Proposal; due at 4pm:/

Hello!

I dont want to rush anyone, but I would really appreciate it if someone can check over my proposal and tell me if it is a good one. I have to send it in by 4 and i am freaking out because Im not sure if it is good enough.

It is a university proposal for a grant; so they do not exactly require us to have a lot of the more intricate things most proposlas require, but i still want it to be good.

Thank you and here it is!

Proposal for Medical Outreach/Healthcare Project in Peru

Talia Stewart

March 26, 2012

La Introducción
In the majority of Latin American nations, the residents are less privileged than those here in the United States. For example, as of 2010 the poverty level of the population in Peru has been recorded at 31.3%, which is, double that of the United States (recorded at approximately 15.1% of people.) This poverty level affects the distribution and availability of resources such as medical supplies, and physicians, to lower class residents since they are unable to afford pricy medical expenses.

¿Qué es Máximo Nivel?
Máximo Nivel is a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to language immersion, adventure & travel, and international volunteer opportunities. Máximo Nivel offers projects in fields such as medical outreach, and environment & conservation, to name a few, in order to better the lifestyle of residents living in some of the most poverty stricken areas of Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Peru. These services are provided through the help of those who “pay to volunteer” by taking on and carrying out these projects.

¿Por qué pagar para ser voluntario?
The sector of services offered by Máximo Nivel in which I am interested is the eight-week medical outreach program in Cuzco, Peru. This project entails: assisting doctors, performing triages, distributing medications & preparing medical materials, and assisting in hospitals wards by making beds, cleaning, and speaking with patients.

While this project raises awareness to public health by both exposing volunteers to the medical system in Peru, and providing work in the medical field in an international and rural setting, one of the most prevalent questions is “Why Pay to Volunteer?”

What is Máximo Nivel’s response to this question? Volunteers pay essentially for medical supplies that are donated to the hospitals in which they will volunteer, and the fees necessary to run their project. In addition, daily two-hour sessions of Spanish language training are provided. This ensures that volunteers achieve the most out of their experience by becoming more familiar with the language so that they will be able to assist doctors and patients more efficiently.

And my response? As a Spanish major with a concentration in pre-medicine, I want to combine both Spanish and medicine to provide health care, to those in Latin America, as a physician. The medical outreach project will allow me hands on experience in using the Spanish language to communicate in a real world setting—with patients, doctors, and even the locals—and working in hospitals abroad. I am positive that this project is a great fit for me since it will reinforce the importance of teamwork, from working with other volunteers and doctors, and enable me to become familiar with developing strong “patient-doctor” relationships, which is a virtue in the medical field.

Las Cuentas y Los Gastos
Because Máximo Nivel is, in fact, an NGO, I am expected to foot the bill for the medical outreach project. Máximo Nivel charges a participant fee, which is based on the number of weeks a volunteer plans to stay. This fee includes in-country transportation, project funding & supplies, lodging & board, and intensive Spanish classes. The amounts listed I have reduced to as low as I am able to; for example, I will be living with other volunteers in a traditional home-stay with a Peruvian family, in order to offset the cost of lodging and board. The break down is as follows:

Transportation (round-trip airfare and in country travel): $950
Lodging (home stay; included in participant fee): $70/week x 8 weeks $560
Board (3 meal/day; included in participant fee): $28/week x 8 weeks $224
Project funding & supplies (included in participant fee): $415
Spanish classes (included in participant fee): $72/week x 8 weeks $576
Miscellaneous: $25/week x 8 weeks $200 (Entertainment, summer spending, laundry)
Total cost: $2,925

El Fin
The goal of the medical outreach program in Peru, offered by Máximo Nivel, is to offer on-field volunteer opportunities in a setting that allows the volunteer cultural immersion. This program thus provides for me a snippet of my future working abroad in the medical field. This makes me an ideal candidate for the Bander Family Fund, as I would not be able to pursue what is an important project to me without this assistance. Given my drive to someday become a doctor working abroad, and my commitment to becoming fluent in Spanish through cultural immersion, I am eager to make the most out of this summer opportunity—every nip and tuck of the way!