About me & my trip!

November Update:

While I'm still using this blog to chronicle my journey, I'm also going to take advantage of this blog as a means of sharing information about issues relevant to women today both here and abroad!

Original Entry:

I'm Erin Klein and a junior at Dartmouth College. I am spending September, October and November volunteering around Hanover, NH then traveling to Guatemala in December to volunteer in a medical clinic. I will be living with a host family in Antigua and spending two weeks working for Maximo Nivel. Clinics for low income families in La Antigua and the surrounding areas tend to be under-funded and under-staffed. During my time here I will be assisting the nurses, doctors and clinic managers who work to provide medical care to impoverished communities though outreach clinics. I will be helping patients and staff directly though preparing patients to meet with physicians, which will include conducting patient histories and taking vital signs. In addition, I will hopefully be facilitating sexual and reproductive health workshops or volunteering in an HIV/AIDS clinic during the afternoons.

During my time at Dartmouth I have worked as a clinic manager at a clinic in White River Junction, Vermont, which provides free healthcare and health education to uninsured adults. I also conduct research on global Tuberculosis and HIV with a Dartmouth professor. Through my time in Guatemala, I hope to learn more about rural medicine and how I can contribute to improving global health, which I hope to make my career focus.

Maximo Nivel is an organization that helps partner volunteers with local organizations in need of additional help throughout South America and Latin America. I hope to raise $1500 to use to purchase medical supplies prior to departing, to donate directly to the clinic and to make it possible for me to volunteer. If you have any interest in assisting in funding this effort email me at erin.e.klein.13@dartmouth.edu!