Passion leads 19-year-old to slum in Kenya

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

While many of us spent winter break celebrating with family and friends, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy graduate Gaurav Singh spent the end of December in Kenya, volunteering with some of the poorest residents of that country. His trip was a result of his interest in biopsychosocial projects and his desire to increase access to, and acceptance of, health care throughout the world.

Singh, 19, and a resident of Naperville, attends the University of Illinois at Chicago. His education at IMSA in Aurora hasn’t been lost on him. The school’s mission statement still is part of his inspiration.

“It’s about igniting passion and being an effective leader that changes people’s lives,” he said.

His passion also sprang from a not-so-happy event in his life.

In 2004, when he was barely a teenager, Singh’s grandfather had a heart attack. He was shocked by how few people in India were aware of the warning signs of basic medical ailments. So he started an initiative to teach common illnesses, causes of death, warning signs and methods of prevention to his hometown of Rajhara where he lived before he moved to the United States as a child. At UIC he has continued to think about minority groups who do not receive proper health care and treatment.

“I got interested in experiencing different cultures and how they are able to access different health care and what I could do to increase that,” Singh said.

In keeping with that interest, he signed up to volunteer in Kenya with the Global Volunteer Network, which offers volunteer service opportunities in community projects around the world. The volunteers taught AIDS/HIV awareness, cared for orphans, taught in schools and promoted health awareness. But Singh, who was assigned to a medical clinic, wanted to be able to help the community at large.

“I didn’t think it was enough to assist doctors and nurses,” said Singh, who had never visited Africa before. “I wanted to go make an impact in the local community.”

Singh primarily spent his time in Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa. He was drawn there primarily because of the misinformation and cultural stigmas regarding health-related issues that permeate the area.

“When someone (in Kibera) contracts HIV or AIDS, a lot of people think that to cure it they rape a young virgin,” Singh said. “There are lots of crimes that happen because of this.”

Singh, who plans to go to medical school, faced the task of not only educating the people, but also getting people to be willing to accept the education. One of the most difficult days he faced, Singh said, was when a mother was diagnosed with HIV at the clinic. She went home to tell her husband and was instructed to have him come back with her. When she returned without her husband, Singh learned he had kicked her out of their house. Singh went back with the woman to her house to talk to her husband. After many hours of discussion, Singh was able to get the husband to listen to him.

“It was an overwhelming experience for me,” Singh said. “I think working in a medical clinic the entire time would shield me from the realities of Kibera.”

Columnist Angela Bender lives in Naperville. Contact her at abender4@wowway.com.