Global Medical Brigades has given me so many blessings in my life I don't even know where to begin. I always tell people when they ask me about the brigade that GMB opened my eyes to the basics of health care. The white walls and waiting rooms of a hospital were turned into a third grade classroom with a line outside the door. The doctor appointment that had been scheduled over the phone and held in a private room had turned into a 2 hour wait in a line with a simple conversation with the next available doctor with 5 other patients in the room. The pristine Walgreen's pharmacy had turned into suitcases filled with donated medication. The conditions may not be ideal for american standards, but the brigade offers both necessary services and supplies to communities that truly need them. My efforts with the brigade may not be life changing, but I was helping make someone's life a little more enjoyable. I had the opportunity to enter a community with a small group of students to a country where I could barely speak the language to observe, to grow and to not only help others, but to learn from them as well. I learned that the littlest of things, like two pieces of colored string tied in knots, could bring smiles to a group of around 50 kids. I learned that carrying a stressed mother's child for a consult could give her much needed relief. I made friends with physicians who taught me not only about medical procedures, but how to be compassionate. Global Medical Brigades offers so much more than just volunteer hours and a trip to a foreign country. Global Medical Brigades offers you a home with open arms, friends that may be next door or thousand miles and an experience that will stay with you for a lifetime. At least for me it did.
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