Child Family Health International (C.F.H.I.) is a non-profit organization that sends students to third world countries to participate in service-learning. I chose C.F.H.I. because of its medical orientation, the opportunity to go to Africa, and the affordability of the program.

            The actual fee to go to South Africa is $2500 (this is extremely cheap for a 4-week trip). The fee goes to my preceptor, my home-stay family, and the local coordinator. This gives the local physician incentive to stay in a country that pays very little for their services. The fee also helps keep families in South Africa.

            While I’m there I’ll be shadowing one of the local physicians. This gives me the opportunity to learn from a doctor well adapted to challenging health care situations. As my preceptor gets to know me and trust my abilities, I will be given permission to do some basic clinical work.

            The clinics that I’ll rotate through specialize in HIV/AIDs management and prevention. This gives me the opportunity to learn about the disease and its treatment en mass. This is an opportunity not found in the U.S. This is also the area of medicine I’m interested in. I want to be an infectious diseases specialist, and this provides a lot of firsthand experience with this kind of medicine.

            I’d also like to explain what this trip is not. It’s not a mission’s trip. My time is going to be spent learning from the local physician and implementing what I’ve learned. This trip is also not medical tourism. I’m not going to be giving help to those who would not otherwise receive it. The relief I will be giving is mostly in the form of an extra pair of hands. Also, the fact that the physician gets compensated for her time with me is an incalculable benefit to the community. This trip is not a vacation. The work I do will be time consuming, difficult, and exhausting. There’s no “day on the beach”. I’m there to work, learn, and provide service.

     I hope this suffeciently explains my trip and what I'll be doing.If you would like to follow me check out my blog at: http://doclevi.blogspot.com/.

Thankyou so very much,

Love,

Levi