Our owner, Jill Boorman, is the volunteer spotlight in the latest Palmetto Medical Initiative newsletter! Palmetto Medical Initiative exists to provide sustainable, quality healthcare to those in need while increasing accessibility to global medical missions.
Read her feature below.
Volunteer Spotlight: Jill Boorman
Each month, PMI features one of our wonderful volunteers so that you can stay connected to the PMI family and be encouraged by other’s stories. This month, learn more about Jill Boorman!
What is your profession? Physical Therapist and the owner of Premier Physical Therapy
Which team were you a part of? March and August 2011
What was your favorite part about the trip? Favorite part? I loved it all. From spending time with the kids at the orphanage, to the camaraderie within the team, to packing meds and bags in preparation for the week, to getting down and dirty treating and loving on as many people as was physically possible. This is an amazing organization that has an incredible vision to create a sustainable health care system in rural Uganda. Each mission trip is adding to that vision and making a life long impact for generations to come on a group of people that may have never been touched.
How has the trip impacted you since you returned? It has impacted me in so many ways. It has made me appreciate simple things like brushing my teeth in the sink. I also realized how much we can do for people over in Uganda for so little. Our concern in these economic difficulties is loss of wealth and they are concerned about losing their lives. Shoes can save someone’s life. Not new shoes – any shoes. It was a reality check. My physical therapy practice spotlights different organizations every month so my patients, staff and community have become very familiar with PMI. I have pictures from my trip running on a digital picture frame at the water cooler. I never miss an opportunity to share with people I come in contact with about what they can do to get involved. I have patients who bring in clothes, shoes, and toys for the people in Uganda. This trip will be a part of my scheduled time out of the office every March and August. Thank you for the opportunity.
What advice would you give to future PMI volunteers? DO IT! It will change your life. You don’t have to be medically-trained to go. You just need a heart for God’s people. He will make opportunities for you to minister to someone in Uganda. You have so much to offer: love, health, simple resources. Find a way to get involved. Adopt a child, donate money, or just go and hug some people. Teach a Ugandan police officer to throw a football for the first time or teach kids to play tic-tac-toe. Kick a soccer ball with the kids – and then leave it. It will be their prized possession. Learn to speak their language and see them laugh. If you are medical, the staff that PMI has hired in Uganda is very willing to learn and incredibly appreciative for all that you can teach them.