Service, Support, and Growth: My Journey as an IMA Intern in Kenya

From the minute I stepped onto the tarmac at the airport and found Mitchell ready to chat and welcome me to Kenya, I felt at home. She was ready to help me and the other girls I was with deal with the first instances of culture shock, and was cheerfully pointing out landmarks and outlining the plan for the day in order to help us get settled. Naomi and the housekeeping staff were absolutely wonderful, always up for a conversation, ready with extra blankets or plug-converters if I needed, and even came in at 2 am when the water faucet in the bathroom broke. The kitchen staff were wonderful, I ate better at the residence than I did at home, and they were more than happy to throw together little special treats for intern birthdays when they came up. I felt super safe in the residence and in the gated community around the residence. The security staff were really sweet and even took pictures of uber license plates just in case anything happened to us girls while we were out. The drivers were awesome, made sure we got everywhere safely and in a timely manner. The community outreach programming and cultural excursions were the most fulfilling parts of the trip. Getting to give back in little ways instead of just using this internship to further my own goals was nice. I know that IMA works hard to make their internships more than just a voluntourism activity, and I hope they maintain that ethic moving forward. Weekly debriefs were nice and helpful. I saw a lot of heartbreaking things, and it was really great to have a place to share those experiences with interns who experienced similar things or with the program mentors who offered more insight. I greatly appreciated Hildah, her jokes, activity suggestions, and her willingness to drive me to the hospital following my needle accident at the clinic (even though it was her day off) were really heartwarming. She is an exceptional human being with a lot of heart, and I’m really glad to have met her. My time at the hospital was a lot to say the least, but as I wrote in my reflection, I truly found a lot of value in the hard lessons I learned. Being amongst other medical and nursing students was inspiring and reignited my passion for medicine. Frankly, I encountered some healthcare situations I hope to never see again, but know in my heart I probably will, and I’m glad my first experience with those instances was with people in similar positions to me. I understand why some IMA alumni choose to return to Kenya. It was an experience I won’t forget, and I honestly am insanely blessed to have been an intern.