By Jasmina Charrap, Class of 2022.

In July 2024, I was set to travel to Bangladesh with the charity Selfless as part of their Global Health Leadership Programme (GHLP). The GHLP supports rural Bangladeshi communities by providing free access the healthcare bundles for new mothers, people with impaired vision, and providing dental hygiene resources and education for children. Volunteers are taught through collaborative practices to think laterally about global health care issues and to brain storm solutions. I initially contacted Quondam for support with fundraising and flight costs. However, due to the student protests and escalating violence in Bangladesh over the summer, the FCDO advised against all but essential travel. As a result, Selfless postponed the GHLP to July 2025.

Fortunately, I was later awarded the scholarship, a wonderful surprise and realised I could still use part of the funding for the rescheduled trip. I’ve since used some of it to purchase my return flight, having already secured my outbound flight and reached my personal fundraising target of £1,500.

Quondam kindly agreed that  the scholarship could also support future charitable work. After graduating this summer, I plan to undergo clinical training and hope to become a phlebotomist. My goal is to work with mobile blood donor centres (bloodmobiles) across Central and South America, delivering and collecting blood donations for those in need..

The  scholarship has enabled me to launch a career in global health. By immersing myself in a range of projects, I’ve started to understand some of the key issues in global health and the programs led by organisations I hope to one day join or lead.

Applications for the Quondam Travel Scholarship 2025 are open until 22nd July. The application form and guidelines can be found here.