Projects Abroad Internships in Sri Lanka

This volunteer trip to Sri Lanka was extremely eye-opening. We had many opportunities to explore different sections of the hospital like the emergency care unit, paediatrics, the labour ward and the surgical theatre. My personal favourites were the labour ward and the surgical theatre. While the other sections were interesting at times, they tended to move at a slower pace. I am personally interested in pursuing a career in the OB-GYN field, so being able to see live births and interactions between doctors, nurses, mothers and babies was really amazing. Sometimes, it was difficult to communicate to doctors or nurses because of certain language barriers or because they were simply too preoccupied with their work. However, we were often very impressed by the hospital staff's kindness and welcoming attitude towards us as well as their patience when they took time to explain what they were doing or a certain patient’s condition.
After our time in the hospital, our co-ordinator took us out around the city we were staying in (Panadura, just one hour south of Colombo). We visited markets, temples and even the beach. The beach was absolutely breath-taking. Some of the sunset pictures I took are definitely Instagram-able and the water was just perfect. We spent one weekend during our trip visiting a city named Kandy. We visited baby elephants, watched a traditional dance show, ate some delicious food and visited other attractions around the city. Back in our host city, we attended two educational seminars about the healthcare system in Sri Lanka and traditional medicine amongst Indigenous people in the country. We also helped out at two medical camps where we measured the BMIs, glucose levels and blood pressure of individuals in the community as well as helped a pharmacist prescribe certain patients with medication.

Projects Abroad staff are also very kind. Before I even left, my volunteer advisor answered all my questions and concerns and I felt very prepared. However, at the airport in Toronto, my flight got delayed which messed up the rest of my connecting flights to Sri Lanka. I had to completely re-organize my flights myself and the staff did not respond to their emergency phone lines when I called to try and notify them about the delay. I felt like Projects Abroad could have done more and should have been more prepared for the situation. Regardless, I still made it to my destination safely, just a little late.

At the host family, we were treated very well. The woman and her husband who took care of us were very friendly. We had delicious food for breakfast, lunch and dinner and felt very comfortable in our rooms.

The other high school students on the trip were also very friendly and we bonded very quickly. One problem we encountered was that some of the students did not speak English very well. We were still able to communicate somewhat, but they struggled in the hospital when they tried to interact with hospital staff. I think individuals who attend a Projects Abroad trip must either speak English fluently or speak the language of the country they are travelling to fluently. This will ensure they will get the best out of their experience and not miss out because of language barriers.
This trip really helped me decide what I want to do with my future. Being a high school student applying to university in just a couple of months, there is a lot of pressure to decide what program I want to be a part of. Going to Sri Lanka and meeting doctors, seeing patients, helping patients, asking countless questions and writing pages and pages of notes really showed me that medicine is what I want to do for the rest of my life. It was incredible and unique first hand experience that I do not think I could have received anywhere else. I truly recommend this program for any high school student. But make sure you can handle the sight of blood.

I had an incredible time volunteering in Sri Lanka with Projects Abroad over winter break. From the minute I stepped off the plane, I was welcomed by very friendly staff in Colombo. I quickly met other volunteers, and then traveled to my host family's house to meet them. There were eight other volunteers living in my house, and some of them are now my lifelong friends. My host family was incredibly kind and welcoming, and was always available to answer any questions we had. Dinner was delicious every night, and there was plenty of filtered water for all of us. During the day, I volunteered at various hospitals in Panadura. It was a little intimidating to be a college student surrounded by medical students, fellows, and doctors, but they were all very kind and excited to help us learn. We also spent a lot of time at the children's home, where we taught them about healthcare and helped them prepare for the Christmas holidays. Over the weekend, we traveled to Kandy where we visited an elephant reserve and many local markets. I am looking forward to returning to Sri Lanka to explore more of the beautiful countryside.