Many congratulations to 2016 leaver and junior doctor Chanelle Smith, whose awe-inspiring work helping others has been recognised with two recent accolades: the FACE Pius Adesanmi Memorial Student Award for Outstanding Pan-Africanism and inclusion in One Hundred Reasons to Hope, a new book honouring Sir Tom Moore and the work of other heroes of the pandemic.
Chanelle finished her medical studies at Bristol University in June 2021 and is now working as a junior NHS doctor in East Lancashire. While still a student, Chanelle won the inaugural FACE Pius Adesanmi Memorial Student Award for Outstanding Pan-Africanism, in recognition of her efforts to help black communities in the UK and in Ghana. When she was 16, Chanelle became involved with a community youth programme in Surrey, encouraging young people to do charitable work to keep off the streets. The youth group sent the money it raised to a school in Ghana. As an A Level student Chanelle spent two weeks teaching at this school and procured books, equipment and computers from corporate donors to aid the pupils’ education. As a fourth year medical student she returned to Ghana and implemented a healthcare scheme (Mid Upper Arm Circumference) to measure children and screen for malnutrition.
More recently, Chanelle has raised over £8000 by taking part in a sponsored walk and by selling “Nana dolls”, pictured below. As she explains: “The dolls are not only a toy but provide an education of historical black women leaders… [they] will encourage young black girls… by providing them with a role model who is representative of themselves.”
As a fifth year medical student, Chanelle, along with many of her cohort, worked alongside doctors and nurses helping patients battle Covid-19. This has led to her inclusion in the children’s picture book One Hundred Reasons to Hope, which celebrates the positive stories of people who have helped others over the last year.
Chanelle went to the book’s launch which was held in Captain Sir Tom Moore’s garden and met his family and the team behind the publication.
She said: “I feel so grateful to be able to represent all the medical students that stepped up during such an uncertain time. As a medical student, I felt that discharge letters, taking bloods, all small but essential jobs were not worthy of commendation but, just as Tom Moore has shown us, no action is too small to make a difference!
Chanelle, we are in awe of how much you are using your considerable talents to help others and wish you every success in your plans to become an ophthalmologist.
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