Young and full of optimism, I am a Saudi woman who is a natural born leader and a creative thinker. I have lived in Canada before on two occasions for extended periods of time studying English in 2013 and 2015. I have also completed medical school and I hope very much to earn the master's degree in public health from XXXX University, my first choice for graduate school.
I need the MPH Degree to contribute to the advancement of public health in Saudi Arabia and to learn how to conduct state-of-the-art public health research, especially concerning Hajj Season in Saudi Arabia, when millions of pilgrims come from all over the world come to visit Makkah. Nothing compares to Hajj in terms of so many visitors to one place at one time.
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from Hajj that are of potential benefit to the rest of the world. Hajj is a human laboratory writ large for public health professionals. It should be studied intensely to learn all that we can about how diseases are spread.
I work in the areas of administration, communication, and graphic design with several organizations struggling to provide adequate public health care support during Hajj season. I am also currently completing a medical internship which brings me into direct engagement with the pilgrims during Hajj.
Previously, I volunteered to help as a medical student. Most of the pilgrims are old and many suffer from chronic diseases in addition to coming from low-income countries that are unable to pay anything for their health care in Saudi Arabia, presenting enormous health care challenges on every level including that of availability of financial resources. We care for foot injuries and many of the pilgrims are diabetic. We try to raise consciousness of hazards among the pilgrims themselves with multi-language poster campaigns and other initiatives, but the challenge is just so enormous. Most of all, we provide first aid for heat exhaustion and dehydration and emergency care for strokes and heart attacks.
I have had nothing but wonderful experiences so far during the time that I have spent in Canada. I love the people and the culture and feel especially close because of the wonderful host families that I lived with while studying intensive English. There are many things that I appreciate about Canadians, especially their kindness and generosity coupled to their full embrace and celebration of multiculturalism.
Canada gives me great energy, buoys my enthusiasm, and sustains my optimism. I see Canada as my second home and my point of insertion into global medicine and public health. I also see Canada as something of a role model in many ways, particularly as concerns the role of women. I love the vast diversity of people in Canada, the mixture of nationalities. I am ready to hit the ground running in your Master’s in Public Health Program at McMaster University in part because of my immersion in diversity. Volunteers, many of them from other countries, come to help with medical assistance and first aid during Hajj. This has very much helped to cultivate my deep passion for diversity and international collaboration and solidarity. Many of my Saudi colleagues have gone to Canada to complete their Master’s and PHD Degrees in public health and I wish very much to do the same. I have participated in several public health investigations, one of which is already published, and I am in regular contact with colleagues at Sydney university who are also extremely interested in Hajj research.
Helping others and contributing to global public health is what makes me the happiest. I love to make people smile. During Hajj, some pray for me, helping me to feel strengthened and blessed. I continue to perfect my response to stress since Hajj lasts 10 days and there are always surprises. I only sleep a couple of hours each day or night through this period, and rest when it is over.
Finally, I am particularly good with computer programs and graphic design which I put to excellent use for public health awareness campaigns. I fully intend to devote my professional life to the development of healthy communities, and I want to learn as much as I can not only about Public Health but also epidemiology, thinking globally as a citizen of the world and a doctor with an exciting laboratory at home: Hajj.
I thank you for considering my application to XXXX
MPH Saudi Arabian Woman, Medical Doctor, Public Health Research for Hajj