Erika's Volunteer Trip
Donation protected
“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.” —Neil deGrasse Tyson
Little by Little
Dear Friends and Family,
This May, I have been given the opportunity to go to Haiti through the organization Little by Little. I am raising funds for transportation to and from Haiti, room and board, and vaccinations. Any funding I receive above the requested amount will be given directly to Little by Little. I will be working at Little by Little's clinic in the villiage of Gramothe, providing primary care to the women and children of the village under the supervision of certified nurse midwives and pediatric nurse practitioners.
I am a registered nurse and a certified nurse-midwifery student who is deeply committed to serving the most vulnerable and underserved in and beyond my community. An international experience such as this one will take me out of my comfort zone and provide me with new challenges physically, mentally, and emotionally. I will be able to work on my physical assessment, problem-solving, teaching, and teambuilding skills in a multidisciplinary environment. I will gain self-confidence. I will be able to share my knowledge with those who are in such dire need of health care, in an environment structured differently than my own. I hope I will be able to inspire others in my own community to recognize that even small actions can positively impact the lives of others and create social change.
The people of Haiti have so little, and have lost so much—infrastructure, communities, and families—but they also have so much resilience, love, compassion, and hope. In addition to developing my advanced nursing skills, I know that in that brief week, the people of Haiti will be able to teach me so much. I will develop increased cultural sensitivity, cultural humility, compassion, and empathy. I will gain a better understanding of universal needs and human rights, and a greater appreciation for what exists in my own community. But, I am sure there are other benefits that I cannot anticipate—things that will appear so subtle at the time, but will inform my practice in positive ways that I can only imagine.
Thank you for your generosity!
About Little by Little:
The organization’s focus on maternal and child wellness, as well as primary care to the residents of Gramothe, Haiti has helped improve the lives of thousands of families. The presence of Little by Little both before and after the devastating earthquake demonstrates an unwavering commitment to the region. Little by Little provides students with the opportunity to participate in a service mission. This helps to improve a student's advanced practice nursing skills and positively impact the lives of others. I appreciate that there is an eventual plan to staff the clinic with Haitians and continue to support their efforts, as this not only shows a dedication to Little by Little’s mission, but also honors the autonomy of the people of Gramothe and surrounding areas.
Visit their website here , and their Facebook page here .
Facts About Haiti:
Haiti is a 90 minute flight from the coast of Florida, and it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
80% of its people live in poverty.
2/3 of the adults are unemployed and the average per capita income is US$250 each year.
Life expectancy is 53 years, and 42% of the population is under the age of 14.
Only 46% of the population has access to clean water
The maternal mortality rate is the highest in the Americas.
The infant mortality rate is ten times the U.S. rate
There are 2.5 doctors for every 10,000 people.
(From Little by Little )
About Erika:
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, was raised on cheese and brats, and lived a pretty sheltered life with my parents, my sisters, and my brother. The summer between high school and college, I traveled to Quito, Ecuador to work at The Working Boys' Center , an organization founded by a Jesuit priest that works for social change by providing education, healthcare, employment, and food to some of the poorest families in the city. I returned to Wisconsin a changed person. I know it sounds trite, but the families of the Working Boys' Center taught me so much more than anything I could ever learn in a textbook. Yes, you can read about poverty, even talk about it in theory, but you don’t really understand it until you are immersed in it. I witnessed the resilience and strength of children who walked sometimes an hour each day to get to the center to attend school; fathers and mothers who worked so hard to make ends meet but lived in a dirt-floor house the size of my bedroom.
I returned home and attended college at even a smaller town in Wisconsin, where I majored in biology and minored in chemistry and anthropology. I also participated in several student organizations, and helped build homes during three Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Challenge trips in Mississippi, Oregon, and Alabama. During the summer between sophomore and junior year, I was selected to be an undergraduate research fellow at University of Chicago. There, I researched toxoplasmosis, and learned about both the beauty and the ugly inequity that exists in Chicago. After college, I made Chicago my home.
I admit I was a little bit lost after college—starting, and later dropping out of a PhD program in microbiology; applying to but never attending a forensic anthropology program; working as a technician and clinical research associate in prostate cancer at Abbott; even taking improv classes at iO and Second City, because that’s what twenty-somethings from Wisconsin or Michigan or any other Big 10 state do when they want to be a part of something cool. I never did make it on Saturday Night Live, but I gained self-confidence— and some direction.
I left Abbott and started working at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) as a research coordinator in prostate and liver cancer research studies. I earned my MPH in Community Health Sciences at UIC, where after the death of my younger brother from a heroin overdose, I focused on a harm reduction model of care and its impact on public health. I then attended nursing school at UIC, where I discovered my passion for nurse-midwifery. I continue to work at UIC twice per week, as well as part-time as an inpatient psychiatric nurse, and a supplemental nurse at a reproductive health clinic. I am excited to gain experience in reproductive health and mental health, which are two of my passions.
My interests include studying the intersection of mental illness/substance abuse and reproductive justice, medical and nursing ethics, and GLBTQ issues. My hobbies include playing the ukulele, sewing, reading, and writing short stories and personal essays.
My most recent volunteer experience from was at Chicago Women’s Health Center , a unique collective in the Uptown neighborhood, working together to provide affordable, compassionate and collaborative gynecological and mental health care to women and trans* people.
Through Chicago Action Medical, I was trained and volunteered as a street medic for the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago. As a CAM volunteer, I provided medical support based on a model pioneered by the Medical Committee for Human Rights in the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s.
I previously volunteered on The Night Ministry Health Outreach Bus from December 2007 until February 2010, where I served homeless and runaways, those with mental illness and substance abuse issues, working poor adults and their children, and underinsured individuals seeking assistance in Chicago. I provided nonjudgmental care to bus visitors and built supportive relationships.
My honors include membership in Sigma Theta Tau, a nursing honor society and Delta Omega , an honorary public health fraternity. I am also a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and a student member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM).
Little by Little Dear Friends and Family,
This May, I have been given the opportunity to go to Haiti through the organization Little by Little. I am raising funds for transportation to and from Haiti, room and board, and vaccinations. Any funding I receive above the requested amount will be given directly to Little by Little. I will be working at Little by Little's clinic in the villiage of Gramothe, providing primary care to the women and children of the village under the supervision of certified nurse midwives and pediatric nurse practitioners.
I am a registered nurse and a certified nurse-midwifery student who is deeply committed to serving the most vulnerable and underserved in and beyond my community. An international experience such as this one will take me out of my comfort zone and provide me with new challenges physically, mentally, and emotionally. I will be able to work on my physical assessment, problem-solving, teaching, and teambuilding skills in a multidisciplinary environment. I will gain self-confidence. I will be able to share my knowledge with those who are in such dire need of health care, in an environment structured differently than my own. I hope I will be able to inspire others in my own community to recognize that even small actions can positively impact the lives of others and create social change.
The people of Haiti have so little, and have lost so much—infrastructure, communities, and families—but they also have so much resilience, love, compassion, and hope. In addition to developing my advanced nursing skills, I know that in that brief week, the people of Haiti will be able to teach me so much. I will develop increased cultural sensitivity, cultural humility, compassion, and empathy. I will gain a better understanding of universal needs and human rights, and a greater appreciation for what exists in my own community. But, I am sure there are other benefits that I cannot anticipate—things that will appear so subtle at the time, but will inform my practice in positive ways that I can only imagine.
Thank you for your generosity!
About Little by Little:
The organization’s focus on maternal and child wellness, as well as primary care to the residents of Gramothe, Haiti has helped improve the lives of thousands of families. The presence of Little by Little both before and after the devastating earthquake demonstrates an unwavering commitment to the region. Little by Little provides students with the opportunity to participate in a service mission. This helps to improve a student's advanced practice nursing skills and positively impact the lives of others. I appreciate that there is an eventual plan to staff the clinic with Haitians and continue to support their efforts, as this not only shows a dedication to Little by Little’s mission, but also honors the autonomy of the people of Gramothe and surrounding areas.
Visit their website here , and their Facebook page here .
Facts About Haiti:
Haiti is a 90 minute flight from the coast of Florida, and it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
80% of its people live in poverty.
2/3 of the adults are unemployed and the average per capita income is US$250 each year.
Life expectancy is 53 years, and 42% of the population is under the age of 14.
Only 46% of the population has access to clean water
The maternal mortality rate is the highest in the Americas.
The infant mortality rate is ten times the U.S. rate
There are 2.5 doctors for every 10,000 people.
(From Little by Little )
About Erika:
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, was raised on cheese and brats, and lived a pretty sheltered life with my parents, my sisters, and my brother. The summer between high school and college, I traveled to Quito, Ecuador to work at The Working Boys' Center , an organization founded by a Jesuit priest that works for social change by providing education, healthcare, employment, and food to some of the poorest families in the city. I returned to Wisconsin a changed person. I know it sounds trite, but the families of the Working Boys' Center taught me so much more than anything I could ever learn in a textbook. Yes, you can read about poverty, even talk about it in theory, but you don’t really understand it until you are immersed in it. I witnessed the resilience and strength of children who walked sometimes an hour each day to get to the center to attend school; fathers and mothers who worked so hard to make ends meet but lived in a dirt-floor house the size of my bedroom.
I returned home and attended college at even a smaller town in Wisconsin, where I majored in biology and minored in chemistry and anthropology. I also participated in several student organizations, and helped build homes during three Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Challenge trips in Mississippi, Oregon, and Alabama. During the summer between sophomore and junior year, I was selected to be an undergraduate research fellow at University of Chicago. There, I researched toxoplasmosis, and learned about both the beauty and the ugly inequity that exists in Chicago. After college, I made Chicago my home.
I admit I was a little bit lost after college—starting, and later dropping out of a PhD program in microbiology; applying to but never attending a forensic anthropology program; working as a technician and clinical research associate in prostate cancer at Abbott; even taking improv classes at iO and Second City, because that’s what twenty-somethings from Wisconsin or Michigan or any other Big 10 state do when they want to be a part of something cool. I never did make it on Saturday Night Live, but I gained self-confidence— and some direction.
I left Abbott and started working at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) as a research coordinator in prostate and liver cancer research studies. I earned my MPH in Community Health Sciences at UIC, where after the death of my younger brother from a heroin overdose, I focused on a harm reduction model of care and its impact on public health. I then attended nursing school at UIC, where I discovered my passion for nurse-midwifery. I continue to work at UIC twice per week, as well as part-time as an inpatient psychiatric nurse, and a supplemental nurse at a reproductive health clinic. I am excited to gain experience in reproductive health and mental health, which are two of my passions.
My interests include studying the intersection of mental illness/substance abuse and reproductive justice, medical and nursing ethics, and GLBTQ issues. My hobbies include playing the ukulele, sewing, reading, and writing short stories and personal essays.
My most recent volunteer experience from was at Chicago Women’s Health Center , a unique collective in the Uptown neighborhood, working together to provide affordable, compassionate and collaborative gynecological and mental health care to women and trans* people.
Through Chicago Action Medical, I was trained and volunteered as a street medic for the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago. As a CAM volunteer, I provided medical support based on a model pioneered by the Medical Committee for Human Rights in the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s.
I previously volunteered on The Night Ministry Health Outreach Bus from December 2007 until February 2010, where I served homeless and runaways, those with mental illness and substance abuse issues, working poor adults and their children, and underinsured individuals seeking assistance in Chicago. I provided nonjudgmental care to bus visitors and built supportive relationships.
My honors include membership in Sigma Theta Tau, a nursing honor society and Delta Omega , an honorary public health fraternity. I am also a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and a student member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM).
Organizer
Erika Enk
Organizer
Chicago, IL
