SLU student from Carthage has ‘incredible experience' in Kenya

WHO: Kaitlyn N. Sullivan, Carthage. A junior neuroscience major at St. Lawrence University, Canton.

Ms. Sullivan was one of 11 students who spent a month in Kenya this summer participating in a program called Health Care Delivery in a Developing Country. The program allows students to observe and participate in the country's approach to health care.

There, she worked in six area hospitals and clinics, informing locals about clean water and learning about their lack of health care.

Why did you participate in the summer term in Kenya?

“The course was about health care delivery; I want to pursue a career in health care. Kenya seemed like an incredible place to spend a month of my life. Also, I'm an African studies minor. I have read, heard and watched a lot about it (Africa), but none of that could even come close to actually spending time there.”

What made you want to study abroad?

“I wanted to gain a more global perspective. I felt like I needed to go someplace way different than Northern New York and really see what else this world has to offer.”

When did you leave for Kenya? How long were you there?

“I left for Kenya at the end of May, and I was there for a month. I spent one week of that time in Uganda.”

Did you stay with a host family?

“St. Lawrence has a compound in Kenya, right outside of the capital city, Nairobi. We stayed there for the majority of the time, but we also spent three days at a home-stay with the Maasai people.

“That part of the program was an incredible experience. It was nice to be fully submersed in the culture of people who are still very traditional. When we went to Uganda we stayed in a hotel in Kampala.”

What did you do in Uganda?

“We went to Mildmay, which is an HIV/AIDS hospital. I spent time in the physiotherapy unit, shadowing a therapist while he cared for HIV/AIDS patients. Mildmay also has outreach clinics located in various rural communities. The clinics were mostly used for HIV/AIDS testing and counseling, as well as educating people about how to avoid spreading it. Also we shadowed doctors at MU-JHU (The Makerere University — Johns Hopkins University), which is a research hospital. I went to the neonatal unit.”

Did you have a lot of face time and interaction with Kenyan people?

“We had a lot of interaction. All of our professors and all of the employees on the compound are Kenyan. We got to know people our age, interact with doctors and patients and meet people who lived in the area.”

Tell me about one of the hospitals you worked at.

“We spent time at Kenyatta, which is the largest public hospital in Kenya. It is extremely overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded. I volunteered in the pediatric oncology unit, which would be an extremely hard sight no matter what hospital I was in, but these children literally had nothing.

“The children all live there, and all they had to play with were the toys which we brought. This was an extremely eye-opening experience. It was hard, but it was definitely worth it.”

Did you have any time off while you were there?

“We went on a safari. We hiked Mount Longonot, which used to be a volcano and is now a crater. We left for Uganda for a week and when we got there, some of us went whitewater rafting on the Nile. We then went back to Kenya for a few days before heading home. We had some free time where we could explore the city and whatnot.”

What was your favorite part of the experience?

“I loved being able to see things that I have never seen anything like before. I really loved working with the children. Even children who have nothing are still extremely happy. The happiness there is so genuine and incomparable to what we're used to at home.”

Did you have a least favorite part?

“One thing that was frustrating about the experience, which I realized more so when I came home, was how different Kenya is compared to how people here perceive it. Yes, Kenya is a developing country, and many, many people are impoverished, but there is so much more to Kenya than that.”

As a neuroscience major, do you think your trip will help you?

“This experience will definitely help me. It will help me more because I am interested in a health career, which is what the entire course was about.”

What do you want to do after college?

“I'm not really sure what I want to do. Ideally, I will have a career in the medical/health field, possibly a physician's assistant. I'd really love to spend more time in a developing country doing aid work.”

If you would like to suggest a subject for a Times Q&A, contact Johnson Newspapers staff writer Chelsea Craddock at ccraddock@wdt.net.