The African Heart

“Comforting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a happier and more productive person.” -David Burns


I came to Africa six years ago. I was twenty-four and wanted to document cases that caused human suffering like poverty, famine and diseases. As my mother and I were in the plane to Malawi she said, “you will either love this kind of work (international development and health) or you won’t but don’t tell me your opinion until our plan ride home.” It only took a day for me to learn how I felt about this country to know that I could work here.

I had found a country where people called strangers brothers, sisters, and mother. Despite the poverty, I felt humbled. I was inspired by how people treated one another, with respect, and the connection that was felt with the people and country side. People suffered here, especially the women and children. It was my first exposure to health and development issues such as famine, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, and maternal and child health that derail achievements on the ‘development’ scale.

After visiting clinics and attending lectures on health care, my life goals changed in a heart beat and I was thinking of the requirements to make such a dramatic career shift to international health. Growing up with parents who are both in the health profession was a stable ground to start with but I predicted it wouldn’t be an easy path to pursue. As we were sitting on the plane in South Africa back to the United States, I told my mother, “this kind of work is rewarding, challenging and benefits a lot of people; this trip made a huge impact on my life both personally and professionally.”

Shortly after returning to the United States, I quit my job as a Studio Manager in Boston, moved home. I found a volunteer position with an international non-government organization working on HIV/AIDS in Malawi. In April 2004, I was back in Blantyre ready to start a volunteer position in a beautiful small African country that was experiencing high rates of HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality, famine, and malaria. All of these life changes and new experiences gave me genuine happiness.

The nine months spent in Malawi gave me a new perspective on life itself and a new career direction. I became very interested in nutrition and HIV/AIDS so I decided to take nutrition courses and prepare for a higher degree in public health. From having experiences of home based care visits of people living with HIV/AIDS, children orphaned as a result of AIDS, and poor infrastructure in the health system, and having worked in a low income country, I was ready to leap into a graduate program and finish as soon as possible so I could get back to Africa one day with the correct credentials and more field experience.