ANDREW Davis left school in Year 10 to pursue a mechanical apprenticeship. This year he founded a non-profit medical organisation in West Africa.
After leaving St Stephen’s School Duncraig mid way through 2011, Mr Davis spent four years at Paceway Mitsubishi before he realised he was “not satisfied with my career”.
“My next move was to Fuji Xerox as a mechanical operator in the production facility,” Mr Daivs said.
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READ NOW“During the same period, I volunteered at my local Sate Emergency Service Unit in Stirling.
“During my time volunteering in the SES I was driven once again to upscale my career in the Emergency Department; my intention was to join the Australian Army however there were not many jobs available at the time.”
In 2018 Mr Davis travelled to West Africa as a volunteer to work under a construction program where he helped to renovate schools and repair government healthcare facilities.
He took on a leadership volunteer role then moved into a medical coordinator position.
“During this time I worked alongside some very talented medical professionals ranging from a broad spectrum of medical expertise,” he said.
“Some were qualified trauma surgeons, EMTs (emergency medical technicians), nurses, doctors and paramedics.
“I spent many months learning and studying clinical medicine and pre-hospital care to allow me make the correct decisions as the medical coordinator.
“This position was still a volunteer job role and did not provide me with a salary or benefits, however I was passionate and continued to work for the company until I was financially unable to do so.”
This year Mr Davis returned to Ghana in the same medical coordinator position but was sad to see the company had moved towards more of a focus on profits than human life.
“I had spent over a year developing an effective healthcare program that served some of the most isolated and poverty-stricken areas of the local district,” he said.
“The medical program focused on providing general health care to over 30,000 people in 17 different locations.”
He said the company requested he cancel the program to make way for the more profitable areas of the business but he refused and resigned soon after.
“My intention was to found a legitimate organisation and continue to carry out medical work in the district for the benefit of the local people who rely solely upon the medical program to obtain adequate medical care,” he said.
Mr Davis then joined forces with Alex Dring to co-found the Freedom for Health Asuogyaman, which currently has registration for the incorporation and district-level got-for-profit status, with national status pending.
He said the “sole purpose” of the organisation was to “provide every community within the Asuogyaman District with free healthcare”.
“This medical program focuses on reaching the most isolated and poverty-stricken areas of the Eastern region,” he said.
“Our program will give each qualified medical volunteer an opportunity to make a big impact on the communities within the Asuogyaman District and within the Eastern Region.”