Three medical students from Northern Ireland are set to travel to Zambia next month to work with a child health specialist charity.
Ciara McCaffrey, 22, from Derrylin, along with Tom White from Claudy, and Matthew Sands from Rostrevor are all fourth year medical students.
The Queen's University Belfast trio will be travelling to Zambia for four weeks in June with an Irish-based non-governmental organisation called i4Life as part of their final year medical elective, part of their journey towards becoming doctors.
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i4Life is a child health specialist charity grounded in human rights and working to improve the lives of children.
Ciara, Tom and Matthew will be on the frontline in Lusaka, the largest city in Zambia, the southern African nation with a population of over 19 million people
Under the guidance of i4Life professionals, alongside two of her classmates, the Queen’s University student will be on the frontline in Lusaka, the largest city in Zambia.
The organisation is aiming to build a child maternal health assessment room in the primary care clinic in Lusaka.
The estimated cost of development of the potentially life-saving facility is £5,000. Ahead of the trip, the students are set to embark on a challenging fundraiser to support i4Life in their mission.
Ciara told Belfast Live: “The primary care unit is based in a shanty town and treats 300 people per day.
“The child maternal assessment room will be used to accommodate patients, especially the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care of mothers and children.
“For every 100 children under the age of five treated, 75% of them need urgent care as they risk long term illness or worst case, death. Everyone who attends the clinic receives hot meals and nutrition education.
“During the trip, we'll also have the opportunity to travel with the team to Luangwa and Kafue and camp out in the bush for a week to help indigenous people, assess their needs and educate them about nutrition and health.
“We will travelling to Galway in between our university exams for pre-departure training, which will help us to prepare for the trip and some of the experiences we are to encounter,” added Ciara, who plays for Knockninny GAA and also works in the family business, Erneside Furniture in Enniskillen.
Just days before they set off for Zambia, Ciara, Tom and Matthew are taking part in a one-day sponsored 7 Peak Challenge.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Ciara on her trip to Zambia while St Aidan’s High School in Derrylin recently presented their former student with a donation.
“We are aiming to complete the seven summits of the Mourne Mountains in one day on Monday 19th June to raise some money,” Ciara explained.
“The money raised will be donated to i4Life in support to build the child and maternal health assessment room in their clinic in Lusaka.
"i4Life is a child health specialist charity based in Galway and established in 2009 with a specific interest in low resource countries.
"They have a particular focus on education, immunisation, nutrition and human rights in Zambia. i4Life also runs intensive feeding programmes for the most malnourished children and monitors their progress."
“I am really looking forward to the trip and the learning opportunities it will offer. I know it will be a challenging, but all the same, humbling and rewarding experience,” Ciara added
“Providing healthcare, education and nutrition to children enables them to have a dignified, quality life into adulthood which can have lasting changes for generations.”
Donations can be made via the i4Life fundraising page here.
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