From Calling to Commitment: A Journey Toward Child Health Equity/ Investing in Child Health: One Doctor’s Journey Toward Pediatric Care
My name is Dr. Magdalene, and I have been a medical doctor for seven years. I graduated as a General Practitioner in 2018, and after completing my internship, one truth became very clear to me: my calling was not finished. I wanted to do more—not just for individual patients, but for the health care system in my country, and especially for children.
Like many young doctors in low-resource settings, my journey was shaped not only by passion, but by reality. Further training requires significant financial, emotional, and logistical resources. At the time, I did not have the means to immediately pursue residency. Instead, I chose to work—both to sustain my life and to begin repaying my student loans.
For the next five years, I worked primarily in low-resource, underserved rural communities, caring for women and children. In village clinics and district hospitals, I witnessed firsthand the burden of preventable childhood illness, late presentations, and limited access to specialized care. These experiences did not discourage me—they clarified my purpose. Child health was not just an interest; it was the heart of my clinical work and my long-term commitment in medicine.
Yet, I also understood something important: I could not responsibly begin a residency I could not fund. Medical training is expensive and demanding, and postgraduate training even more so. It requires time, focus, emotional resilience, and financial stability. For many doctors like myself, it truly “takes a village” for one person to finally realize the dream of becoming a specialist.
This is why the residency scholarship I received has been life-changing.
At a pivotal moment in my life, this scholarship made it possible for me to pursue formal training in pediatrics—something that had felt distant for years. The support covers tuition, accommodation, meals, transport, books, and research funding, allowing me to focus fully on my training without the constant weight of financial anxiety that many residents face.
Beyond the material support, the scholarship represents something deeper: belief. Belief in my potential, belief in the importance of investing in child health, and belief that doctors trained in and committed to low-resource settings can transform communities.
As a pediatric resident, I aim to gain the skills and knowledge needed to provide high-quality, evidence-based care to children, particularly those from underserved backgrounds. My long-term vision is to return this investment by serving communities where the need is greatest, contributing to child survival, growth, and long-term wellbeing/thriving.
Your support is not just funding a doctor’s education.
You are investing in countless children, families, and communities whose futures depend on access to well trained, wholistic and compassionate pediatric care.
I am deeply grateful to the organization and donors who have made this journey possible. Because of you, my calling is no longer on hold, but a journey towards realization.