Women in our Community - Sophie West I have had a chance of meeting Sophie in past few weeks and it has been a wonderful opportunity to be inspired by one of our students and an amazing role model for all of us. You will have a chance to meet Sophie and hear more about her work with Iumi Tugeda project. She will be the MC for our upcoming BUWN Speak Up Forum on the 19th September – Women Securing Our Future. This forum is open to all staff, students and friends of the BUWN and being an inclusive network, is for women and those who value women. Here is Sophie’s story: I am currently in my final year of Medicine, having completed my high school education in the UK and primary schooling in South Africa. I have served on the Making A Difference (MAD) Global Health Group Committee as the AMSA Global Health Representative for 2013 and have been one of the students involved in establishing our Solomon Islands Outreach Program - Iumi Tugeda. This is my second year serving as president. I hope to pursue my post-graduate training abroad and one-day work for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). My experiences in the Solomons are colourful daily reminders to be thankful for all that I have. Gratitude not only for my education and security, but also for what it truly means to be rich in life; friendship, family and all the things you can only carry inside. On our first day in Kirakira Hospital, six-year-old Marion was admitted for fast breathing. Little did we know that she would be with us for three weeks of fevers and treated for four separate illnesses including pneumonia and malaria – the latter of which she probably contracted in hospital. Hopeless moments included the case of 32-week old premature baby who survived only 48 hours under our care in Kirakira; back home in Australia she would have gone on to live a full life. Her eighteen year old mother was understandably distraught, convinced that this was her fault. Antenatal care is a novel concept in Kirakira, and there is no way of telling if this loss could have been prevented. There is an almost hope-banishing acceptance of death in the developing world; anything that actually can be done is seen as a bonus. I believe that effective change is achievable if we understand the power of our own moral compass and make a commitment to live by that. The feeling of peace and hope that you receive when helping another, even in the smallest of ways, is an indescribable high that leads to the most positive of addictions. Find out more about the Iumi Tugeda Solomon Islands Project - https://facebook/iumitugeda?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser To register for the BUWN Speak Up Forum - (https://events.bond.edu.au/register.aspx?id={F8C44433-EF0A-E411-80D2-0050569C0F40}&_cldee=Y3R1ZGVob3BAYm9uZC5lZHUuYXU%3d).
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 08:15:00 +0000
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