“I receive more than I give” – an interview with Tiba volunteer Erika Kwock, MD

“The work I did in Ugenya is small in comparison to the knowledge and experience that I gained from the patients I saw and the health workers I met,” says Erika Kwock, MD, about her experience as Tiba volunteer in rural Kenya.

Erika sitting with a group of community health workers talking about cervical cancer screening.

Erika learned about Tiba from her volunteering colleagues at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara.  She has always been interested in international health care and jumped at the opportunity to go to Kenya and work with the Matibabu clinic.  In April 2011, Erika went to Kenya for the first time to work for Tiba.  “I would definitely go again and I have recommended volunteering for Tiba to everyone I know,” she says.

It’s well known that one of the main challenges in Ugenya is access to appropriate healthcare.  “Access to clinics is even more limited for patients who have mobility issues or are unable to afford transportation,” says Erika.  Another dilemma in the region is the fact that even though you might be a patient lucky enough to have access to the health care system, the treatment or specialist care you need might not be available.

To Erika, seeing the stark differences in health care gave her a new appreciation for medicine in the United States.  “When volunteering I often find that I receive more than I give,” she says and smiles.  She gives an example from when she talked to local community health workers about cervical cancer screening.  In exchange, she learned about life in rural Kenya, childbearing with midwives, the beliefs that women have about pregnancy and labor, and the need for community-driven health centers such as Matibabu.  “We often take health care in the United States for granted, and seeing such need for medical care reinforces the fact that the volunteering we do is important,” she proclaims.  Our support for Tiba and Matibabu  is critical for the families that rely on the clinic, according to Erika.

Erika Kwock, MD, and Seems Sidhu, MD, together with a patient they treated in the GYN clinic.

If you are planning to go to rural Kenya as a Tiba volunteer, Erika has some advice for you: “Come to Kenya with an open mind.  Medicine and the health care system in Ugenya is so different than what we’re used to.  Be ready to get creative—you will not have access to all the labs/medications/supplies that you’re used to.  In the process, you may learn new skills and ways of thinking about medical problems/surgery that you had never considered before.”

About Erika Kwock, MD

Erika Kwock, MD, was born and raised in Hawaii, and then graduated from Scripps College in Southern California in 2001.  After college, she moved to Morocco to do maternal and child health education with Peace Corps in a small rural village.  Seven years later, Erika graduated from medical school at the University of Hawaii.  She finished her Masters in Public Health in 2009 with a focus in social and behavioral health sciences.  “I passionately believe that preventive care is the best way to keep us healthy,” says Erika.  For the last few years she has worked as OB/GYN medical doctor at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara.

Learn more
If you’re interested in learning more about Erika and her experience with Tiba, read the blog post she wrote for Kaiser Permanente’s Global Health Blog in June, 2011.  If you’re interested in learning more about volunteering for Tiba click here.