Hola!
And thus starts my efforts to fundraise for my trip next summer. For those of you that don't know, Peru is a third world country, and although it has a medical system in place, Peru lacks the knowledge and resources to function at it's full potential. 40% of the country lives in poverty and it is the upper class who really gets the limited care that the government can offer.
In May 2011, I will be travelling to Peru to help establish medical centres, help doctors with their common practices, help people learn basic first aid (so to an extent they can take care of themselves) and help out with a UN-initiated campaign to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS. I'll be down in Peru for about a month to a month and a half. I'm going through a well-known organization called Nexos Voluntarios (www.nexosvoluntarios.org). In total, my trip will be about $6000. ...And here's where the fundraising comes in.
I've had plenty of experience fundraising throughout my highschool career. I helped run a club at Cameron Heights C.I., called SICA (Student International Community Assistance), where we adopted a Peruvian village called Pamplona Alta (just outside of Lima). Over my years at Cameron, we helped supply the village with a library, a radio communications centre and dozens of water filters. This is where my passion for helping the Peruvian culture began. As for my medical passion, my dad is a doctor and my mother owns her own physiotherapy clinic....so I suppose you could say that being in the medical profession runs in the family. I'm planning to travel to medical school after I finish up my undergraduate degree at McGill University (Montreal, QC), and I hope to eventually work for Doctors Without Borders (aka MSF).
Last night, I went out for the first time to fundraise (door to door), and came back 45minutes later with $104.00 !! Thanks to all those who donated! My other projects to fundraise include writing to businesses requesting people to donate and sponsor me, as well as asking to leave donation boxes in various businesses around the city. I'm quite artsy, so I'm contemplating the idea of designing and selling jewelry as a way to fundraise as well. Any suggestions or other ideas would be welcome!
I hope I'm starting off on the right foot with this blog. In the meantime, I'm determined to teach myself Spanish. Any suggestions on fundraising (or otherwise) would be great! I hope you all have an awesome Thursday, and I'll keep in touch with my progress!
