Hi!

 

I'm Rutendo. I'm 19 years old and I live in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe with my mother and two sisters.

 

I’m raising money to support my first step toward a career in biomedicine – a medical internship with Elective Africa  at a field hospital in Mombasa, Kenya.

 

It is my hope to bring emerging science to Africa’s healthcare system and one day find solutions to some of the most common diseases in my country, such as tuberculosis, malaria, cholera and HIV/AIDS.

 

I am deeply passionate about my country, its culture, its history, and especially its people. I believe I’m here for a purpose – to help and to heal, and I’m asking for your help in the first step of my professional journey.

 

When I was only 8 years old, my father was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, a chronic progressive condition that weakened his heart muscles. My father fought courageously for his life for 10 years, but passed away just before my 17th birthday.

 

Watching my father go from a strong healthy man who could carry me around to being bedridden and taking 16 tablets a day was devastating.

 

Over the years, I took responsibility for sorting and monitoring his medications, obsessively trying to understand the function of each pill, wanting so desperately to “fix” him. I didn’t realize it then, but that experience would become the spark of my passion for medicine and healing.

 

Since then, I’ve grown to love science and helping others. Currently, I’m an ambassador for several organizations that promote early interest in science, including Youth STEM 2030 , Girls in STEM Trust  and Sciency Learning .

 

I also volunteer each year for Africa Code Week , teaching children here in Bulawayo how to use Scratch.

 

During COVID quarantine, I was accepted into Future Earth Academy , a global virtual biotech program, where I learned about CRISPR, phages, and other emerging practices that hold promise for solving the problem of Africa’s most common diseases.

 

During this experience, my mentor noticed my proficiency in science and had me take an MCAT practice exam where I scored in the 90th percentile! This gave me confidence to pursue my biotech as a career, and now I am hoping to begin my first real world medical experience with Elective Africa in a field hospital in Mombasa, where I will be one of only a few Africans participating.

 

I am hoping to spend 8 weeks in Mombasa before I begin the process of applying to university.

 

My mentor is representing me on GoFundMe as the service does not support bank accounts in Zimbabwe. Her name is Dr. Jennifer Jones, and she is the founder of Green Ivy Schools.

 

Learn more about Dr. Jones via her LinkedIn profile .  Learn more about my experiences on my LinkedIn profile .

 

Thank you for supporting me in this journey and for helping me make a difference in my country.

 

With deepest gratitude,

 

Rutendo Kahari

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