Before moving from Jamaica to the United States in 2017, Kyle Lambert ’24 was thinking of flaws within the realm of global health and seeing how they reflect within his own community in Jamaica. After realizing the adverse impacts of poor healthcare in communities worldwide, Lambert decided to create Med For All Global — a community service organization that specializes in bringing awareness to medical inequalities in communities around the globe.
While developing his organization, Lambert learned many things about himself, his community and the world in regards to medicine and healthcare.
“I spent several hours developing an understanding on how health and healthcare systems operate locally and globally,” Lambert wrote in an email to The Daily. “I cultivated an ambition to not only one day become a medical doctor, but more importantly, a force of change for medically underserved communities worldwide.”
In addition to doing the 100-pushup challenge with another Stanford frosh, watching Netflix shows and taking an edX course on neuroscience, Lambert has been tackling a wide variety of projects for Med For All Global during quarantine.
While stressing the impacts of COVID-19 in several high risk communities, Lambert created a bingo game through Med Care For All, which allowed him to receive funds to then give several hundreds of gloves to facilities worldwide. Lambert also hosted a webinar for youth activists and community organizers called “Coping with the Emotional Effects of Anti-Blackness,” which provided key information on how individuals can execute projects that will benefit communities beyond superficial levels, instead attacking the structural roots of community issues.
Despite tackling numerous projects for Med For All Global during quarantine, Lambert said he has had his share of difficulties these past couple of months. He notes that with no in-person events occurring and with no chance to say goodbye in-person to his high school peers, his senior year was not as exciting as he had hoped. Coupled with the uncertainty of housing accomodations at Stanford this fall, making a decision on which college was the best fit for him was quite challenging. Despite these let-downs, Lambert shared ways he personally has dealt with them.
“I always try to focus on the good of anything, or at least the good to come in the future,” Lambert wrote. “Specifically, I’ve kept my focus on the fact that I will be the first person in my family to attend a four year college, and that’s one step closer to the bigger goal. I have also tapped into spirituality as a means of comfort during these turbulent times. Most recently, turning on some caribbean music and having a solo dance party in my room has provided a space of emotional relief.”
In addition to the ways in which he has emotionally coped with the effects of COVID-19, Lambert shared reasons why he still has the motivation to tackle big projects for Med For All Global.
“The work that I do in community organization is much bigger than myself,” Lambert wrote. “If I was to allow personal circumstances to affect that work, my organization would not be where it is today. Stepping into a mindset of selflessness fosters my commitment to keep going at the end of the day — a focus on individualism is a capitalist structure that deters social progress, and one that I won’t stand for. I am driven by the power of collective prosperity and community improvement.”
As Lambert found ways in which he is able to do his work successfully and effectively during quarantine, he gives some advice for students struggling to find motivation during these times.
“Separate your emotional needs from your work needs,” Lambert wrote. “It’s so important to give them both adequate attention in order to be as effective as possible in whatever endeavors you are undertaking. By allowing yourself the care that will enable both of those things to flourish, you’ve done more than provided yourself with motivation — you have opened up an avenue for effective working.”
A previous version of this post incorrectly referred to Med For All Global as Med Care For All. The Daily regrets this error.
Contact Justine Ha at justinemha ‘at’ gmail.com.