Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

*This article is a compilation of comments from Rwandan medical students who took part in "2018 School Health Checkup Program in Rwanda" which was held in September 2018.

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“I am composing this message to express my gratitude to NPO “Think About Education in Rwanda”, AMDA Team, medical doctors and nurses in Rwanda for making this program a productive one for our community and us medical students. My special appreciation goes to Dr. Akintije Simba Calliope, who organized the activity. In fact, I am a medical Student from University of Rwanda. By participating in this school health checkup program as a volunteer, I have learned many things.

First of all, by working with experienced medical doctors, I gained skills on how to perform a whole physical examination and provide accurate instructions to clients/patients in a short time. Additionally, by participating in this medical checkup, I have realized the common problems my community are facing which are mostly related to poor hygiene. So, as a future healthcare provider, providing education to the patients and involving myself in community outreach to teach citizens about the prevention of different diseases will be my priorities. This is because prevention is better than waiting to become ill and strive for a cure. 

Dear project coordinator, allow me to give my ideas that I think could make these activities more profitable to our community next time:

1) After simple observations and realizing that many children have dental diseases, I think that next time it could be better if you involve a dentist as he/she could provide advice to the children and tell them what to do next.

2) I have also seen that tinea capitis is common among children especially in MIYOVE. I recommend that more follow up can be made for those children so that they can get the medication for it. In addition, it could be better if advocacy is made, so that doctors will be able to prescribe medicine at the medical checkup. This allows the health center to prepare required medicine in advance as well.

Thank you very much for your contribution to Rwandan youths. I’m confident that the bright future is reserved for them!!!”

Bizimungu Sarathiel (Grade 6, University of Rwanda)

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“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the great job you have done and for what you are planning to do. A medical checkup has great importance and I believe that it is contributing a lot to our children. It also gives us medical students a learning opportunity. But for it to be more efficient, I may suggest that a stronger system should be built. For example, the children we screened, who were suffering from visible diseases such as severe otitis or other diseases which have severe complications, can be directly sent to the hospital instead of getting sent back home without any help.... Another thing is as we all know that it is difficult to keep children away from harmful bacteria, next time I think it would be good if the children receive drugs such as Mebendazole or Albendazole for the intestinal worms.

I would finally like to thank Marie Louise for thinking about Rwandan children and investing much effort into their better future. I also thank the Association of Medical Doctor of Asia for their big support.”

Kantarama Ange (Grade 3, University of Gitwe)

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“First of all it has been a great and honorable opportunity for me to be part of the medical checkup program for the fourth time. As a medical student, I would like to touch on what impressed me and increased my knowledge. A medical checkup is an efficient way to detect and treat ailments under every circumstance.

Being part of it as medical students opened our eyes on what is needed for our children in the middle of their growth. In Latin, there is a famous proverb, "Mensa sana in corpore sano," (a healthy soul dwells in a healthy body) which precisely tells us what our young children need.

Also, as they say in French, “L’ignorance est la source des tout les maux," (ignorance is the cause of our sadness) many children live with some diseases that are not hard to cure if they are seen at the right time. Only medical checkups can overcome this challenge.

On the other hand, we, as students, were given a big chance to improve our practical skills of physical examinations for hernia, dental cavities, murmurs, anemia and so forth.

Furthermore, being a doctor is a noble career. Thanks to this medical checkup program, we were able to meet doctors (Dr. Calliope, Dr. Yorifuji, Dr. Kenji, Dr. Koga and Dr. Naphtal) who were devoted to practicing medicine for the wellbeing of others. I would like to thank them for their mentorship.”

Mwemezi Emmanuel Safina (Grade 4, University of Gitwe)

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