Appreciation Note & Report

To whom it may concern.

SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE 11TH FIMA STUDENT CAMP

We are pleased to inform you that the 11th FIMA Student Camp was successfully carried out from the 24th to 31st July 2009 in Langkawi, Malaysia. A total of 149 participants, including speakers, from 16 countries joined the training camp. We were able to set up talks and workshops by renowned international speakers, under the theme of volunteerism. The participants gained invaluable knowledge, skills and experience from this camp. We also established a strong bond of love, friendship and network amongst our brothers and sisters throughout the stay.

We would like to extend our warmest gratitude to your goodself for your generous contributions, whether in the form of monetary support, accommodation, transport service, equipment or drug donations. Without your kind help and contribution, the camp would not have been as successful. We will never be able to thank you enough. Your help will certainly not be forgotten and will be remembered with deepest appreciation. We pray for your continued success. May God bless you always.

We hereby attach a comprehensive report of the camp for your kind perusal. The financial report will be provided upon request. Kindly contact Husna Musa (012-9111251) for this purpose.

Thank You.

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The 11th FIMA Student Camp 2009 Report
5th August 2009


The 11th FIMA (Federation of Islamic Medical Association) Student Camp was successfully carried out from the 24th to 31st July 2009 in Langkawi, Malaysia. A total of 149 participants, including speakers, from 16 countries participated throughout the whole course of the training camp. The participating countries were Cambodia, Egypt, Indonesian, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda and Yemen. The camp was officiated by the FIMA President, Prof. Musa Mohd. Nordin.

The theme for this year’s camp was ‘Medical Students and Volunteerism’. The talks were divided into 4 different sessions, each talk was followed by a workshop where participants would have to complete different tasks based on the talks presented. For the first session, it was mainly about introducing the participants to the concept of volunteerism and about the different channels where medical students could volunteer. These topics were covered in talks given by Dr. Azhar (Emergency Physician, Qatar) and Prof. Salih Al- Ansari (Community Physician, Saudi Arabia). Dr. Emad Bukhari (Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon, Saudi Arabia) presented a talk on the statistics regarding volunteerism, emphasizing among others, on the large number of volunteers in the West and comparisons of volunteerism based organizations in different countries.

During the second session, Prof. Hafeez ur-Rahman (Opthalmologist, Pakistan) presented and discussed about collaboration and coordination in volunteerism and also his groundbreaking ‘FIMA Save Vision project’. The talk gave the participants insight on the process of starting an innovative project and then maintaining its sustainability while applying the important principles needed in doing joint work. Prof. Ikram (Anaesthesiologist, Malaysia) presented on the many projects carried out by MERCY Malaysia and shared experiences in starting an organization like MERCY and the challenges faced. During this session there was also a talk on Volunteerism in the West by Prof. Atallah Ruhaily (Endocrinologist, Saudi Arabia) which touched on the numerous relief organizations overseas. He reflected on the fact that most American relief organizations were religion based and how it correlated with the increasing number of Christians in Africa and Indonesia. He concluded that we Muslims should also use volunteerism as a channel to strengthen our Muslim ummah.

The third session comprised of three talks. The first, ‘Volunteerism in Student Curricula of Western Universities’ was given by Prof. Salih Al-Ansari whereby he touched on the examples of volunteering training in the Western educational system and how they prepared students for volunteering through medical education. The second talk,’ Volunteerism: Art, Science & Ethics’ was given by Prof Dr. Ikram. Participants were given a clearer idea on what an ideal volunteer should be like, our roles and responsibilities as volunteers, volunteer management and the various issues on ethics and professionalism that are involved. The last talk for this session was given by Dr. Emad Bukhari, titled ‘The Sought-after Medical Professionals: Islamic Perspective’. He discussed on what defines Medical Professionalism from the Islamic point of view, namely how it signifies a set of values that underpins the trust the public has in doctors and how it was about putting the interest of the patient above our own.

The last session dealt with three topics. The first ‘Students & Volunteerism: Why & How given by Prof. Amaluddin (Paediatrician, Malaysia), the second ‘Art of Planning in Voluntary Projects’ given by Dr. Essam Al- Ghandi (Director of Community Health, Saudi Arabia) and lastly ‘IT Application in Voluntary Activities’ by Dr. Riyadh Abu Sulaiman (Paediatric Cardiologist, Saudi Arabia). The first talk discussed the dire conditions in certain countries and the need for students to volunteer and the various channels available. The second talk was about project management and the skills required in constructing a strategic and operational plan. The last talk touched on the use of technology in volunteering, its importance and benefits on the personal and institutional level. During the last workshop, students were divided into their countries or regions and they were given a task to plan a project based on a real scenario. In conclusion, all the talks throughout the camp fully equipped the participants with the important issues they needed to know when it comes to volunteering.

Aside from the planned scientific programs in the morning session, we also complemented the camp with side activities which were the community services and recreational activities outings. The recreational activities consist of a morning Jungle walk, Mountain Hiking, and team building activities at Tanjung Rhu Beach. These activities were able to give the participants a breather between the scientific programs within the camp. The community service was conducted throughout the districts in Langkawi. The students were placed either in the various Klinik Desa (community clinics) or accompanied the staff nurses for home visits. Apart from observing the procedures and history taking done by the medical personnel, the participants also conducted questionnaires of which the findings were then presented on the final day of the camp.

The special feature for the camp this year was the presence of three accompanying syeikhs from International Islamic University, Malaysia. They are Dr Jamal Badi, Dr Baschir and Dr Belghit. They spent 2 days each with the students whereby they were given special slots to speak on the spiritual aspects in the medical field and answered questions posed by the participants.

Overall, the program ran smoothly without any major problems along the way. We believe that the program met all its set objectives in fostering brotherhood amongst participants as well as providing a platform for leadership training and networking. We hope that the spirit of volunteerism infused in the participants will be implemented in all their future activities in their respective IMAs. In time, we hope volunteerism will no longer be something foreign to young Muslim doctors worldwide and they will continue the spirit for the betterment of the Ummah.