MEDLIFE

Last week, we joined the Brown University MEDLIFE Chapter on campus for their last meeting of the year. As about 25 students shared pizza and soda, co-presidents Katie Deangelis and Abby Kerson summarized the chapter's accomplishments throughout the year, highlighting their increased visibility on campus, participation in two Mobile Clinics, and multiple large-scale fundraisers.

This year, the chapter raised $1,500 for the MEDLIFE Project Fund – enough to fund approximately 1.5 staircase projects in Pamplona, Peru. One of their most successful fundraisers was a raffle that required prizes to be donated by local businesses, and a heavy publicity push to get fellow students to buy tickets. Members expressed that this was a great way to reach out to the broader community and to cultivate new, local partners.

Nora Orton, a chapter member who now helps organize Brown's Mobile Clinic trips, also shared photos during the meeting from the two Mobile Clinics that Brown students participated in this year. Norah first got involved with MEDLIFE as a freshman when she saw a MEDLIFE Mobile Clinic trip advertised through the campus morning email. On a bit of a whim, she signed up for and attended a clinic in Riobamba, Ecuador, during the spring of 2011.

Sophomore Charlotte Groch, a participant on one of our 2012 Mobile Clinics in Lima, was also one of the first students to successfully use MEDLIFE's 50:50 fundraising campaign. Through our online fundraising tool, Charlotte raised $1,400 -- half of which went towards her participation fees and half of which went to the MEDLIFE Mission Fund. Recently, we used the $700 that Charlotte raised for MEDLIFE to build a new staircase in Pamplona, outside of Lima, Peru:


Charlotte's involvement with MEDLIFE began when an informative email from the organization was sent out to members of her pre-health profession club at Macalester and sparked her interest. "I looked at it and thought -- this sounds perfect for me," she said. After researching our website and listening to other student's stories, she knew that it would be the most useful way to spend her winter break.

The 50:50 Campaign was presented to her in another email she received shortly after registering with MEDLIFE. "It sounded like a great way to help me in my desire to travel, do community service, and help out with a non-profit that seemed to be doing really sustainable work. It's not just for me; it also helps out the organization at the same time." Charlotte attributes the success of her campaign to her sincerity with donors:

"I explained that it wouldn't be a one-time thing -- that it would continue on into the future by helping communities become more health-aware and by educating them about prevention."

Charlotte's funds are continuing on into the future in the form of a concrete staircase for the community of Unión Santa Fé, benefiting a community of 380 people. Check out some photos from the inauguration ceremony, and be sure to read the entire story on our website:

Learn more about Mobile Clinics >    Start a 50:50 Campaign >

MEDLIFE'S FIRST WEST COAST CONFERENCE OFFERS STUDENTS FROM A RANGE OF UNVERSITIES A CHANCE TO DISCUSS, BRAINSTORM, AND FOSTER A COMMUNITY OF STUDENTS EMPOWERED AND PASSIONATE FOR PROMOTING HEALTH EDUCATION AND ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA.

UC Berkeley's MEDLIFE Chapter cordially invites all MEDLIFE chapters and their members to UC Berkeley for a chance to meet with one another, share, and discuss various aspects of MEDLIFE. The conference will be held February 17th-18th at UC Berkeley (about 25 minutes outside of San Francisco). We have a great weekend planned, including bonding activities, public health guest speakers, interactive workshops, and more! The conference will be a unique opportunity for MEDLIFE members from across the nation to meet in person and promote our important cause.

Attendees should arrive between 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM and will be hosted by one of the UC Berkeley members. Upon arrival, Friday night will include a welcome dinner and a fun-filled scavenger hunt on the Berkeley campus! Various activities and workshops will commence on Saturday -- including a UC Berkeley professor's lecture on his/her work in the healthcare sector in poverty-stricken, developing countries as well as various workshops on establishing a successful chapter and reflections on experiences in MEDLIFE.

There will be a participation fee of $30, which includes all meals and costs for activities during the conference. We hope you will be able to join us!

Register Now >>

Earlier this fall, we introduced Joe and Tommy's $1 Tour: a journey up and down the East Coast of the United States with the goal of giving presentations at current MEDLIFE Student Chapters, starting chapters in new schools, and raising general awareness of MEDLIFE. Along their journey across 15 states -- from Baltimore down to Florida and then all the way back up to Maine -- Tommy and Joe collected single dollars from students, friends, and MEDLIFE supporters. After they completed their tour, the $323 raised in single dollar bills for the MEDLIFE Fund was donated to our most recent staircase project in Pamplona, Peru -- a third staircase in the community of Santa Cruz.


This stair construction project was born when MEDLIFE Project Director Carlos Benavides met a family from the district of Villa María del Triunfo: Sra. Alejandrina Huaya Quispe, her husband Elias Enrique, and their three children. Elias had become the leader of their small community (approximately 50 people) after leaving his home in Puno, near the famous Lake Titicaca, in order to find available land on which he could build his family a home. After we met Elias, he coordinated a meeting between his community members and the MEDLIFE team. MEDLIFE staff members presented our history of work in the region while residents explained their community's needs: infrastructure, potable water, drainage systems, and electricity. At this meeting, we came to an agreement to build a staircase in a region of Santa Cruz called the Pasaje de los Rosales.

Thanks to the community of Santa Cruz, MEDLIFE staff members, and all of our $1.oo donors for making this project a reality!

Philadelphia, PA, Saturday November 5th, 10:00am: 

A group of college students meet over coffee and pastries on Penn's campus, sharing their thoughts on a topic that has them engaged in animated conversation. It's homecoming weekend at Penn, and parents and alumni from across the country have arrived on campus to relive the college experience with a weekend of social engagements, fine dining, and, of course, football. The night before, Greek houses hosted reunion parties and students dined with parents and alumni at some of West Philadelphia's trendier restaurants. Now, thousands are marching across campus to tailgate a Penn-Princeton football match, which is set to kick off in a few hours.

So, what has drawn this group of students together, seated inside a classroom in Huntsman Hall while the sun shines brightly on the football field? Studying for upcoming exam? What topic has so grasped their attention? Midterms? A Saturday night fraternity party? Not even close -- they're discussing how best an NGO can ensure sustainable and culturally sensitive practices in delivering women's sexual health education to poor communities in Latin America.

This past weekend, Penn's MEDLIFE Chapter hosted our first ever Fall Student Leadership Conference. The conference was attended by student leaders from Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, the University of Delaware, Penn, and George Washington University.

Wow! It's hard to believe that only a week has passed since our last blog post – over the past seven days we've traveled over 600 miles from Washington, DC to our current home of Athens, Georgia. We've stopped at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, Wake Forest, and Duke University to host presentations, hand out flyers on campus, or meet with prospective student leaders.

Life on the road hasn't been too hard so far thanks to our very accommodating hosts: the Channell family in Mclean, VA and the Perkins family in Chapel Hill, NC. Both families have gone out of their way to support Joe and I on our tour, and we thank them graciously for their generosity. In Athens, we're planning to stay with UGA student Danny Guidot, who has lent us some apartment space during our time in Athens. Thanks Danny!