Michele Fujii ’08: Kenya

Michele Fujii ’08 Home: Poulsbo, Washington Major: Human Physiology

Study abroad experience: I spent five weeks in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.

Favorite classes at the UO: Anatomy classes in the cadaver labs. It’s the best way to learn anatomy—seeing it yourself.

International Experience: I worked at the Mama Maria Private Clinic and the Tagache Health Center. I also volunteered at the Senye Primary School, where I helped a teacher who had 120 young students! We sat under a tree outside because there were no classrooms open. The Mama Maria Clinic had a generator-powered microscope that ran only when they could afford fuel for it. It’s amazing to see how the clinic officers could diagnose with so little modern equipment. They would examine a blood smear on a glass slide – you can see the malaria parasites in the blood. They are able to diagnose numerous medical problems just using that microscope.

Changing my world view: I lived with the poorest of the poor—in a mud hut, no running water, no electricity. Even though they are living in extreme poverty, the people of Muhuru Bay are the happiest and most generous of any I have ever known. They open their hearts and their homes to you, they are so grateful for your help. I think I fell in love with every child I saw there!

Earning academic credit: I worked with my adviser [Rick Troxel] to put together an academic component so I could earn academic credit. I kept journals that covered my work in Muhuru Bay the whole time I was there, and I made a website that includes my journals and photos from the trip.

Making a difference: I also made connections with a Kenyan doctor who now lives in Pennsylvania, and we developed the “Kick It With Kenya” program. This is a fund-raising project to provide solar flashlights to the kids there—there’s so much they could do with just flashlights at night. They could study and do more schoolwork.

Career goals: I plan to get a nursing degree, then a master’s in public health. One of the nuns is starting a nursing school in Muhuru Bay, and I want to help with that eventually.

Advice to students who want to study abroad: Look around for a study abroad program that will fit your time frame. I didn’t want to be gone for a whole term, and I was able to design my own itinerary and go when I had free time.