Through his volunteer experience with, Liam, the Vice President of the Laurentian MEDLIFE chapter, learned about and directly witnessed the importance of health education and prevention in underserved areas. As he worked with a local community, Liam learned how crucial it is to empower individuals with knowledge so that they can take control of their health and well-being. Reflecting on his time with MEDLIFE, Liam said:
“I got involved because my friend Jacob, the president, reached out to me after we had volunteered throughout the summer together, and he offered me this position, and I was looking into different ways that I could widen my horizons in the medical field and try to learn more about the people in need.”
Throughout his time with MEDLIFE, Liam found that our mission is centered around teaching health education and prevention to medically underserved communities. Instead of focusing on short-term aid, MEDLIFE’s programs help teach communities how to be self-reliant by preventing health issues before they happen. Liam explained the core value of this approach:
“I think that what we’re doing is going to empower the community a lot as we are trying to teach and educate everyone here on how to not need us really or not rely on us, so we’re trying to teach them prevention and how to stay safe in this world.”
The focus on health education and prevention stood out to Liam as a key component of MEDLIFE’s approach to community empowerment. By educating community members on how to prevent diseases and stay healthy, MEDLIFE helps individuals gain confidence in managing their own health without depending on external resources. However, there were challenges along the way:
“One of the large challenges I found was with the board in Canada. So it was a lot different up north, because we don’t have the same perspectives there as down here. So when we were trying to tell people, people were very sheltered up there, so it was very hard to try to demonstrate and cause or create awareness for everything happening down here.”
Despite these challenges, Liam recognized the importance of health education and prevention for long-term improvement in communities. He concluded with a reflection on the impact of his volunteer experience and how it changed his approach to healthcare:
“I think it’s a great way to empower yourself and be able to empower the communities here, and you really get to know the ins and outs of what we do here before you even get to go into it. So I got to prepare myself a lot mentally to be able to come down here and help.”
To learn how you can join a MEDLIFE Service Learning Trip or a MEDLIFE chapter like Liam, fill out the interest form below or download our free brochure. You can directly support underserved and low-income communities across Latin America and Africa in accessing medical care, education, and infrastructure. Don’t wait, get started today!