The average cost of both public and private medical schools in the U.S. can exceed $50,000 annually. The cost of medical school in the United States can leave most graduates in a pool of debt soon after graduation. These exorbitant tuition fees alone can make the idea of going to medical school for members of poor communities seemingly unrealistic and even nonexistent in some cases.
An editorial asserts that petty politics and diplomatic one-upmanship should not play a part in a stated request by Dr Juan Carrizo Estevez, the director of Cuba's two-year-old Latin American School of Medical Sciences, to obtain a visa to the US to meet with black college officials and the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss a grandiose, gratuitous offer from Cuba of a free medical education to US students.
Shunning warnings that Cuban Pres Fidel Castro was using them for propaganda purposes, eight US residents have taken Castro up on his offer to grant them free medical education, provided they return to poor communities in the US. On Apr 4, 2001, the eight African-American students took part in welcoming ceremonies hosted by Cuba's Latin American School of Medical Sciences.
The 28 year old [Bingham], who grew up in Alameda and attended Encinal High School, first became interested in speaking Spanish at the age of 10. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Spanish Language and Literature, a co-worker informed her about the Latin American Medical Program in Cuba after she found it advertised on the Internet. She applied and got accepted in 2001. Kenya realizes that a lot of young people from the Bay Area and elsewhere in the U.S. still are unaware of the free medical program in Cuba, which was originally offered to 500 students in the U.S.. Some 200 applied and almost 100 are still enrolled. Kenya would encourage young people of color to apply for this program. "This is not some get rich quick scheme to get a free education and go and make money as a doctor. I am doing this to go back and serve the community," she said.
