No One Reads During Reading Week

I think every university student can agree that ‘reading’ week needs to be renamed. I’m thinking something along the lines of ‘Netflix all night, sleep all day’ week is more accurate. Or, ‘eat all the home-cooked food you can before you go back to ordering pizza every night’ week. Either works. However, this year I spent my reading week a bit differently. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely didn’t do any reading, but I was given the wonderful opportunity to travel to Panama along with 20 other students to volunteer in the rural city of Coclesito.

I’ve done my fair share of travelling, but my experience in Panama was unlike any other. We landed in Panama City and had a night to adjust to the new country that we would call home for the next week. The next morning, we started the trip with a scenic yet dreadfully long four-hour bus ride from Panama City to Coclesito. The lodge we stayed at looked like something out of a movie (minus all the bugs, those weren’t very Hollywood-like). Staying in cabins in this rural city was a combination of a major culture shock as well as being able to experience the authenticity of Central America. The biggest shock? NO ELECTRICITY AFTER 10:00 p.m. That’s right…definitely no Netflix this week. The residents collectively decided that the generator for the whole area will only be on from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. – one of the many ways the people of Coclesito show how unified they are in everything they do.

We started our time in Coclesito by visiting the homes in the community. This was hands-down my favourite part of the trip. Although there was a major language barrier, I was still able to interact with the families and their kids while learning a few Spanish phrases myself. Visiting the locals’ homes gave us an opportunity to see their living conditions, which were disheartening to say the least. These house visits really opened my eyes to the health disparities in not only Central America but globally. However, I never failed to see a smiling face at every house visited. Luckily, smiles are the same in all languages!

The purpose of this trip was to hold a triage clinic at the lodge we were staying at and invite the locals. During the house visits, we interviewed them on their quality of life and if they had any health concerns that couldn’t be addressed due to their lack of access to adequate healthcare. We saw everything from cancer to mental illnesses to parasites to bacterial infections. Some of the health issues we saw could be treated in a few days in Canada, whereas these people had to live in this condition without knowing when it could be cured.

At the clinic, we were able to take vital signs of the locals that came in. Although there is a rural hospital in Coclesito, wait times, prices and resources were not sufficient to serve the community members effectively. Holding this clinic gave them a rare chance to get that check up that Canadians are fortunate to get whenever they please. After taking their vital signs such as temperature and blood pressure, we recorded the results and compared them to the desired results for someone of their specific gender and age. If there was something off, we notified the in-house doctor and she took further steps. We then conducted a triage interview to delve deeper into any health concerns they may have, and the doctor then prescribed medication.

Prior to the trip, the 20 students and myself received donations from pharmacies and brought $500 worth of medication for Coclesito. Having access to basic medicines such as Tylenol, Advil, Penicillin, etc.  is comparable to hitting the gold mine for these families – think about that next time you’re at Shoppers Drug Mart! Being in an environment where I could see my actions making a difference was extremely uplifting, as I was able to see the gratitude and hope in each person’s eyes after leaving the clinic. Words can’t describe seeing a child enter the clinic crying from a month long ear infection and leaving with the pills to treat it within 10 days. This is an unexplainable feeling and my description won’t do it justice!

Having a strong interest in both international development and healthcare, my trip to Panama allowed me to combine these interests and apply what I had learned in school. The skills I gained from volunteering in Coclesito over my reading week are irreplaceable, not to mention the memories and the 20 wonderful friendships I made. There is never a wrong time to travel and follow your passion, regardless of what that passion may be. Life begins at the end of your comfort zone – and trust me, getting on a plane with 20 strangers, flying 3853 kilometers from home and sleeping in cabins with more bugs than I had ever seen in one area before was definitely out of my comfort zone. But, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Volunteer trips such as these open the door for discussions about what we can do to improve the quality of life of the less fortunate in any capacity. I can’t stress how fortunate I am to be living in Canada and to have access to quality education and healthcare, something that is so foreign to millions around the world. Trips such as these help you to fully appreciate everything you have, and again, that experience and realization is priceless. I thoroughly encourage anyone and everyone who can, to pursue any opportunities that come their way to volunteer abroad. It is truly a life-changing experience that will influence you in ways you would’ve never thought possible. So the next time you’re on ‘Netflix all night, sleep all day’ week or ‘eat all the home-cooked food you can before you go back to ordering pizza every night’ break, try something a little different. Like, ‘make a difference and have the experience of a lifetime’ week, I promise the Netflix can wait.