Anita and Chirag's Trip To Lima, Peru (2015)

Last summer (2015), Anita and I had a great opportunity to visit Lima, Peru for one week and immersed ourselves into the intriguing culture that they had to offer. Simply put, it was an unforgettable experience for the both of us! Throughout our journey, our eyes had experienced firsthand the huge differences in medical services provided at our location compared to the health care that we are provided here in Canada. We were able to shadow the doctors, nurses, dentist, gynecologist, and a pharmacist. This was a very hands on experience and we enjoyed interacting with the patients. Although language was a barrier, that did not stop our passion in helping the people from very young children to the seniors. We will be sharing some of the photos of our experience and our hope is to add every one of you to the picture as well!
The everlasting friendships we have built amongst our colleagues from various universities around the world, while exercising our ability to communicate Spanish; it was truly the journey worth remembering. MEDLIFE provides students the opportunity to explore medical practice beyond the borders of your comfort zone, while simultaneously integrating an aspect of community service to the local communities.
Last summer, we were able to accomplish building a community stairway along with colleagues from various universities all around the world. This may seem quite a miniscule service project, but in fact we realized the impact it left for the local community was ever so huge! This stairway allowed the communities to come together, whereas without it, would have been a physical barrier to the community. In addition, we were able to build a local cafeteria to allow subsidized meals for children who attend school. What we take for granted here in Canada, were a luxury for these students at Peru. The donations you make help us accomplish the funding required to provide facilities such as these to those who need it the most. We must admit, the journey was quite tough, however, when we accomplished the program, most of us, if not everyone was left feeling proud of themselves for the service we were able to provide to the communities. It was an honour representing Canada, and the University of Toronto during our journey.
.... this was our story... What will yours be?? <-- We can help you with that!! Join our UofT MEDLIFE Chapter and get updated on events and trips we have planned for you! Looking forward to an amazing year!
Kind Regards,
Chirag and Anita
(Co-Presidents at UofT MEDLIFE)