“It is often said that Africans excel in relationships. I have discovered over the past two years that it is true. I cherish the relationships that are slowly building here in Kijabe; I feel a part of the staff now, and we have a wonderful time talking, teasing, swapping Swahili…It is a country of incredible beauty not only in its mountains, plains, valleys, lakes, but especially among its people.”
These words are from a blog kept by Leland Albright, M.D., HS ‘70, and his wife, Susan, who are living in Kijabe, Kenya, treating children with neurosurgical conditions. Ask any Vanderbilt University School of Medicine faculty member, medical student or alumnus who has devoted his or her time to work in the world’s most impoverished places why they do it, and the answer is usually the same: the people.