Andrea's Story
“I have a congenital heart condition (AV Bloc III), which was detected one day before my birth.
“This
was back in 1978, at the height of so-called ‘normalization’ in
then-communist Czechoslovakia. Sadly, my medical condition was the
defining characteristic of my childhood. I was even a member of what was
then known as the Association of Invalids. That status provided a few
privileges seen as practical by my parents, such as free public
transportation. But which at the same time, it excluded me from many
social activities available to ‘non-invalid’ children, like school
outings or summer camps. Teachers simply did not want to take
responsibility for me, unless my mother was around.
“In 1988, my
medical file was transferred to a young doctor, Jan Janousek. (Today, he
is the head of the leading pediatric cardiology center in the Czech
Republic.) After examining me, he suggested that a pacemaker would be a
good solution for me. It was a great suggestion.
“Life began to
change, gradually. Another turning point came in 1990, when my mother
found an advertisement for a summer camp for children with disabilities.
She signed me up right away…for two camps that summer. It was life
changing!
“Throughout my life, I have always been engaged in one
form of charitable activity or another, most recently with kids in
Africa. I have also chosen humanitarian and development aid as my
profession. Ever since getting the pacemaker, I am living a truly
privileged life.
“Thanks to my good grades, I was able to obtain
full scholarships to study at some of the world’s top universities,
completing a bachelor’s degree at Harvard University in the United
States (psychology) and later a master’s degree at the London School of
Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom (development
studies). After passing international recruitment, I got my dream job
with the United Nations in 2005 and have worked in UN peacekeeping
missions in the past 10 years, serving in places such as Darfur, South
Sudan, East Timor and Burundi.”
