Biography
Posted by Jessie McCann on April 15th, 2010
I am a third year Bio-Medical Science student with a Geography minor at the University of Guelph. My areas of study reflect my interest in both health and environmental issues. This is why the Project Serve International trip to Botswana is so appealing to me. I will be working the Holy Cross Hospice in Gaborone during my trip, and will hopefully learn about an entirely different way of dealing with health care. I’m sure that this will be frustrating at times as I am used to the health care standards of Canada, but it will still be an extremely educational and rewarding experience. I am also interested to see how environment and geography affect the HIV/AIDS situation, as Botswana is a land-locked country in Africa, and therefore has very different resource access than Canada. I eventually hope to work with Canadian Public Health or health services on an international scale. This experience will hopefully give me a better idea of what area of health services I would like to focus on.
My day-to-day activities will likely be more focused on social support and interacting with local people directly or indirectly affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. From my understanding so far, social connections are a crucial component to Botswana society, so I am really looking forward to getting to know people, no matter how difficult it might be emotionally. This trip is unlike anything I’ve ever done before, so for now, I’m trying to expect the unexpected.
- Jessica McCann
