YBC Y2K 2020 REUNION

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
Mahatma Gandhi

​

The YBC Y2K Projects Committee (PC) is the ideation and implementation arm of the Year Book Class of 2000 of the College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL). This committee is mandated to come up with projects, budgets and oversee the implementation of the projects at our Alma Mata. In the next few paragraphs, we will provide a descriptive report on how the PC has been able to establish itself and successfully managed projects.

The PC currently has 13 members including a Chairman.  Its activities are governed by strict democratic principles where everyone has a say and decisions are taken by a simple majority or consensus as the case maybe.  The PC started deliberations in 2017 and identified two thematic areas for intervention: welfare initiatives for students and alumni, and quality medical education. We promised to align our interventions with the needs of the students and tried as much as we can to identify projects that will directly impact the students. PC conducted a survey and consulted with the CMUL administration in the process. At the end of this long but rewarding process, we identified three projects with different levels of impacts as described by most commentators. These projects are: renovation of the toilets at OPH, support for indigent students, and establishment of two computer labs. To ensure that these projects are relevant and would make a difference, we conducted a survey and asked students to rank the projects in order of importance. The students ranked renovation of toilets as number one, followed by support for indigent students, and the computer labs. 

The PC then went ahead to draft a budget for the projects and steps for implementation. However, YBC Y2K had to make some immediate and drastic decisions in order to support our Alma Mata. The Faculty of Dentistry, CMUL, lost accreditation by the Nigerian University Commission and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). This means dental students trained at the CMUL cannot be licensed and new dental students cannot be admitted. To regain accreditation, the CMUL must purchase 40 new dental chairs. This was a tall order and due to the limited funding available; Alumni will need to assist the CMUL. The YBC Y2K general house discussed the issue and mandated the PC to consider adding this as an important project requiring our support. The PC considered this, the impact and recommended the purchase of a dental suite. YBC Y2K donated a dental suite to the CMUL (picture below) and became the second set to do so. By doing this, we assisted the CMUL to regain its accreditation which means dental students can be trained and licensed to practice, and new students admitted to study Dentistry at the CMUL.

​

Our greatest impact to date is the Leslie-Garber YBC-Y2K Scholarships for indigent students at the CMUL. This scholarship supports six outstanding but indigent students. The CMUL has a list of indigent students in good academic standing, and individuals / groups are encouraged to support these students. The minimum amount to support a student is N250,000. The PC planned to select four students for support by YBC-Y2K and requested for six names from the CMUL. We wanted a transparent process and empirical data to guide our decisions. Thus, we setup a three-man review panel. Students were asked to answer questions that will assist the panel in identifying the four eligible students. At the end, four students made the list but the PC decided to support all six students based on feedback from the reviewers. All the students gave compelling reasons why they should be supported and the PC members deliberated on the possibility of supporting them. PC conducted formal oral interviews with the students to have a feel for why this was important to them. Listening to them was emotionally challenging and the encounter re-echoed the observations of the review panel (they all deserve our support!). The PC was mindful of the impact and at the end of very thorough and painstaking emotional rounds of discussions, we moved forward with the six names. Fortunately, the YBC Y2K Exco approved our request for all the students to be funded and the YBC Y2K general house ratified the approval. Our decision to support the students turned out to be our greatest contribution to our Alma Mata. The recipients have shared the impact of the scholarship six months after with all of them promising to pay it forward by supporting indigent students in future (please see comments below). Other CMUL Alumni as well as non-profit organizations are now using our template to support more indigent students. 

Finally, YBC-Y2K will be supporting two travel fellowship to enable students embark on life changing internships abroad. To ensure a transparent process for selection, PC plans to establish an online application platform, request YBC volunteers to facilitate clinical internship opportunities and peer review applications. Criteria for selection will include factors for considering indigent students amongst the variables so that we can support those who clearly cannot afford such experiences. PC will also facilitate internships for those that have support from their families.