The Power of Shared Human Experience
By Esnatt Gondwe I was recently contemplating the reason why William Shakespeare, a British poet, is popular everywhere! People quote him on Valentine’s Day to their special someone, or use his sonnets as central reference in literature courses. Why? Why is a British poet not only famous in his own country but also in countries all […]
Integrating HealthCare in Africa: The Role of ICTs in eHealth; Can we scale up Governance and Accountability?
Start-up eHealth innovations are popping up all over in Africa, thus providing a glimpse of how ICTs can transform the delivery and governance of health services in the region. Many of these pilots show promise, but their rapid growth also poses challenges. At an eHealth conference held in Nairobi in May and co-organized by the World Bank, […]
Challenging the barriers to health care by challenging our values
When settling into a new country, one must go through a process, if you may, in order to adapt to his or her new surroundings. Moves aren’t easy, but as humans we’re wired to acclimate to our surroundings for survival. It’s been two months since I started my fellowship here in Uganda, and it’s been […]
Hopped off a plane at LLW . . .
I did actually have a dream and a cardigan, but that’s beside the point. After two weeks of the best kind of exhaustive training, the Malawi and Rwanda teams made our way to Johannesburg where we went our separate ways. Rather than a leisurely layover, though, we had 20 minutes to make it halfway through […]
A New User’s Guide to Implementation
Before joining Global Health Corps, I worked for two years in Washington, D.C. as a strategy consultant. In my role, I evaluated market conditions for business and product development and supported the formation of M&A strategies. In doing so, I brainstormed ideas, constructed models, drafted documents, and delivered presentations to clients. After delivering the final […]
High school all over again: On fitting in
I am walking around aimlessly, watching 128 teenagers joke and flirt with each other and feeling entirely out of place. The teenagers are sitting on blankets spread out on the grass, laughing and chatting as they work diligently on the project of the day: constructing handmade school books that they will use for lessons and […]
Rediscovering That Sense of Excitement
Since childhood, I have always heard about Jeanne Gapiya, one of the founders of my placement organization ANSS (Association Nationale de Soutien aux Séropositifs et aux maladies du Sida). In 1993, she created the first organization to help HIV infected persons in Burundi. Her name has always inspired me with courage and determination. I’ll let […]
Overcoming the Silicon Valley Mindset
Being born and raised just outside of Silicon Valley and graduating from a university that feeds companies like Intel and Google, I have an ingrained, almost subconscious, commitment to using the latest technology for every task in life, all in the name of efficiency. From relying on Yelp to decide where I’ll eat my meals […]
Efficiency and Effectiveness: Putting action behind our words
“Efficiency” and “effectiveness.” These buzz words are mentioned all the time in the context of global health, but we often fail to integrate them into our work, either because we don’t have the time or don’t see them as integral to achieving our goals. This report from the Kaiser Family Foundation documents the plethora of […]
Whatever it takes, we fight for social justice
I was sad the day I heard that I, my co-fellow, and the other GHC fellows placed at Partners In Health (PIH) would not have our orientation sessions at the PIH headquarters in Boston, but instead would have an on-site orientation. I was very eager to know more about PIH’s mission, values and its working […]