Our stories

You need to quickly upgrade your Flash Player.

GAP YEAR

You need to quickly upgrade your Flash Player.

NAME:
Tom Child

AGE WHEN CONTRACTED MALARIA:
19

OCCUPATION:
Civil Servant

WHERE DID HE CONTRACT THE DISEASE:
Ghana

TYPE OF TRAVEL:
Gap

Situation: During Tom's summer break from university he travelled to Ghana to volunteer as a teacher in a rural primary school.
At the beginning of his trip, Tom followed the health advice he had been given. However, as Tom was living with a Ghanaian family he soon became comfortable with his surroundings and let his regime slip.

Outcome: A month into his trip Tom became seriously ill with malaria, developing a fever and terrible sickness. He lost two stone in weight due to vomiting and diarrhoea and was incredibly weak. He had to be transferred to a hospital in the city as the local clinic couldn't treat him. Once back home he struggled to keep up with his studies and it was some months before he felt completely back to full strength.