/blog en jon@globemed.org Copyright 2010 2010-08-29T21:26:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/globemed-at-cu-boulder-in-the-news/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/globemed-at-cu-boulder-in-the-news/#When:21:26:00Z Recognition of GlobeMed’s impact on campuses and in communities around the world is growing! Recently Taylor Roberts, Co-President of GlobeMed at CU-Boulder, was highlighted in a local Colorado NBC TV broadcast.Read more here.See the video here. The news story was part of NBC 9’s “College Week” segment and discussed how GlobeMed has created a unique opportunity at CU Boulder – and at 32 other universities across the nation – for undergrads to connect their own interests and passions to impactful work in global health. This story furthers the message that students do not necessarily have to be doctors or nurses to impact global health. Indeed, we need professionals in all sectors and fields who are motivated to advance health equity and social justice. The news feature discussed how Taylor wants to use his architectural engineering degree to design buildings that are needed in the developing world. With stories like Taylor’s and GlobeMed CU-Boulder, students are showcasing that with the right passion and a clear understanding of the needs within global health, everyone can aid in the work going toward global health equity. 2010-08-29T21:26:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/2010-grow-trips-columbia-goes-to-gulu/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/2010-grow-trips-columbia-goes-to-gulu/#When:17:58:00Z By Laura EdisonSince this summer encompasses 13 GROW (GRassroots On-site Work) trips—more than we’ve ever had in the past! —I am going to highlight some of the trips in this series of blogs. This week, I am revisiting the four-week trip that Jo Blount, Justine Hope, Maya Cohen, Vir Patel, and Liza Plafsky took to Gulu, Uganda from May 19 to June 17. GlobeMed at Columbia is partnered with Gulu Women’s Economic Development and Globalization, or GWED-G for short. Their mission is to strengthen the capacity of grassroots communities in Northern Uganda to become self-reliant agents of change for peace and development by providing them with knowledge and skills concerning their health, rights, and development. This summer was the chapter’s first ever GROW trip. The trip started out with the objective to document GWED-G’s successful entrepreneurship, which is aimed to empower both women and members of the community, and to conduct surveys and home visits to measure the impact of GlobeMed at Columbia’s financial support on the reduction of poverty levels. However, after talking to Oola Kasto, a former abductee to the Lord’s Resistance Army during the 25-year Ugandan civil war, the GROW team decided to redirect the entire focus of their trip. Kasto asked a simple question: why did aid groups with large logos plastered onto the side of their vehicles come to his village, take pictures, raise hopes, and then just leave in plumes of red dust, never to be seen or heard from again? The community wanted action, not pity; the GROW team therefore refocused their efforts on rebuilding infrastructure and recreating stability, rather than documenting trauma. With a renewed focus, they began asking every subsequent interviewee what problems they thought existed within their community. Says Justine Hope of this process, “It was surprising how many smiled or laughed at the question, for the idea that their opinion was to direct our future projects seemed ludicrous to people who had never been asked such questions before.” The team held several interviews with community members who had been affected by the Ugandan civil war, including former child soldiers and escorts, families who had been forced into IDP camps, and even employees of GWED-G. The team learned about the horrors of the war and the resultant social crisis from evocative first-hand accounts.  Based on community responses, the GROW team developed projects for the upcoming year. These projects include income-generating beekeeping and farming programs as well as an HIV prevention, education, and mother-to-child transmission prevention program. Additionally, the goat-lending income-generating project that the Columbia chapter funded during the year was evaluated and assessed for efficacy through interviews with all families involved.   As the GROW team reflects upon all they saw, experienced, and learned, they keep returning to a common theme: “Ugandans have a deep understanding of their own problems and a solid grasp on what needs to be done to fix them.”  Perhaps this understanding can best be reflected by Samuel, a Gulu resident who took it upon himself to become a beekeeping expert in order to help those in the community who would be part of the beekeeping income-generating project. His outlook on the future is bright: “I hope if all people in this community adopt into this [bee keeping], they will actually come out of the poverty… We need this kind of project to uplift us, so when we get fully enrolled into this project, I believe the whole world will notice we exist. That is what I hope.” GlobeMed at Columbia’s blog about the trip is available here: http://bethechange-columbia.tumblr.com/ 2010-07-13T17:58:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/globemeds-response-to-bombings-in-uganda/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/globemeds-response-to-bombings-in-uganda/#When:19:02:00Z Dear GlobeMedders:In light of yesterday's bombings in Kampala, we would like to update you on GlobeMed's response. First, everyone close to GlobeMed is fine. We have heard from all of the students that have been or are in Uganda currently, as well as our partner organizations in country, and everyone is safe. As you know we currently have one team in Uganda (WashU) and have more teams traveling in the near future. In conjunction with the Northwestern University study abroad office, we are monitoring the situation closely. As per Northwestern University policy, we will follow the guidelines of the US State Department and the security recommendations of International SOS. At this time, neither party has declared a travel advisory or warning for Uganda. No immediate threats have been identified for the Iganga area (where the WashU team is currently located). We hope that the attacks will remain an isolated incident. We are advising the WashU team to adhere to the recommendations of their partner organization, including to avoid travel to Kampala as well as places in and around Iganga where foreigners congregate.  For further information, take a look at the information I've copy pasted the ISOS Commentary and Analysis and travel advice at the end of this email. Students planning to travel to Uganda or those interested in monitoring the situation, should register with the State Department to receive email updates from them: https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/. Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and partners throughout Uganda. Sincerely,Jon Shaffer Executive Director GlobeMed jon@globemed.org 503.789.4677 (cell) 847.467.2143 (office) www.globemed.org --------------- Comment and Analysis While no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks thus far, they occurred at two locations which were likely to be crowded as patrons had gathered to watch on television the 2010 FIFA World Cup football (soccer) final; this would suggest that they were aimed at causing a high number of casualties. The nature of the targets – an Ethiopian restaurant and, in both cases, football fans – would appear to lend credence to the police official's hypothesis; Ethiopia is considered as an enemy by al-Shabab due to its support to the Somali government and the group, beside recently calling on militants to attack Ugandan interests, also threatened in the past to attack World Cup-related events. While al-Shabab is not expected to have the resources or organizational capability to carry out a sustained terror campaign outside its traditional strongholds in Somalia, one-off attacks by local Islamist cells or affiliated transnational terrorist groups cannot be ruled out. Heightened security measures can be expected across the city, as well as at Entebbe International Airport (EBB) and in the city centre, over the next few days as the authorities conduct investigations. The increased police presence coupled with the road closures is likely to disrupt travel in the vicinity of the explosion sites. Al-Shabab on 5 July threatened attacks on Uganda's interests and embassies, alleging atrocities committed by its peacekeeping forces deployed in Somalia. The Islamist insurgent group issued a similar threat in October 2009, warning of attacks in Kampala as well as in Bujumbura (Burundi), in retaliation for rocket attacks by soldiers of the two countries participating in the African Union (AU) Mission in Somalia (AMISOM); Burundi and Uganda each have around 2,500 peacekeepers in AMISOM. The explosions in Kampala also follow an increase in security in the west of the country due to reports of a possible attack by the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group largely considered to be responsible for a series of bomb and grenade attacks in Kampala and other urban areas around 1997. However, the group's capacity to carry out attacks that go beyond small incursions into the country is believed to be limited. Travel Advice * Account for staff. * Avoid the area of the explosions until the situation becomes clearer. * Expect roadblocks and delays in the vicinity of the explosion sites. * Co-operate with all security directives given by the authorities. 2010-07-12T19:02:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/the-2010-national-office-summer-interns/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/the-2010-national-office-summer-interns/#When:15:32:00Z By Laura EdisonIt’s summer: the sun is out, burgers are on the grill, and the National Office is getting a bit cramped. Five new people now have the privilege of choosing between a random assortment of deteriorating chairs and fighting with the spotty Internet connection: the summer interns! All from different chapters, the interns will be living, working, and exploring Chicago together until mid-August. Some fun events planned so far include attending a Cubs game, enjoying concerts at Ravinia and Millennium Park, and possibly a few road trips!For the summer, the staff and interns will be divided into three teams: Development and Communications, Partnerships, and Chapter Programs. Each of the interns is on two of the three teams. Among many things, projects will include reformatting the website, consolidating media, creating new materials for globalhealthU and inside.globemed.org, producing a GlobeMed promotional video, and writing a history of GlobeMed. Additionally, each intern will work on an individual project of his or her own design. Renee is excited to start a social networking platform for all the chapters that would allow for online, network-wide discussions about global health; she is currently researching different types of platforms to see what would best fit GlobeMed's needs.For the National Office, the summer is a time for large changes--how can we refine and expand our vision, approach, and impact? With the help of the summer interns, GlobeMed has the opportunity to develop pragmatic solutions to such questions and to actually enact changes. Coming from diverse universities, the interns can provide direct feedback to the National Office from the chapters’ point of view as well as from from the perspectives of very different academic disciplines and backgrounds. Additionally, the National Office hopes to help Laura, Renee, Amy, Sagar, and Brian become better and stronger GlobeMed leaders at their respective chapters; Amy says, "I can't wait to bring everything I learn this summer back to Michigan in the fall--I'm hoping the knowledge I gain here will help us develop as a chapter." Be sure to keep on the lookout for a lot of exciting changes this summer!                                                2010-06-17T15:32:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-olivia-koshy/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-olivia-koshy/#When:14:21:00Z Hi there!It's our last day! Meet Olivia Koshy, our final chapter founder that will be joining our network this year.  Olivia is a rising junior at the University of Texas at Austin studying business/economics with a minor in psychology. Olivia loves Nutella, anything related to the Olympics, and laughing until she cries. Check out her video here!Send Olivia a welcome email at okoshy9@gmail.com Check out her video here! The GlobeMed National Office is so proud and humbled to have each and every one of our new 14 Chapter Founders as part of our network. We can't wait to see all the incredible things our 33 chapters will be accomplishing in the coming year.  2010 GlobeMed Chapter Founders 2010-06-15T14:21:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-rohini-bhatia/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-rohini-bhatia/#When:14:17:00Z Hello!We have just two amazing founders left to introduce to you. Rohini Bhatia is our next incredible new Chapter Founder. Read on to learn more about her and the newest chapter at the University of Rochester: Rohini is a sophomore pursuing a major in Epidemiology at the University of Rochester. She initially discovered her passion for global health through an internship at the National Cancer Institute and hopes to one day make a splash in the field. In her spare time she loves to read Dan Brown, dance to Bhangra music and munch on Lucky Charms.Send her a welcome email at itsrohini09@gmail.com and say hi!Take a look at her video by clicking here! 2010 GlobeMed Chapter Founders 2010-06-14T14:17:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-allie-johnson/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-allie-johnson/#When:22:31:00Z Hello!, Today, we'd like to introduce you to Allie Johnson. She's launching a chapter at Stanford University this fall and we couldn't be more excited. Go ahead and read on to learn more about Allie.  Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, Allie is now studying Human Biology and African Studies at Stanford University.  In addition to global health, Allie's passions include hiking, college basketball, and anything having to do with South Africa. Feel free to shoot her a 'welcome to the Network' email at alliej@stanford.edu. Watch her video here! (ps. it's one of our favorties) 2010 GlobeMed Chapter Founders 2010-06-10T22:31:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-april-harrison/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-april-harrison/#When:17:55:00Z Hi there!, Today, we are so excited to introduce you to April Harrison, launching a GlobeMed Chapter at Duke this Fall. For all those interested about how our chapters interact, Duke is just one town away from UNC-Chapel Hill - you can be sure to hear more about how the chapters will collaborate on their fundriasing and global health education. We're so excited to see how they support each other in the coming years!Read on to learn more about our newest Founder! 'Coming back to campus after a semester in Madrid, April intends to start her junior year with a bang... including a brand new GlobeMed chapter! To seek relief from the hard life of a double humanities major (English and Spanish), she likes to relax with photography, yoga, guitar, and the occasional pre-med class.' To send April a nice warm welcome, contact her at aah17@duke.edu Click and watch her wonderful introductory video by clicking here! 2010 GlobeMed Chapter Founders 2010-06-08T17:55:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/domestic-partnerships-the-key-or-not-to-be/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/domestic-partnerships-the-key-or-not-to-be/#When:22:22:00Z By Laura Edison  With the expansion of the GlobeMed network to 33 chapters comes the opportunity to form 14 new partnerships between students and health organizations. One thought has surfaced during this process: since we want to help people living in poverty no matter where they live, why don’t we partner chapters with health organizations in the United States? Unquestionably, health disparities exist in our own country just as they do in Uganda, Guatemala, and Nepal, and, in the words of Executive Director Jon Shaffer, “as an organization working to lessen these disparities, we have a responsibility to engage in these issues whether they are in our backyard or in a distant country.” That being said, GlobeMed is happy to announce that it is now searching for potential domestic partnerships, and has now found one promising organization. GlobeMed has actually been working domestically since its modern inception in 2007, and the work has demonstrated strong advantages. The University of Michigan chapter is currently the only one with a domestic partner; in fact, they partnered with Joy-Southfield, a community education and health clinic in Detroit, in the days before GlobeMed as we know it was formed. Their partnership with Tiyatien Health in Liberia came later. They now maintain a dual partnership in which they raise funds and plan GROW trips for Tiyatien while volunteering time and manpower to Joy-Southfield. Ashley Hagaman, outgoing Chapter Advisor and former UMich Chapter Co-President, says of their partnership with Joy-Southfield, “to be connected to a community that is so close to home is really important to our chapter. Learning just how much disparity and cruel poverty there is in the States puts things like structural violence, institutional oppression, and racism right in front of your eyes – it’s something that really hits you square in the face.” In addition to emphasizing the reality of the issues, a domestic partner may also help to generate more support for our cause. The Loyola University chapter, for example, was recently rejected by potential corporate donor because of GlobeMed's lack of local involvment. The business owner wrote in a response email, “You state your cause champions local awareness, but you're building a clinic in Guatemala.  Surely you know there are so very many needy and deserving people within our own borders that should be the focus of our generosity” Although this potential donor may have been inadequately informed about the campus education proponent of GlobeMed, his response does bring up some important issues. We are striving to build a worldwide community, and such a community needs to include those far away from us as well as those near to us. Seeing health disparities first-hand in the United States may help us better understand and empathize with international causes, thus making domestic partnerships a key catalyst in furthering the involvement and passion of everyone involved. Moreover, domestic partnerships will further GlobeMed’s efforts to shift the current paradigm on global health equity: global means local, too—solidarity includes our neighbors. Well then, why doesn’t every chapter have a domestic partner as well as an international partner? The answer to this is simple: it’s difficult. Each chapter already has a partner organization abroad, and for each to have both a domestic and an international partner would likely be highly problematic, at least at this stage in our development. Incoming UMich Co-President Amy Yang as well as former Co-President Katie Schmidt both agree that it's difficult to give each organization the time and resources they both deserve when the chapter’s efforts are split down the middle. At least until our chapters develop the capacity and resources to support two, perhaps we should stick to having most chapters’ primary (and only) partner be in the United States. A potential problem with a domestic—as opposed to international—partnership, however, may be that the United States already has so many “charitable” bureaucratic forces at work that it's difficult to find a place for student volunteers to fit in and be listened to. It may be a little more difficult to find a domestic organization that we would want to partner with—one that fully understands and aligns with GlobeMed’s purpose, model, and movement. The University of Michigan chapter, fortunately, found one such organization in Joy-Southfield. If we can find more, we definitely have a responsibility--in following our mission statement--to form domestic partnerships in order to help those around us. We are excited to see what our expanding network will do.   **Picture: University of Michigan chapter Co-Campaign Coordinator Jae Kwak helps at the check-in desk at Joy-Southfield's community health fair in May 2010.  2010-06-07T22:22:00-06:00 http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-elizabeth-gaston/ http://www.globemed.org/blog/14-founders-14-days-meet-elizabeth-gaston/#When:18:14:00Z Hello there!, After a weekend hiatus, we're excited to announce our three remaining chapter founders this week! We'll launch the week with Elizabeth Gaston, of the University of Chicago:  Elizabeth Gaston is a 2nd year at the University of Chicago studying Biology and Human Rights.  When she's not studying, Liz researches bacteria, rows for the UChicago Crew team, and teaches health workshops to high school students.  Send an email to say hi at egaston@uchicago.edu and check out her welcome video by clicking here! 2010 GlobeMed Chapter Founders 2010-06-07T18:14:00-06:00