What did you and your team do for your project in Humjibre? As a Summer Serve & Learn volunteer team, we helped to coordinate, plan, and carry-out the specifics of running the annual de-worming project in Humjibre during our session. As such, GHEI was able to deworm and provide sandals for several hundred children by operating clinics through four primary schools over several days. Built on the success of previous de-worming projects, we were able to offer—via a grassroots approach—the continuity of care that provides potentially life-saving prophylaxis and treatment for the children of Humjibre. While in Humjibre, our team also had the opportunity to participate in a baby-weighing clinic and provide preventative health education to Junior Secondary Students.

Current schooling/career: Student in combined B.S./M.D. program

Future career goals: Physician-humanitarian

How has your work with GHEI influenced you? Working with GHEI has been a life-changing experience that has opened my eyes firsthand to a world of needs among underserved populations. Being in Ghana affirmed some of my prior notions about poverty and health, yet at the same time upended many others as well. The amazing individuals I met in the village—the children, everybody—were some of the nicest, most humble, warm, and inviting people I have ever met in my life. Clement is an astoundingly dedicated and committed man that truly cares about Humjibre. Even after returning to the US, it is through his help and other staff that I have continued my involvement with GHEI by planning fundraisers and initiating a process through which the Humjibre Community Library will quadruple the size of its current book collection. Ultimately, being in the village provided me with a peace of mind, a chance to center myself in a way that I have been able to bring with me out of the village.

What is your most memorable moment in Humjibre? Almost every moment in Humjibre was memorable and many of the experiences shared with new friends from far & wide will always hold a special place for me—most of all, I will never forget the children. However, as far as shocking moments go, surprisingly it wasn’t actually arriving and adjusting to the village, as Brittany and Diana had done wonderful jobs of really educating us on what to expect beforehand. Rather, the most shocking moment for me was arriving back in the US via JFK airport and New York City. The advertisements, (Stan, continued)