Hear all about my travels and medical volunteering in India as part of my university placement
I would like to start off by thanking Rahul for making my first trip to India and the entire medical volunteering trip extra special. From the very beginning, Rahul were the most hospitable and generous host. I’ve loved every minute of living with the family and I cannot thank you enough for making me feel like apart of your family and like your little sister.
"I would 100% recommend this trip to future volunteers and to anyone considering doing this programme. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life!"
I have nothing but good things to say about Rahul and the rest of the team. They were always around to answer any questions we had about Jaipur, Rahul on many occasions took me and the girls staying with his family around to do the stuff we wanted or to sort things out like SIM cards and they also offered and organised really cool evening activities for us to do.
Some of the things I particularly enjoyed was the Monkey Temple and the Elephant Village which I would highly recommend to any volunteer coming to India. It was honestly an amazing experience to get to see such amazing animals up close and to feed them, we brought loads of bananas to feed the monkey’s which Rahul got for us and was included in the overall fee and for the Elephant Village we had the opportunity to get up-close with the elephants and to make chapati’s from scratch to feed them.
The team at the slum clinics were amazing, and had a very close relationship to both Rahul and Tanu. Rahul came by to visit us on many occasions and it was always lovely having him around, taking pictures and actually seeing us really enjoy the placement. The team at the slum clinic were always eager to teach us new things, and I’ve left India knowing how to place an IV cannula into a patient, or how to do an intramuscular injection into the bum and how to administer IV injections. I also learnt a lot about the common diseases that were present in the slums and about the education and social issues present in India. Whilst I was there, two of the fourth year medical students also gave a presentation to women in the slums regarding cervical cancer. Dr Pawan was always eager for us to create presentations and educate the slum community on social issues. If I had longer at the clinic, I would've suggested a presentation on alcohol abuse and addiction as that was a very common issue I noticed amongst the population.
I appreciated the little things Rahul did such as texting to ask how I was enjoying my first day at the slum clinic. He always made time for all of the volunteers, I think that’s what I loved most about Rahul he was always so trustworthy and reliable and he was never more than just a text away. I’d also like to thank Rahul, his family and all the staff at the slum clinic for looking after me when I felt so awfully sick from food poisoning for a few days. I know I sulked and may have cried from being forced to drink buttermilk and eat curd (which I’m traumatised over) but they really did everything possible to ensure I felt well soon enough.
I would 100% recommend this trip to future volunteers and to anyone considering doing this programme. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life, and I was lucky to have a good balance of travelling through India and also learning about healthcare and volunteering. Whilst in India, I managed to visit Agra and Delhi (apart of the golden triangle tour), Goa (the optional trip which I paid for before leaving to India) and I went to Jodhpur alone for my last weekend which Rahul and his brother, Monty, helped me to organise. I’m so sad to have left and really wish I could’ve stayed longer. It’s not a goodbye from me… it’s a see you later. I hope to return in the near future with the amazing girls I met and to visit Rahul and his beautiful family.
