Congressman Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, commended the UCLA Medical Alumni Association for its Books Without Borders project on Tuesday.
The program collects used medical textbooks and journals from UCLA alumni and faculty and then donates the materials to physicians and medical students in the Middle East.
Waxman congratulated the group for its involvement with Books Without Borders.
“It is an innovative idea that resonates well with the United States, at a time when the image of the United States around the world is not as high as it once was,” Waxman said.
The commendation by the congressman helped to further inspire those who make the program happen.
“I left the congressman’s office inspired and invigorated, because he validated the importance of Books Without Borders,” said Valerie Walker, director of the UCLA Medical Alumni Association, who recruited collaborators and partners for the program.
Victoria Wagstaffe, who is in charge of shipping the books and finding funding to ship the materials, said she has volunteers who help her package the books.
The first shipment was paid for by the Army, and it consisted of 2,000 medical textbooks and journals sent to Iraq. The shipment sent to Afghanistan and possible upcoming shipments were funded by the Global War on Terrorism Fund, Wagstaffe said.
After the military transports the materials, they distribute the materials to five regions in Iraq and to one location in Afghanistan.
The project recently expanded and began sending materials to Kabul Medical University in Afghanistan after a U.S. Navy medical doctor stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan, contacted the UCLA Medical Alumni Association.
A shipment of approximately 200 medical textbooks and journals was sent to Kabul Medical University in addition to materials sent directly from the donor to the medical university in Afghanistan, according to Walker.
Another expansion may include providing Iraq and Afghanistan with EMT books, which may need to be translated, Walker said.
Previously the materials did not need to be translated because English is the primary language used by physicians and many nurses in Iraq, those involved with the program said.
Walker commented on the program’s usefulness when speaking to the congressman.
“The Books Without Borders project will make a difference for generations to come,” Walker said.
What initially began as a one-time donation of medical textbooks and journals to physicians and medical students in Iraq has turned into a full-scale program that is now looking to send materials to additional regions of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as getting fellow universities to assist in the program, Walker said.