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During the past five years of medical school, I've worked hard and sacrificed many evenings of fun, in an effort to one day become a doctor. Now, I'm nearing the end of my 6-year journey at UMKC. However, I will not be graduating with the class I started with, full of all the friends I've made along the way. Beginning this January, I am taking a semester sabbatical from medical school in order to participate in international clinical medical programs and hopefully master the Spanish language.

I have a passion for international and community health and hope to work hard throughout my career to provide everyone--no matter their location, ethnicity, or socioeconomic class--with access to quality medical care. I know that my travels and experiences during this period will improve my understanding of the barriers to health care that so many around the world face and equip me with the knowledge and skills to continue in efforts to conquer them.

It is also very important to me to become conversationally fluent in Spanish in order to communicate with the many patients who speak it as their first language. During my time in Ecuador I will be taking classes at a local language school and speaking only in Spanish to my patients, attending physicians, and host family. I am confident that throughout my residency and career as a doctor I will continue to use the Spanish skills I gain during my months volunteering in Latin America.

I have been accepted to participate in two different programs through Child Family Health International in Ecuador, from March through the middle of May. During both I will be spending time in the capital city of Quito and a small village about six hours away called Puyo

The first program is designed to address the community health issues for the people living in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Due to geographic location and socioeconomic difficulties it is difficult for indigenous and non-indigenous persons in this area to access adequate health care. This month I will work on efforts to treat and prevent common diseases that are practically unknown to the US, including: parasitic infectious, malaria, and tuberculosis.

My last two months in Ecuador I will be apart of an infectious disease eradication project in the Amazon and highland. In these areas tropical diseases—malaria, dengue, leptospirosis, intestinal parasites, and other vector-borne diseases—continue to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. In addition to learning how to identify and treat individual cases of these diseases, I will also gain knowledge of epidemiology and experience in epidemiological surveillance, vector control, and health promotion and prevention.

As with most not for profit volunteering experiences, this trip is associated with a fee. The program fees for my two and a half months in Ecuador are well over $5,000. Because this is a large amount of money for a poor student living on loans, I am asking for any donations to help make my trip possible. The fees from Child Family Health International go to compensate doctors, homestay families, local representatives, help fund community health initiatives, provide aid to local communities, and purchase medical supplies. In addition to the program fees, I will need to pay for flights, visas, and vaccinations.
I understand that my plan is costly, but I am certain that what I gain from this experience will be well worth it.

Thank you for your support.

Mucho Amor,
Sarah Beck