Medics To Africa

I participated in this program half way through nursing school! Kenya is a beautiful place to go and Migori is a great place to stay. It was the most amazing experience of my life and I gained so much knowledge and learned so many skills that I wouldn't have been able to learn here in Canada. Some of the things we got to do included; assisting on surgeries (performing sutures), delivering babies on our own, blood transfusions, IV insertion and medications, injections, suture removal, enemas, newborn care, assessments, grand rounds with experienced doctors, catheter removals and so much more. It was a great experience to experience the culture and interact with the people and you learn to practice medicine in a diverse environment and you learn to use your equipment wisely. I would highly recommend you participate in this program if you love adventure and want to expand your nursing knowledge. I learned so much and met so many great people. In addition the Safari trip was the most amazing thing ever! It was incredible! I would recommend doing the Safari if you go!

Hi there, I am an Australian Osteopathic student and I have been fortunate enough to spend the past month in Mombasa, Kenya volunteering, learning, socializing, relaxing, going out, and experiencing some of the most eye-opening things with the lovely Medics to Africa crew. We arrived in Mombasa airport and were greeted immediately by Josh who looked after us from start to finish, organized trips for us and basically was like our own personal tour guide/ travel agent/ reception. We chose to go to Mombasa because there you work at the Coast General Hospital (a large government hospital) and the Tom Mboya School for the Cerebral Palsied, which were both had large Physiotherapy departments. Tom Mboya School for the Cerebral Palsied would hands down have to be one of my favourite and most memorable experiences. We collected the kids one at a time from their class and then used our skills to help straighten, stretch and strengthen their limbs. There are tables, bikes, weights, walking frames etc for you to utilize. Between four of us either working together or separately we treated approx. 20 kids per day. Coast General Hospital was a completely different experience. We spread ourselves out amongst different wards such as outpatients, orthopaedic, surgical, maternity, medical. Outpatients and orthopaedic was the most relevant to Osteopathy, but we still facilitated movement, strengthening, walking etc with other patients in need. In outpatients we worked with other Physiotherapists and Kenyan Physio students. We diagnosed, treated, managed and learnt from each other. Once you jump into any other hospital ward you will experience an extreme difference from your hospitals at home. Urgency for patient care and proper management was lacking in these departments, which in turn gave us a lot to work with. Although I only participated in Osteo related cases, there were other volunteers there too who were surgeons and doctors lending a hand and even taking the lead – so I’d say it is a suitable place for all medical related occupations. Every Monday – Friday we finished in the hospital by approx.. 1pm, and then we were free to do what we wanted. The beach was a 3min walk away, supermarket/ internet café was a 3 min walk, and there are plenty of markets, tribes and amazing places to go and visit. I highly recommend dining in Mtwapa, visiting Forty Thieves at South Beach (Diani), and getting your driver to take you to the country side and experience the real Kenyan community. Oh and safari is just a whole different amazing story! Overall it was an extremely positive, learning and loving experience. You will never forget the people you meet and you will never stop sharing your photos and telling your stories! I’d highly recommend Medics to Africa if you’re in search for a real eye-opening, rewarding experience, and are ready to know Kenya inside and out!

I went to Medics to Africa not really knowing what to expect once I got there. When I arrived in Nairobi, it was a 6 hour bus ride to where I was going to be staying at. During the ride, I got to see so many different sights in Kenya, and some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. Once arriving in Migori, I got to see things that I would never see back home, and as a paramedic in the USA, getting to do things I would never be allowed to do back home, such as watching/assisting with surgeries, doing a shoulder reduction among the most notable. The biggest thing to know going into the program is that you get what you put in. You can just cruise through your time or you can be involved and learn a lot, both about medicine and about what kind of person you are. Also would like to add that Kenya has probably the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen. I would highly encourage everyone interested in the program to strongly consider going.

The Medics to Africa program was amazing! It gave me the opportunity to see advanced conditions in the hospital that would be rare in Australia. It was both a pleasure and a rewarding experience to witness the difference we were making to peoples lives. Outside of the hospital it was such an incredible experience to see another world and learn about the Kenyan culture! The program is defiantly worth doing! Everyone is so lovely and helpful! I would love to do it again in the future!

Medics to Africa provided me with an unbelievable opportunity to work in a hospital in rural Kenya and experience things I couldn't dream of doing before medical school. It requires initiative and a genuine desire to learn, but you are given the chance to gain very hands on experience with patients, during rounds and during surgeries. I got to learn a lot of medical and laboratory skills about malaria, tb, typhoid, and many of the other disease that are very present in Kenya. I got to see many cases that no doctor would ever witness in the US.

I had such an amazing time in Kenya,with Medics to Africa. I am studying Osteopathy and was able to go over to a beautiful country with a group of friends and practice on people who can really benefit. The programe is well organised and everyone was so friendly and helpful. I got every thing i wanted out of the trip, and really felt i got to witness another world and make bit of a difference to a few people's lives. Amazing experience, and would love to do it again.

Medics To Africa is a highly educative program . If you have any special interests in fields like Obsterics/gyn, general surgery and tropical medicine this is a very good program and you'll get it all! My experience in Mombasa was great & memorable .. imagine staying at the beach hotel after the end of the program!! I highly recommend Medics To Africa to everyone who are considering applying."