Oh snap.

I leave in, what, ten days? When did that happen?

I'm finally getting the chance to get truly excited about this trip; this semester has been crazy with school and extra hours at work, so a few months ago, even the thought of hopping on a plane right as Christmas break started was exhausting. Now, the end of my second-to-last undergraduate semester is near(!!!!!) and the opportunity to engage more fully with the kiddos at New Life Children's Home will be awesome; this trip is all about what I love: hanging out with hilarious children, immersing myself in a different culture, and providing healthcare.

December 1 was World AIDS Day. I went to a fancy-schmacy luncheon here in Kansas City, and while it bothered me that all the money spent on catering and Chocolate Torte To Die For (but seriously; it was wonderful), could have been contributed to AIDS research or relief efforts, it was still an event of which I was honored to be a part. The keynote speaker, Joseph Milan, Jr., was articulate and inspiring, and made a point to echo the theme assigned this year by The World AIDS Campaign: Universal Access and Human Rights.

Regardless of any political affiliations (as this is a time of flux for federally-funded healthcare and there's no shortage of opinions), I couldn't help but be convicted of the concept that the lack of access to healthcare--even the basic concepts of it--is a human rights issue; to me, it's as basic as the need for healthy food and clean water: healthcare and health-related knowledge, be it the opportunity for a child to eat normally after a cleft palate repair or how an HIV+ mother in an developing country can safely feed her child, should come standard. Not that I'm pro-nose-job for every twenty-something with low self-esteem, but I do believe access to the basics should be available, and that patients should contribute some form of payment for those services, if at all possible.

I'm not looking for a debate, that's just where my heart is right now, and that's why I'm so excited to love on those two-hundred-something little Indian kids through healthcare.

Stoked!
Jessica