Nursing student Tanner Watmough travelled to Ukraine as part of a course on global health perspectives.
Nursing student on receiving – and giving – while studying in Ukraine
I learned so much in Ukraine – about a culture I hadn’t experienced before, what it feels like when you’re in a country where you can’t speak the language, and exactly how much a dollar means to a Canadian student versus a Ukrainian or Nigerian student.
The Nigerian and Ukrainian students were so welcoming and showed us so much hospitality and so much love. They allowed us to see life from another perspective, one where they seemed to be happy with so much less than we’re used to.
I’ve always wanted to give back – to start some kind of foundation or charity, but I thought I’d need to have a lot of money to do it. Spending time with people from other countries who have different experiences to share and hearing about the challenges they face made me realize that you can do a lot more than you think.
It’s not something a broke university student typically does, but I decided to set up two $250 grants in Canadian dollars and asked our instructors and fellow students to identify a Ukrainian and Nigerian student who they thought were really exceptional.
It just felt like the right thing to do.
–Tanner, 3rd year Bachelor of Science in Nursing student
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