Study Abroad Programs in Uganda

This trip was truly life-changing and inspiring, and I am very thankful for all of the staff for their amazing support through the process. I loved everything—the food and culture were beyond amazing. I want to give a shout out to my bestie Janet; she accompanied me through my weekend treks. I had a blast with her, and I’m so glad she’s the one that went with me. I never felt unsafe during my time in Kenya, and for that I am so appreciative. I think one of the most positive experiences I made on this trip were the friendships I made, but also the community outreach events we had. There was nothing more eye-opening than going to underprivileged communities and providing the extra support that they desperately needed, which is proper healthcare. I am so blessed to have been able to experience something like this with such a well rounded program. Thank you!! The first time I heard about IMA, I was immediately intrigued. I remember seeing the program, and it fueled my curiosity that had been growing ever since I thought about doing an internship. The idea of actually getting accepted into such a program felt almost far-fetched. I have never taken the time to apply to anything like this before, so the idea of stepping into this opportunity was so thrilling yet nerve wracking. I was lucky enough to have a supportive circle around me—people that encouraged and reminded me that I was capable of doing anything I set my mind to. With enough convincing, I applied. In my mind, I thought, “What’s the worst that could happen? I don’t get accepted—or I could end up having the craziest experience in Kenya.” Fast forward a couple months, and I find myself at the Royal Suites residence, staring in awe at what the next three weeks of my life would hold. I was greeted by a wonderful group of peers and staff, and from that moment, I knew I would be in good hands. Walking into this program, I had some experience as a medical assistant in a neurology office. However, that was completely different from what I encountered at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital. I vividly recollect the first day I arrived at the hospital, knowing I would encounter far more striking cases than those back home. During my time there, I rotated through the Emergency, Pediatrics, and Surgery departments, and I also participated in night rotations at least once a week in other departments. Before beginning, I received an orientation that included discussions on what to expect in terms of medical cases, as well as the local culture and customs. I was told that healthcare in Kenya was severely understaffed and poorly supplied due to location and financial reasons (Cultural Approaches to Pediatric Palliative Care in Central Massachusetts: Kenyan, n.d.). I was also informed that many patients present with advanced stages of illness, often as a result of financial constraints or religious beliefs. During my time in the Emergency Room, I saw many patients that would arrive with advanced cancers, severe infections, and untreated wounds. When asked about the situation, the most common response was that they simply did not have the money for treatment. Others would say the nearest medical facility was too far from their homes, requiring them to strategically plan when they could make the trip. One response in particular really struck me: a patient’s family explained that they were relying on prayer to heal their loved one, believing it was best to let God provide the cure. As a believer myself, I was impacted and inspired by that statement. However, it was hard to reconcile because many of the situations I saw needed urgent attention. In those moments, it felt challenging to accept that faith alone was being relied upon in circumstances where timely medical care was critical. There are many traditions of healing and medicine that Kenyans use. Various natural remedies are commonly used such as African potatoes, rooibos, and the hoodia cactus. Additionally, there are rituals that are performed for spiritual healing. For example, shells, bones, and stones are used to communicate with ancestors or spirits to learn more about the patient’s health condition (Brooke, 2023). When I was in the hospital I never encountered someone that firmly believed in these practices, but I heard from the nurses around that it was used by many patients. In terms of patient care, I witnessed a wide range of cases. Being in a public hospital, I observed severe understaffing as well as lack of essential tools equipment. There were many moments when I would instinctively look for an instrument we would normally have back home, only to find it unavailable. In those situations, we often had to improvise and make do with what was already on hand. I vividly recall one night during a shift a patient began coding. One of the nurses was desperately searching for a BVM (bag valve mask), going drawer by drawer in an attempt to find one. The search took four or five minutes, and by the time the mask was finally located, the patient had already been declared deceased. I don’t know if the patient would have survived had the mask been found and used sooner; regardless, the situation highlighted the critical lack of necessary resources. Another example of improvisation was when gloves were used as tourniquets, which led to supplies running out more quickly. I remember one shift in the PICU, I was reminded that one of the mothers that gave birth to two beautiful boys was in intensive care due to birthing complications. One of the nurses approached me and one of my peers, asking if we were interested in feeding the babies. Without hesitation, we both agreed. I have never fed a premature baby before, so I was incredibly nervous and assumed there would be a machine of some sort. I was wrong. We had to use a syringe, carefully letting the milk independently go through the tube. This process was time-consuming, as we had to hold the syringe up in the air to allow the milk to flow, which took roughly ten to fifteen minutes. At times, the milk would get stuck in the tubes or even harden, creating additional challenges. I remember hearing that these methods were used back in the day, so it wasn’t uncommon—just time-consuming and requiring extra attention. Typically, Nairobi and the Central Province are considered to offer the best public healthcare, while the North Eastern Provinces are generally more underdeveloped in terms of medical infrastructure and resources. There are private hospitals in Nairobi that are very respected and known to be top tier (Healthcare in Kenya, n.d.). After all that I have learned during this trip, I returned home with a deep sense of appreciation for the healthcare providers I had worked alongside, as well as a strong desire to continue learning more about global healthcare practices and the challenges faced in resource-limited settings. Witnessing the dedication of the healthcare providers who worked tirelessly despite limited supplies and overwhelming patient needs gave me a deep sense of respect and admiration for their commitment to their patients. I recall all of the conversations I had with the providers and students—one thing was clear: they all shared a deep love for the field. They acknowledged that their work could be challenging and frustrating at times, yet none could imagine doing anything else. There was genuine passion and grit behind every single provider, evident in the care they provided and the dedication they showed to their patients. I witnessed what it was like to think quickly on my feet and rely on the limited skills I had. These experiences taught me that healthcare isn’t just about medicine—it’s about human connection, understanding, and trust. I will be sure to bring these lessons into my career by prioritizing empathy, effective communication, and cultural sensitivity. I’ve always had a deep passion for healthcare, shaped both by my childhood interests and personal experiences. This trip has only intensified my passion, leaving me with a strong desire to learn and do even more in the field. I fully plan to return to Kenya and work at Coast General once I am a certified Physician Assistant, so that I can gain more practical experience while contributing to the healthcare system and properly helping patients in need. My time in Kenya was transformative. It exposed me to the realities of healthcare in resource limiting settings, challenged me to develop critical thinking skills and adaptability, reignited my passion for healthcare, and strengthened my commitment to pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant. I am determined to apply all that I have learned in every aspect of my future practice—fully dedicated to serving patients with compassion and cultural competency while continuing to seek opportunities to learn and grow as a healthcare professional. Beyond the clinical skills, this experience taught me the importance of patience and resiliency. This applies to myself and the patients. I learned how small gestures like listening, showing empathy, and providing reassurance can have a profound impact on the patient’s wellbeing and steps to recovery. Allowing myself to see how other providers navigate such a challenging system inspired me to think of more solutions and think proactively about improving healthcare, even in similar situations where resources are limited. I have gained an appreciation for proper teamwork and collaboration. It was refreshing to see how providers rely on one another to manage heavy workloads and ensure the patients’ comfortability—some demonstrated it better than others. This experience has diligently motivated me to approach my future career with a humbled mindset of service, humility, and continuous growth. Every patient encounter is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference. I am now more committed than ever to properly advocating for patients, embracing diverse perspectives, and integrating proper cultural competency in all aspects of my future practice.

I had an excellent experience with IMA. The staff all went above and beyond to ensure my comfort and safety. The experience was so incredibly meaningful, and IMA’s accommodations helped me feel less overwhelmed and more prepared to take in the experience. Hilda in particular went above and beyond, especially on the Malindi adventure. She was very approachable, fun, and organized. I remember sitting in my high school biology class, flipping through a textbook when I stumbled upon a section on diseases prevalent in the developing world. It described, in vivid and unsettling detail, the symptoms of illnesses like Ebola and malaria—two diseases I had never heard of at the time. The page depicted Ebola’s internal hemorrhaging and malaria’s destruction of red blood cells as they burst and release parasites into the bloodstream. The section ended with a sobering note: Ebola and malaria might be curable, but little progress was being made due to a severe lack of research funding. The textbook also estimated the total cost to eradicate malaria. According to the Gates Foundation, the estimated cost to eliminate malaria by 2040 is between $90 and $120 billion—a sum less than the net worth of many of the world’s wealthiest individuals (Renwick). That statistic stuck in my mind and has remained with me ever since: global health inequality is a solvable problem—so why aren’t we doing more to solve it? Over the following years, my interest in global health deepened, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic exposed glaring inequities in vaccine access. I found myself inspired by frontline healthcare workers—many of whom were my own neighbors—and by the efforts to democratize vaccine availability worldwide. I trained to become an EMT, responding to medical emergencies on my college campus, and became involved in vaccine delivery research focused on developing pulsatile-release vaccines aimed at improving vaccination rates in low-resource settings. I joined a global health club on campus and worked to raise awareness of global health issues among my peers. Still, something felt missing. I didn’t fully understand who I was helping. Who were these vaccines for? Who truly bore the brunt of these inequities? Why was it urgent to act now? I wanted to understand who was behind the numbers—the lives, the faces, the families. Landing in Mombasa marked my first time outside the developed world. I remember the drive from the airport vividly. It felt chaotic, alive, and strained all at once—tuk-tuks, motorcycles, cars, and pedestrians weaving through the streets with no apparent regard for traffic rules. At every stop, people approached our windows offering fruit, nuts, or handcrafted goods, desperate to make a sale. The struggle for daily survival was tangible. I watched silently from the backseat, feeling a complex mix of awe, guilt, and anticipation for what lay ahead in the hospital. During my first week, I was placed in the internal medicine ward, where we were introduced to Dr. Suhail, who guided us through patient rounds. One of the first patients we met was Margaret, a woman who had clearly suffered a stroke. I had been trained to recognize strokes as an EMT, but this was the first time I saw the reality firsthand: facial drooping, right-sided weakness, and expressive aphasia. Dr. Suhail explained that Margaret had been in the ward for about a week and was showing slow signs of improvement. Margaret could understand us but couldn’t speak. She lay motionless on a rusty bed, covered by a colorful blanket, with flies buzzing across her face. Her daughter, strong and vigilant, stayed at her bedside, advocating fiercely for her care—swatting flies, changing Margaret’s clothes, and reading aloud to her. When I asked Dr. Suhail how long it had taken for Margaret to reach the hospital after her stroke, he explained that many patients arrive well past the “golden hour,” when intervention might still reverse the damage. In neighboring Somalia, the average time to arrival for stroke patients is 16 hours (Sheikh Hassan). Many delay care due to lack of healthcare literacy or a belief that divine intervention will heal them (Kimani). As we continued our rounds, I began to notice the silence that filled the ward. Patients sat quietly, not using phones or engaging in conversation. It wasn’t peaceful—it was haunting. It felt like a collective understanding that not much could be done for them. Limited resources meant that Dr. Suhail had to prioritize only the most urgent conditions. Retroviral diseases, for instance, were often left untreated. Despite taking thorough histories and analyzing labs and imaging, there was often little he could offer by way of treatment. One moment that struck me deeply was meeting a 20-year-old woman with stage 4 cervical cancer. She was my age. No treatment was scheduled; she was only receiving palliative care and was expected to spend her final days on a deteriorating hospital bed under the beating sun. That image stayed with me—how unjust it felt that someone my age, with a potentially preventable and treatable disease, was forced to endure such a fate. Had the cancer been caught earlier, this woman might have a better prognosis. However, like many of the other patients we saw that day, she presented with an advanced-stage illness, and the opportunity for curative treatment had already passed. The internal medicine ward revealed a grim reality, yet within it, I also witnessed resilience and community. The patients, though suffering, created a comforting environment within the ward. They wore vibrant fabrics and their beds were covered in intricately patterned blankets. Family members looked after not only their loved ones but checked in on others in the ward as well. In the midst of helplessness, the community thrived. My second week was spent in the surgical department. I observed an array of procedures—from the placement of a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt to a coronary artery bypass graft. On my first day, I watched a double valve replacement. Dr. Iqbal, a visiting surgeon, generously spent two hours walking us through the procedure. He explained that such surgeries are often the result of untreated rheumatic fever—something nearly eradicated in the U.S. due to access to antibiotics like penicillin (Cleveland Clinic). It was jarring to see complex, high-risk surgeries being performed for diseases that could have been prevented with basic, affordable interventions. This theme of treating symptoms instead of root causes recurred throughout the week. VP shunts, for example, are used to treat hydrocephalus, which can arise from neonatal infections like Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sakurai et al.). In many African countries, these infections go untreated due to limited access to antibiotics (World Health Organization). Similarly, I observed a spina bifida surgery—another condition preventable through folic acid supplementation, a standard and inexpensive part of prenatal care in high-income countries (Mayo Foundation). The reality is stark: in Africa, families face costly, high-risk surgeries for conditions that are preventable with the right public health measures. In a country where the health expenditure per capita is just $88.39 compared to over $10,000 in the U.S., bearing the cost of expensive, preventable procedures is unconscionable (International Medical Aid). It was a painful reminder that without robust public health infrastructure, expensive hospital interventions become the last resort for preventable tragedies. Even the operating rooms reflected the resource gap. During one open-heart surgery, a fly buzzed around the room. The presence of a fly during open-heart surgery wasn’t just a nuisance—it was a symbol of how drastically under-resourced the system had become. At one point, Dr. Iqbal requested an alpha blocker only to be met with silence—it wasn’t available. Instead, he instructed the anesthesiologist to improvise using a mix of saline and nitroglycerin. I later learned that Dr. Iqbal was a visiting cardiothoracic surgeon and had only been at Coast General Hospital for three days. Many doctors at the hospital split their time between public and private hospitals to make ends meet. Coast General, the largest public hospital in the region, has only one full-time cardiothoracic surgeon. As my time in Mombasa came to an end, I was left with a deepened sense of purpose, humility, and urgency. I witnessed physicians delivering care under unimaginable constraints, doing everything they could with the limited resources they had. I was struck by their willingness to teach and share knowledge despite the demands of their work. I returned home with renewed gratitude for the healthcare systems I had always taken for granted. Yet, I also returned with frustration. Why are essential resources being cut from USAID-supported programs in this region? I heard stories of emergency rooms without working defibrillators, CT machines being down, patients undergoing procedures without anesthesia, and common medications being out of stock. These are all solvable problems. Programs like PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) are being significantly disrupted. PEPFAR has saved over 26 million lives since its inception and cuts to the program could put millions of additional lives at risk (UNAIDS). Additionally, PEPFAR alone employs 41,500 healthcare workers in Kenya, many of whom are now facing layoffs (Kenya News Agency). When international aid programs are cut abruptly, the burden falls on local communities who are ill-equipped to fill the gap, exacerbating health inequities and endangering the lives of many additional people. The future of healthcare in Kenya is unstable and it has me worried. The world has the tools, resources, and knowledge to fix this, but the will to help is eroding. This experience affirmed my commitment to global health—not just in theory, but in action. I now understand that to be a good healthcare professional is to care deeply about people and systems alike. It means advocating for equity, addressing root causes, and seeing the patient within their full human, social, and economic context. My hope is to one day contribute to the transformation of healthcare systems like Kenya’s—through better infrastructure, expanded access to care, and increased healthcare literacy. I am more determined than ever to be part of the solution.