Hello everyone. My name is Theo Petitt, and I am the Honorary Secretary for iYouth. I am a second year medical student at Imperial College, and was invited to join the formation of the Committee by my good friend, the President of iYouth, Goya Verity.

My involvement within this charitable Order began back in September 2018 on a visit to St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem. The Order of St John aims to eliminate preventable loss of sight, and in Jerusalem I was able to see first-hand the effects of this charitable, life-restoring effort of the Order, treating the people the people of the West Bank.

In my role as Honorary Secretary, I will aim to correspond with members of iYouth, and organise fund-raising events with the rest of the Committee. Although the pandemic has slowed progress, we are very hopeful to continue the good work of St John through a young a younger generation.

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I would like to now give you an insight into my my experiences from when I first encountered the work of St John Eye Hospital, and SOA-Global. Having received an insight into the Charity by Goya, our President, I took up an offer to attend an annual Summit held at the Eye Hospital in Jerusalem. This opened my eyes to a whole world I was unaware existed, and this stresses the importance of spreading awareness about the lack of healthcare provided to the people of the West Bank.

Joining the Outreach team several times, I was able to see first-hand the lifeline that St John offers to those in remote communities, and as a Medical Student, observing multiple surgeries and clinics was also fascinating.

Having left Jerusalem I was hooked, and this feeling that is experienced by all who visit the Hospital is what prompted the formation of iYouth.