August 2018
No Slum Area IFMSA-Egypt Physicians have a noble message in life; some might even consider it the noblest of all. This noble message involves helping people in their greatest times of peril, when their health is endangered or when pain and suffering is all they can feel. Out of such belief and the belief that we can make a change no matter how young we are, Nancy ElGizy, a member of IFMSA-Egypt, came up with the idea of a project which aims to lessen the agony of the poor living in slum areas, even if just a little. With that noble aim in mind, the project was called NOSA, short for No Slum Areas. It started in 2014 and is still ongoing until now. This project was carried out in 5 slum areas and is still expanding. IFMSA-Egypt activities usually aim at raising awareness of students in universities and schools about different diseases, especially the most prevalent ones in Egypt. However, a question arose amongst the members: “Why don’t we aim this campaign at people who barely receive any awareness?” This question led to the start of NOSA.
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The pharmacy team to collect the medicines which were later provided for free. The team also cooperated with the slum area’s actual pharmacies, which patients were directed to when their prescriptions contained medicines that couldn’t be found elsewhere.
What truly made NOSA successful was the organization, execution and most importantly, the motivation. Members participating in the project were full of unparalleled drive to solve problems slum areas suffer from such as hunger, poverty, illiteracy, insufficient facilities and many others. While we might not be able to solve these core problems, we are planning to make a change, however small it may seem.
The first step was the preparation of the medical convoy. Students went to specific slum areas on different days, raising awareness and measuring blood pressure and blood glucose levels to provide the accompanying doctors with the necessary medical equipment and knowledge to execute the project. Specific clinics were prepared to provide the best working atmosphere for the doctors, while the IFMSA-Egypt members divided the tasks among 5 teams: 1.
Registration and preparation team to organize the entry of patients to the clinics.
2.
Doctor’s assistant team to help the doctors in examining the patients.
3.
Awareness team to roam the streets of the slum area and visit homes to raise awareness about the different diseases.
4.
Screening team to measure the blood pressure and blood glucose level of the patients.
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