November 05, 2013
Dr. Dharamsi’s lecture was nothing less than a simultaneous mind-opener and a mind-boggler all in one.
I don’t think it is every easy to let someone know what they are in the wrong. Dr. Dharamsi was not pointing out that we were in the wrong per se but was presenting a fact that in a bigger picture of things, in the scope of participating in international engagement in whatever form, what we do has an effect: on the world and on us. Thus, before doing anything else, we must first take the time to address whether or not this engagement is exploiting the community rather than aiding it; we must “First, Do No Harm”.
The eye-opener came when we were presented with an ethical dilemma: “There are 50 people in a village where you’re volunteering in rural Zimbabwe who have been exposed to a lethal agent: 25 people need one pill to prevent death, 25 people need two pills to prevent death. You have 50 pills…”. (Crockett M, Dharamsi S, Pakes B, Sauvé S. Workshop on Global Child Health: Ethics, Education and Current Concepts. Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS). 90th CPS Annual Conference. Edmonton, Alberta. June 19-22, 2013.)
Then we had time to think of options and were also presented with some options to choose from.
The answer did not matter; I was already asking myself “Yes, what would I do with the 50 pills? How would I distribute them?” when instead, I should have questioned, “who was it that gave me the 50 pills?”, “why does the question emphasize “You”?”. I was living in a world which apparently, I thought, was revolving around me when the reality is that it is not. Community engagement whether here or abroad, is always, never about oneself; nor, should it be.