Loud sounds of wailing from our compound woke me up. I sat up immediately on my sleeping mat as I wondered about what was happening. Memories of the previous evening came flooding back into my mind. Our next door neighbor was having a difficult child birth the previous night. One of the traditional birth attendants was called in to tend to her. My friends and I stopped playing on the compound. We huddled together and waited anxiously to hear the cry of the new born baby. I saw my grandmother come out of our neighbor’s room accompanied by Esi’s mother. They had a sad expression on their faces and we could all sense that there was something wrong. The older women around told us to go home because it was getting dark. My grandmother took me home, but I could not go to sleep. I kept thinking about Esi the young woman in labor. She took good care of me anytime my grandmother was out of town and I had come to love her as member of my family. She was looking forward to having her first baby and jokingly promised she would name the baby after me if she gave birth to a baby girl. I closed my eyes and said a prayer for her.

I must have drifted off to sleep, because when I opened my eyes I could see the sun rising beyond the hills at the eastern part of the village. I dressed up immediately. My grandmother entered the bedroom quietly as I was about to leave. I could see tears in her eyes. Noticing the confusion on my face, she hugged me and told me Esi passed away at dawn. She died as she was being transported to a nearby clinic which was several miles from our village. Both mother and baby were pronounced dead upon arrival at the clinic. My little body shook as I cried profusely in my grandmother’s arms; the wailings from the compound seemed louder than ever. I was five years old at the time, living with my grandmother in Begoro a village in Ghana, when this incident happened. It was very typical to hear early morning wailings in that village which signified the mourning of the dead. The village of Begoro had no health care facility. The inhabitants of the village had to travel several miles in order to receive health care, many dying in the process. The people tend to rely on the traditional healers and herbalists in the village when they needed health care. As a child I wondered at what could be done to alleviate the situation. I made up my mind to take care of the sick when I grew up.

I became involved in health issues when I had the privilege of being the health prefect of my high school. Assisting the school nurse and interacting with students who were ill was an eye opener that instilled in me the desire to help people who were ill. The experience also heightened my sensitivity to other people and the difficulties they faced, and my view of education began to take on a new dimension. I became curious about what I was being taught at school and how that knowledge could be harnessed to benefit mankind. I enjoyed the critical and analytical thinking that science entailed. It became an obvious choice of major for me since it incorporated most of what I enjoyed studying.

A year of working at a Maternal Child Health and Family Planning Clinic in a district in Ghana after high school as a service to the nation enhanced my experience in the field of public health and also gave me the opportunity to contribute positively to the quality of life and health of the underprivileged. Traveling to various villages with the public health nurses and doctors to immunize children, conduct antenatal and postnatal care for women, provide family planning services, counsel teenagers about reproductive health, and conduct school health inspections made me aware of most of the loopholes in the public health system in Ghana. I also came to appreciate the importance of public health and the ability to work effectively with others in a team. Having lived in a village for most of my childhood, I was able to identify with the villagers, and often I served as the team’s liaison in explaining our mission to them and in counseling them. They accepted me as a member of their community. One vivid example was during the national polio immunization day when I was called upon to explain the importance of the polio vaccine to their children because the villagers were reluctant to have their children vaccinated. They had heard rumors that the vaccine was a means by which the white man wanted to transmit HIV/AIDS to their children in order to eradicate them from the earth. I was able to convince them about the importance of the vaccine and also help build the trust that was needed for the administration of the vaccine to their children. Routine visits to most of the villages revealed the ignorance the women had about immunization and pre- and postnatal care. They preferred to see herbalists and traditional healers to give them concoctions to take instead. They did not want the white man’s medicine, but after being educated, they were finally receptive. I was glad to have been involved in making a positive difference in the lives of these women. They began to live healthier lifestyles and healthier babies. That year, there was a significant decrease in the maternal and child mortality rates in the villages in which we worked.

Knowing that I needed to have a tertiary education in order to acquire the skills I needed in public health, I sought and gained admission to University of Ghana. Majoring in biochemistry and microbiology provided me many skills in laboratory work that continue to enhance my research work in epidemiology. As an executive of my hall of residence and the vice president of the student’s Representative Council Women’s Commission, I dealt with issues concerning women on campus and also helped female students to realize themselves as important resources for the advancement of society. Being with the commission also gave me the opportunity to liaise with non governmental organizations to promote health, education, and the overall status of women and children in the country. I was involved in teaching illiterate women how to read and write and also perform basic mathematical calculations to help them manage the money they made from their trade.

Working at Alpha Medical Center gave me more insight and experience in the field of public health. Working in the laboratory, surgery, and other departments, I realized that most of the illnesses that patients reported at the medical center could have been prevented before their onset. I was trained as a youth counselor at the medical center and my duty was to counsel the youth in that community on reproductive health, violence against women, and provide emotional support to girls who had been physically and sexually abused. I also helped in training other youth in peer counseling.

The public health system in Ghana, which is typical of most public health systems in Africa, needs reformation. There are villages in the country which have no access to healthcare due to distance, insufficient public health personnel, lack of funds, and the overall lack of political interest of policy makers. The challenge of achieving health for all worldwide is enormous, especially in Africa, in the face of increasing rates of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, high infant and maternal mortality rates, malnutrition, poverty, lack of potable drinking water, and poor sanitation. The answer to most of these problems lies in sound and effective public health interventions. The continent must focus more on public health than on medicine.

Currently I am a student at the School of Public Health pursuing a master’s degree in public health. By acquiring a public health degree with concentration in epidemiology, I hope to acquire the necessary skills I need to train more public health personnel in Africa, in order to increase the numbers and capacity of such personnel. This will help create greater availability of health services, increase the promotion of adolescent, maternal and child health, and increase the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS in communities in Africa. I hope to work with the World Health Organization and research organizations to conduct and support research on the diagnosis, care, and treatment of HIV/AIDS infected victims throughout their lives including clinical studies of therapeutic interventions.

I am also a current member of the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) which is part of the Health Action AIDS in the United States. We are involved in a comprehensive education and advocacy campaign with the goal of securing adequate resources from the US government to provide prevention, treatment, and care programs to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in resource poor settings worldwide. A Physicians for Human Rights Students Chapter was recently formed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with the aim of raising awareness and understanding of the fundamental connections between health and human rights, educating current and future health professionals about their roles as advocates for human rights, and increasing the involvement of students, doctors, nurses, and other health professionals in the work of Physicians for Human Rights. I was involved in organizing a PHR national conference at UAB which took place in the on the 5th of March this year. Health professional students, law students, human rights advocates, and others interested in helping to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic came from all over the nation to attend this conference. Participants were educated, inspired, and energized through various workshops and seminars to gain a greater understanding of the relationship between health and human rights. The workshops and seminars also addressed the various ways in which they could use their voices, knowledge and advocacy skills to achieve equity in health and justice both domestically and globally.

I may have contributed little in my efforts to make this world a better place; however I hope I have started a spark that will continue to make a positive impact in this world. Yesterday was a lesson, tomorrow is a promise. Today is all we have to contribute our quota in making the world a better place than it was yesterday.

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When I first read the topic of the essay, I was eager to get started on it. I have rarely seen a person, including myself, not complain about how bad this world is and how things need to be amended. With so many people fussing about so many different things around them, there should certainly be myriad ways to contribute to make this world a better place to live. Jumping on the bandwagon of preachers, I too was able to quickly put down a list of things to be changed in this world to improve its state of affairs – spread peace, feed the poor, take care of the sick and on and on. As I was patting myself on the shoulder for coming up with cool ideas to make a better world, a state of reasoning and sense of reality dawned on me and I was asking myself how I would actually implement these ideas. What will it take to get these noblest of the ideas put into action – is it money? Do I need to be the next billionaire or is it power that would make men listen to my talk and carry out the actions. Why would they listen to me anyway? The barrage of these confusing questions left me bitter and I was no more enthusiastic about writing the essay. I felt empty and was sad that I will also end up to be just one of those that preach but never act. I was finding excuses not to write this essay and just move on as I was before. However, someone dear to me insisted I should not give up and do the writing.

I was then thinking about all those people who made a difference in my life – who made this world a better place for me. What was it that they did to me and the world around me that makes me remember them and their actions. I was surprised at the endless list of people that came to my mind – from my kind parents who took care of me when I was a helpless child, my teacher who practiced and taught flawless manners, my friends who stuck with me in rain and shine, to the unknown stranger who smiled at me on the road and made me forget all my worries even it be for a moment and the list kept coming to my mind without an end. Not to forget the dear one who saved me from the misery of self-blame I would have experienced had I turned away from taking this essay seriously. Hope seems to return and I was truly convinced that neither money nor power is needed to spread a little joy and happiness in this world. Even a little act that brings a smile on at least one person’s face would make justice to the time spent writing this essay and would contribute to a better world. However, I could do more than that.

I realized that what I am today is an essence of the environment I was exposed to as a child. Every one enters this world as a child, an eager bud that wants to grow into a blooming flower – not only pleasant to the sight but also fragrant to the nose. The positive impact of my schoolteachers was so profound on me that memories of their selfless behavior, impeccable manners, upright character and attitude to serve are still vivid in my memory. I have found the finest of men and women in the profession of teaching. The titles of "Brothers and Sisters", as we lovingly referred to them in a missionary school, were literally true in meaning. They loved us irrespective of our race, religion, color. This was my first taste of true love besides my parents. Their acquaintance left an indelible mark on my heart – to be like them… to serve the budding flowers, the children of today, the full blooming and fragrant flowers of tomorrow. To me, this was the highest level of service and satisfaction.

Even as I work for myself day and night, towards my education, I remind myself of the promise to fulfill. No action, however insignificant shall go unnoticed; it will influence someone somewhere in this world. Working on that principle, I have spent time, effort and paltry amounts of money that I could afford as a student to organizations that care for the children of our world. It is only with good education and favorable environment will the children grow up to make this world a better place and it is every adult’s responsibility to ensure this development. Children who grow up with a sense of universal love and tolerance will put an end to the existing problems of our world. As a child, I was taught human life is more sacred than anything in this world, yet, we see thousands of lives wasted over petty differences arising due to race, religion and ideologies. What right do we have to share a world that is not ours if we cannot learn to live in harmony and peace? Mother Theresa has been a remarkable source of encouragement, symbol of universal peace and unfailing love. Both Mother Theresa and Buddha experienced the same suffering of the people and felt compassionate about them. While Buddha renounced this world for its suffering, the Mother took up the challenge and contributed so much that the world will be in her debt for eternity. She set a fine example to follow. She neither had money nor power, yet touched the lives of millions of people directly and comforted their aching souls with nothing but pure love. Love, that each one of us can afford to contribute for a better tomorrow.

I would like to take up my part of the task for educational and medical help that the world could use. I would like to be a teacher at all levels, from kindergarten to university. The constant human touch with children is essential to mould the buds in to beautiful flowers. Education is vital to expand the horizons of understanding and make children appreciate the beauty of diversity. Although, we find human race in such a splendid variety of forms, languages, colors and beliefs, we are all very similar in that we can feel, experience and show the love for humanity and associate with each other, no matter what. All we need is a little broader perspective of looking at things. I am happy that my education in United States of America has been the primary source of building such broader perspective. Had not for this international experience, I would have been deprived of this overall perspective and would cling to my own country, my own people and my own beliefs. It reminds me of a beautiful tale of a few blind men. Once upon a time, a few blind men stumbled upon a sleeping elephant. None of them had seen the elephant and had no idea of what it is like. This was their chance to get a grasp of what they used to hear. Each one touched the elephant from his own place – someone held on to its leg, someone to its tail, someone to its tusk, someone to its belly. Not wanting to let go of their real experience with the elephant, each one started describing how the elephant is like – the one who held on to the leg said the elephant is hard like a wall, the one who held on to its tail said the elephant was like a rope, the one who held on to its tusk said the elephant was smooth and sharp, the one who held onto its belly said that it was soft like a couch. Each of them was right in his own perspective, but none of them was right about the elephant overall. This is what not having education does to a person, makes the person blind to others perspectives and deprives the person from appreciating the beauty of this world. Having tasted the sweetness of finding unity in diversity, I would like to help others and especially the budding flowers of tomorrow taste it too.

I believe in the proverb, "action speaks louder than words". Therefore, no matter how enthusing my words appear to be, they are of no use until I put them in action. I have learnt it is imprudent to wait for favorable conditions to take action, rather conditions turn favorable when we take action. Therefore, I would like to end this piece of writing by reminding everyone including myself first, that action, however insignificant shall bear its fruit. A fruit, whose taste shall be sweet and memorable, and eventually these little actions make up everything around us in this world, just like little drops of water make up the vast oceans. The trick however is not to give up and loose hope that we cannot contribute anything substantial, but rather to continue doing the actions, even minute ones. A winner never quits and the quitter never wins!

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ISO reserves the right to refuse publication of materials submitted and to edit that which is accepted for publication. The articles do not necessarily reflect the opinion, policy or purpose of ISO.

Now that summer is almost over and school is about to start students are exited about new learning opportunities. In our next issue we will provide you with some useful information about t where to buy school books at a reasonable prize, if you have any information that you want to share with other students please email it to us at customercare@isoa.org before 08/25/2005 and we will publish it in our next E-Newsletter

The E-newsletter will be published on 09/01/2005. It will be available online @ ISO’s website – www.isoa.org as well.

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Ana Salazar

International Student Representative

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