Nate Garcia with children from the Mimosa Primary School.
Nate Garcia is pursuing degrees in exercise science and business in preparation for future work in medicine. He spent the summer of 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa, where his survey on CPR and first aid knowledge at the Mimosa Primary School paved the way for future classes. Nate also witnessed first-hand the disparities in access to Cape Town’s most precious resource: water.
This past summer of 2018, I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in a service-learning, internship-based, study abroad program in Cape Town, South Africa. Under the direction of the Honors College and working alongside an advisor from Peacework, five other students and I spent eight weeks with a non-profit organization called the Amy Foundation. The Amy Foundation operates holistically to combat crime and violence by providing viable youth skills for children and young adults living in vulnerable communities across the Western Cape of South Africa.
For the adult students, typically in their twenties, they focus on learning a specific skill trade they can bring into their community, whether it be sewing, culinary, business etc. For the children, the foundation partners with local primary schools (comparable to elementary schools) to provide after-school programs focused on sports, math and physics, reading and writing, and cultural tradition.
After the first two weeks of tossing around ideas for how I could develop a research project that would incorporate the Amy Foundation, benefit the community, and advance my personal endeavors, I took on a questionnaire-based project. To look deeper into the realm of education, I wanted to ask the older children (ages 11-17) and, staff members of the coordinating schools we worked with, about their knowledge of CPR and First Aid. More so, I wanted to see if anyone knew how it is utilized or maybe if they have ever seen or been exposed to it previously.
Once I received approval from IRB to execute my questionnaire survey, I began asking students and staff of Mimosa Primary School about their knowledge, practice, and vision of CPR and First Aid in their homes and community. I found so many of the children and staff had little idea as to what CPR or even First Aid was. For those who were aware, much of their knowledge was the works of modern television with little substantial detail as to how CPR and First Aid can save lives. While I currently am still piecing together surveys that are being sent to me from South Africa, seeing the education gap in CPR and First Aid knowledge is scary but also exciting because I know the initial overview I provide for them will pave the way for future classes and proper education to come.
Living where I worked, and working where I live, I learned a wide variety of things about the beauties and troubles of Cape Town while also learning a lot about myself. One of the biggest culture shocks I experienced occurred when arriving in Cape Town. While I knew of the water crisis taking place in the city, I underestimated the pervasiveness of the issue as a reflection of the inequality across the city. People in the townships would typically have access to five liters of water a day at best, but white folk living in the inner city would have up and running pools, fountains, baths, etc., with little ramifications for their excessive water usage. Seeing this and tying it with the perpetual poverty across South Africa allowed me to see the value in what the Amy Foundation strives to provide for these young kids. Overall, this trip provided me with various tests of my character and insight into how I can integrate this experience into my future goals as a physician.