Medical Experience - Summer 2017

PMGY Sri Lanka is a fantastic organisation and I would recommend it to anyone interested in volunteering abroad.
Prior to departure the staff at the UK office (Josh, Colby and Phillip) were really helpful in answering any questions that I had and are easily contactable via email, phone or on the Facebook page. They are all very friendly in their replies, even if the answer has already been covered in the handbook that you receive when booking definitely worth a read to find out about the projects and especially with regard to sorting your visa).
I had also read reviews and seen feedback posts on Facebook from previous volunteers that were extremely positive. This made me really excited for my upcoming trip but also wonder if it could actually be as good as people were making out. I was wrong to question it because it was amazing!
Despite arriving at the volunteer house at around 2am due to our late evening airport transfer, we were greeted with a smile and a homemade flower garland. The following day was orientation - a proper welcome to PMGY, overview of the projects and opportunity know one another. We were also taken to a moonstone mine, beautiful Buddhist temple and the town centre for money exchange/ATM and the supermarket.
I spent some of the time with PMGY at London House which can accommodate around 40 volunteer in single sex dorms and the second half of the stay at River House, the company's summer facility for when there are more volunteers. Both properties have similar bedrooms, shared bathrooms and some communal space. Meals are organised on a two weekly menu, mostly traditional Sri Lankan food (but probably less spicy!) with a few westernised dishes. I thought it was all delicious and there was always plenty to go round! The location is great and staff are always happy to suggest places to visit outside of project time such as the beach, tsunami museum and local towns. The atmosphere in the house was great, with a range of different ages, nationalities and project interests. Some volunteers arrive together, as myself and my friend from university did, but most arrive alone and leave with a whole new group of friends!
In terms of the project itself, I was doing the medical experience in the government hospital. As the handbook states, this was largely observational. I would recommend spreading your time between a variety of departments, unless you have a very specific interest, to gain the widest experience possible. The opportunity to do a turtle or elephant day pass is amazing too (although not guaranteed).
The only PMGY organised trip that I went on was the Maldives experience. It was an incredible weekend in a lovely hotel on the island of Maafushi. PMGY had done a great job of arranging flights, boat transfers and accommodation for the 15 of us. But we were left with the freedom to spend our time however we wanted once there. Recommended spending money of £200 was plenty, including snorkelling trip, tubing, day at a five star resort (amazing!) and food.
The other weekend trips also sounded fab and are good value for money. Both trips are a great way to see some beautiful parts of the country and pack in a lot more activities/sights than you could in a weekend of independent travel. The reason that I didn't sign up for these is that my friend and I covered most of the things they included in the extra week we had booked to travel Sri Lanka. Either way, I would recommend seeing country however you decide because it is beautiful, varied and unspoiled.
Finally, what I believe really makes PMGY fantastic are the people: the coordinators and local staff who go above and beyond their roles to make sure everyone is having the best time they can and the other volunteers who share amazing experiences and become great friends together.
To visit this country, have so many opportunities and experiences within and outside the project, and meet such beautiful people was an honour. Enjoy it!

Top tips:
General
- Bring some outfits that cover your shoulders and knees. The local area is very Buddhist so it isn't appropriate to be exposed, nor on public buses.
- You might want to pack/buy a sheet or sleeping bag liner as the beds have a bottom sheet but no cover (or you could sleep with the sheet over you, straight onto the mattress but I don't know how often they're washed).
- Buy a Fantastick ice cream. Just do it. You won't regret it.

Medical
- Ask questions! Some doctors and nurses speak better English than others and some are just generally friendlier but most will get you more involved if you seem keen.
- Experience a variety of departments if you can.
- Probably best to get a Sri Lankan sim card so that you can organise earlier or later transport back to the house depending on how busy the hospital is.
- Take water and tissues (some wards don't have air con or loo roll)!