October-November 2008
On October 30th ELAM students, alumni, school and government officials were present for the Opening Ceremony for the First International Alumni Conference of Project ELAM here in Havana, Cuba. Dr. Jose Miguel Barruelos Millar, Fidel Castro’s personal doctor during the Revolution and one of ELAM’s founders, was among the speakers. Over the course of the conference, students, alumni and professors attended lectures, presentations and roundtable discussion on various themes, including human rights, student movements, indigenous movements, gender issues, alumni relations and healthcare brigades.
Students and alumni, discussing healthcare brigades, debated and defined the future formation, participation and integration of projects such as the Brigada Estudantil de Salud (Student Brigade for Healthcare, BES) and the Federación Internacional de Salud (International Federation of Health, FIS).
Since the First Student Congress of Project ELAM in 2001, students have organized chapters of BES to participate in community service projects during their summer vacations. Stemming back even further, FIS was defined in 1999 to be the association of Project ELAM graduates working for medical brigades worldwide. Students and alumni have agreed to strengthen relations between BES and FIS by working together in the collaboration of such projects.
On November 1st, alumni and students of FIS/BES, respectively, presented to the ELAM community on the outcome, social impact and scientific results of their work. On this day, Joanna Mae Souers, graduate of Cornell University, 2nd year medical student, and BES representative for the U.S. Delegation, presented the U.S. BES proposal for 2009.
The US delegation is currently in the process of organizing and forming brigades to work in communities during the coming months of July and August. It is our goal to organize students working in brigades to collaborate with doctors, local professionals and community leaders, in order to learn more about their communities, the problems that plague them and the potential solutions that could improve U.S. healthcare and strengthen these students as future healthcare providers.
The overall impact of the conference was quite astounding, as it successfully brought students and alumni together from all over the world to show their support for one another. It was a true milestone for Project ELAM. We hope that in the upcoming conferences we get representation from the US physicians that have recently graduated from the Project ELAM.
If you have any questions or are interested in supporting this line of work you are welcome to contact Ramon Alejandro Bernal or Joanna Mae Souers, representatives of the U.S. Delegation.
Contact information:
Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina
Carretera Panamericana Km 3 ˝
Santa Fé, Playa
Ciudad Habana, Cuba
C.P. 19108
Email: Ramon Alejandro Bernal alex238209@yahoo.com
Joanna Mae Souers jsouers@gmail.com
