Some of the experiences I had in Morocco that left the biggest impact on me, were the time spent visiting homeless shelters for youth, as well as an orphanage in Agadir. Although I had experienced visiting orphanages in the past, in other countries, the visit here struck me in another way. First, there are many small infants in the orphanages, something that you don't find in the US due to our foster system. While helping out for a morning, the caretakers informed me that I couldn't hold any of the babies for longer than five minutes, because otherwise they get used to being held, and when volunteers aren't there, there aren't enough people to soothe all the babies that want to be held. The room I was in, housed 15 infants from just a few weeks old, to about 10 months old. As I walked around the room, soothing crying babies, I felt sad to know that they can't be allowed to get used to being comforted in someone's arms. This experience offered me a new perspective as to how lucky I am to have been raised in a loving household, and also to live in a country where infants are able to be cared for in a smaller adult to child ratio, allowing them to experience human connection.
Similar to that experience, we also took time to visit a shelter for "street kids" who ranged in ages from about 7 to 17. There were about 20 kids, who welcomed us into their home and allowed us to teach them about oral hygiene, as well as play a well-known American game, musical chairs. These kids were older than those at the orphanage, but many came from similar circumstances. When we were old we would be visiting a shelter for homeless kids, I expected to come to a shelter full of teenagers, who were kicked out of their houses for bad behavior, or who ran away from home, as that is often the cause of situations such as those here in America. But what I walked into instead, was a shelter full of young, kind, open-minded children who just ended up in a bad situation. The staff at the shelter all showed love and compassion to the kids, and they all acted as if they were family. It filled my heart with joy to know that although they were "homeless" and disadvantaged in that way, they were being treated with such kindness and love. Working through these eye opening experiences not only encourages gratitude for me in my personal life, but also as a future healthcare professional. Having knowledge of situations such as these, helps me to be a more compassionate and understanding provider for others and opens my mind and heart to the fact that not all patients come from stable familial backgrounds, or even have families at all. As both of these visits were with minors, I haven't attached any pictures from this time.*
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AuthorMy name is Erika Bolduc. I am a second year Master of Physician Assistant Studies student at MCPHS University in Boston, MA. Archives
January 2020
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