Trips like these provoke a range of emotions. On one hand you feel anxious before the trip, unsure how anything will go. Once you’re there it can be overwhelming due to culture shock, all the sights, sounds and smells. The jet lag is rough and for me, I spent a great deal of trip having trouble sleeping and feeling blah. Of course re-entry can be as upending as you experience a level of poverty rarely seen, then back home with all the conveniences of modern life, you begin to question your view of the world.

As far as what we were doing, I feel these missions are one of the best forms of humanitarian work that can be done. By providing education, we’re able to broaden our impact and we’re providing learning that they will never lose.

Overall I couldn’t be prouder of the work we did, I know my colleagues on the trip feel the same way. One question which lingered with me was, why fly halfway around the world to teach CPR? Although I’ve addressed this concern earlier, it’s a question one of us would ask throughout the week. The simple answer is, you just can’t make these connections any other way. There’s nothing that can replace human to human interaction. Although it was a long way to travel and my family sacrificed so I could go, knowing many Bengali patients will receive a higher level of care because of our efforts makes it worth it.

I’ve also been inspired to use this experience as a springboard to create a non-profit/NGO with a mission of supporting various global public health initiatives. Stay tuned for more information on that…