"I hope that this program will continue to be implemented and that will provide support for the other students..."
I am Selma from Prilep, currently at my third year studies for General Practitioner. Since the beginning of the program in 2010 I am one of the beneficiaries and the credit that I am now here where I am goes to the RHSP support. I am coming from ordinary Roma family and for my parents would be very difficult to finance two medicine students (my sister is also enrolled in medicine faculty). But fortunately, the RHSP program I am now student and I am step closer to my dream to come true – to become Roma doctor that my parents would be proud of, but also my whole Roma community.The Advocacy summer camp as one component of the program, has helped me and the other students to enhance our capacities, our leadership and communication skills. The follow up activities from the advocacy component help us to get closer to the community and also to be initiators of positive changes in the community.
Also, one of the other valuable components beside the financial support (scholarship) is the mentorship component. The mentors are actually acting as mediators between us the rest of the academic world that is difficult for us to reach (conferences for example). In my education until now as part of the program I had opportunity to have four different mentors, each of them with different method of work. Thanks to them, I had opportunity to held several health education to children from elementary schools, to be part of international contest, and to be part of the 39th Medical International congress with my research and thesis. In order to realize this activity, the support of the mentor was very important for me, but also the opportunity to use grant from the program in order to participate in the congress. I also has other opportunities, such as the grants for learning foreign language, which for me as a student but also as a future GP is very important, to know the English language, in order to be part of international conferences that are in line with my profession.
I am especially proud of the fact that throughout the years, the number of Roma medical students is increasing, especially the number of Roma girls who study medicine. I am the first Roma girl from Prilep to study outside her living town and it serves as a positive example to the other parents to support their children to study. The program has contributed a lot to break also this kind of stereotypes.
I hope that this program will continue to be implemented and that will provide support for the other students also to be enrolled in medical faculties and to finish their studies successfully.
