10/30/09

Alumni Spotlight

Practicing Tikkun Olam in Botswana

Tikkun Olam 1 Photos • 11/03/09

Jonathan Ludmir '02, a rising 4th year student at The University of Pennsylvania's Medical School, and his wife Yael, a graduate of Penn's Law School, are in Botswana where Jonathan is working on a research project on TB, HIV, and Vitamin D, as well as participating in a rotation on the pediatric wards, and where Yael is working for a NGO called BONELA-the Botswana Network on Ethics Law and HIV/Aids. BONELA is committed to ameliorating inequities and human rights violations related to one's HIV status. They both took a year off from pursuing their respective careers to volunteer their time, talents and expertise to improve life for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

"We always wanted to spend a year abroad doing service work," shares Jonathan. "Personally, I am very interested in global health and hope to incorporate it into my career as a doctor. For these reasons, I decided to apply for the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship in order to participate in HIV related clinical research in the developing world and to gain a stronger understanding of the delivery of health care in Botswana, the country with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS. I was fortunate enough to receive the fellowship and here we are."

Jonathan deferred his 4th year of medical school and Yael deferred her start date at a law firm to devote their time to learning, service, and exploration. "Yael and I both went to Jewish day schools and believe that they instilled the values of pursuing justice (tzedek, tzedke tirdof) and pluralism-respect for other cultures and traditions. These values are central to our decision to live in Africa and work on matters of human rights and public health."