually) by investing in the country's infrastructure? I understand that you will be working hard the three weeks that you are there, and you will make a difference, but you will get far more out of it than you would get out of a $3000 holiday. I am not pointing fingers - my trip was largely funded by a research institute.
I think you're fantastic for going, and for taking the time to write a blog, raise awareness and inspire people.
Safari njema!
Andrea
Hey Andrea,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment and perspective. I took some time to reflect on what you wrote and to consider your point of view. You raised a very critical notion that I myself had been mulling over throughout this process and that is: raising funds to send volunteers abroad.
To start, I must clarify that I am not a student at the moment per se; however, I am studying to write the entrance exam for medical school. I took these past five months off work and moved back home with my parents to really focus on studying and to pursue my goals of becoming a doctor.
In the process, having the time off work has enabled me to pursue something else that I am very passionate about, volunteering. Being able to volunteer my nursing skills in a global context, in a continent such as Africa, will be such a rich experience as you have mentioned. Unfortunately, something of this scale requires a lot of money.
The total expense of volunteering in Africa will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $5500 – a big chunk of money that, like you said, could go to building schools, water wells, orphanages, hospitals, educating Kenyans and the list goes on. I have contributed a little less than half from my personal savings set aside from working as a registered nurse in Canada in the year following my graduation.
Intrinsic to what you are saying is: What a waste of money it is to get one person over to Africa, to volunteer one skill set, which can only help a finite number of people. Andrea, I agree.
However, unlike your ‘funded’ research, in which the money no doubt came from somewhere (whether through the taxes allotted to a government institute or ‘donated’ from a private institute), my nursing skills are not easily funded, yet they are of value to the Kenyans. Many volunteers are put in the same position and must seek outside assistance to volunteer their time and efforts to help those in need. I have chosen to help abroad and that is why I have asked my family and friends to donate.
Thanks for taking the time to look over my blog and for your well wishes. I hope that this settles some of the controversy you find in fundraising a volunteer trip.
Jake
Hello Jake,
ReplyDeleteI feel what you are doing is amazing! Keep up the good work and stay strong. I look forward to hearing more about your experience. I am a first year nursing student and I wish that someday I can be in a similiar position as you. I am very proud of you!