International Medical Aid (IMA)

Five words. That’s it. The ultimate definition of short and sweet. At the end of each week during debriefing, we were asked to present the group with five words that encompassed our experience in our respective departments. Every Friday, this would force me to seriously reflect on what I had witnessed, learned, and accomplished that week since my words were numbered. I came to appreciate how succinct and purposeful these recaps were. Here are my five words that sum up what I have taken away from...

My experience in Mombasa and CGTRH was priceless. All of the IMA staff were so accommodating and supportive. They always made sure to ask you how you were doing and that you were cared for. I never doubted my safety while with IMA. They drove us everywhere we wanted to go and gave us all of the information we needed to remain safe. The food prepared by the chefs was out of this world. It was lovely to be able to taste all of the cultural foods and learn the names of the dishes and even how they ...

I first started out losing my bags at the airport. Once I finally got them back, the staff was more than happy to pick up my bags twice for me. Javan and Teddy were awesome; I admired their upbeat attitudes every day. I'm grateful to Caroline, Vivian, Robert, and Benson for keeping us safe on every trek or community outreach. They also always were happy to give us any insights into the culture we were exposed to. The food was great; Joshua, Sharon, and Katherine always cooked us authentic Kenyan...