Blog Post #4
Hello World!
My name is Arielle and I have been working with The Mercy Project for some time now. I first got involved with The Mercy Project after a trip to Uganda in 2010. I had the privilege of meeting the Gulu community members working at St Jude’s and remember feeling so inspired by the work being done there. What marked me most about St Jude’s was their policy of accepting children based on need without discrimination – unlike other homes in the area that would refuse children with disabilities because of the stigma associated with any handicap. I remember a story Jamie told me on my trip about a nurse at St Jude’s who ran a physical therapy program for children bound to wheelchairs due to musculoskeletal disease. Thanks to months of therapy and loving encouragement some of the children regained their ability to walk.
I joined the board of directors in my second year of medical school. I study medicine in Chicoutimi, which is about 5 hours North of Montreal, where The Mercy Project is based. Working from Chicoutimi has its challenges such as participating in 2-hour board meetings through Skype without the connection faltering! Not to mention missing key-events and fundraisers because of the distance. When I was in my obstetrics rotation (also known as the delivering-babies-at-any-time-of-the-day rotation), for example, a baby deciding that they wanted to come out at 6:50 when we have a meeting at 7 obviously meant that I had to miss some meetings! However, working from Chicoutimi also has its advantages: for example, I was able to introduce The Mercy Project to a whole new city and community. The med-students in Chicoutimi are now a huge part of our organization and we appreciate them greatly.
-Arielle Elkrief