Volunteer Trips in Latin America with MEDLIFE

The first day of the volunteer was a brief overview of the program and a tour of the city we were staying at. Cristian and Lucho were the instructors for the week I was there. They were able to show us around the city and places to get groceries or toiletries or anything we needed during the week.

After orientation, there was a "reality tour" given. We were brought to the villages of the people who we were going to help out at. It was an eye opener for me. The smell in the air from the garbage being burned was unbearable but it made me appreciate life back at home. Stray dogs were everywhere and you can see a difference from the city to villages.

Each day of the work week were split up into medicine, education, and community development. Some tasks included taking blood pressures, height, weight, building a staircase, and even educating the people on diseases.

I enjoyed every minute of clinic but it was nice that once the work day was over, the volunteers had the opportunity to explore Lima or relax.

The food given to us was great! It was absolutely delicious and it was nice to get a sense of the culture.

Some difficulties I encounter on my trip would be the language barrier since I did not speak any Spanish. I would suggest knowing some form of Spanish if deciding to go on this trip.

I had a great time getting to know the other students on my trip and working together with local people. The tour was really eye-opening because I had never seen poverty like that, especially so close to the nice part of Lima. I really like how MEDLIFE emphasizes sustainability and patient followup so you know they will continue to help people after you leave. There were a few snags and problems with organization but I thought they dealt with it well overall.

I volunteered for a Mobile Clinic in Peru and it was a truly great experience. We were able to work first hand with the communities doing everything from teaching children how to brush their teeth to more serious patient analysis. We also got to take part in the construction of a staircase in an area that had no real path or road access. Although the program was short, it was concentrated and I feel like I really helped out.