Who is your Why?
During our two weeks of GHC training at Yale, one of the sessions which was particularly compelling for me was called ‘Considering Collective Action’ during which we watched a TED talk by Simon Sinek about “How great leaders inspire action.” You can watch it here. There are many great points to take home, however the […]
Place Matters: The Role of Community in Health Outcomes
What runs through your mind as you sit in your doctor’s office, waiting to be called? You’re likely wondering about the long wait or hoping to get to the bottom of the aches and pains you’ve been having all week. Or maybe you’re worried about your last visit’s test results. Either way, your zip code […]
The “Unveiled” Social Determinants of Health for Mothers
Mama Aisha (not her real name), the first wife in a polygamous marriage, goes to the garden every morning from 6:00am until 11:00am, when she comes home to prepare lunch. In the afternoon she goes to a tailoring class and mid-week she finds time to go to the village bank. In the evenings Mama Aisha […]
How Much is a Picture Worth?
My second day on the job at FVS-AMADE Burundi I was invited to observe a huge network meeting for the leaders of the organization’s solidarity groups. As a communications and fundraising fellow, I knew that this was a great opportunity to take pictures of our beneficiaries in action. Camera in hand, I couldn’t help but […]
The Importance of Meta Monitoring
“She can’t write, so we skipped the signature. That’s OK, right?” Wrong. When you’re interviewing a patient and navigating the complex world of rural informed consent: very, very wrong. As a project coordinator with Population Media Center in Burundi, one of my most rewarding experiences so far this year was had over the course of […]
Elbow Grease to Make Millions
I remember my Global Health Corps’ training at Yale University; I remember my excitement to finally be able to combine humanitarian work, global health and writing. And I remember, also, the many times I waited for my uncle to pick me up from school; I was fifteen and across the street, facing the bus stop, […]
Bursting Bubbles: Musings of a Sector Switcher
“It’s rare, you know, to have people like you! Sector Switchers!” I nodded appreciatively at my smiling coworker, despite that being the first time I had heard the phrase. Sector switcher? It sounds kind of fun, I thought. Like a name for a spy. “Agent Sector Switcher.” Sadly, I am not a spy (though I do […]
I Was Here: Reflections on Gentrification and Community Health in Washington, D.C.
In early October, the Washington City Paper published an article entitled, “Developer Pitches a Private Version of New Communities in Brentwood,” about a set of urban renewal plans targeted at the Brentwood Shopping Center and Brookland Manor housing complex in Washington D.C.’s Northeast quadrant. The article makes a comparison between the strip mall’s exterior, described […]
Technology and Health: Impact of phone network radioactivity on neighboring communities
In the 1990s, cellular phones first became widely available in the United States. Over subsequent years, however, its roll out and usage has increased dramatically worldwide. To harness this increased demand, desire and roll out, telecommunications service providers worldwide had to, and are still, placing towers in several communities: mainly in areas they deem allows […]
Innovating toward the end of malaria: What actually works?
Cross-posted from MakingMalariaHistory.org Malaria evolved along with humans over 60,000 years ago and has plagued and killed people ever since. For just as long, humans have been looking for ways to prevent infection and eliminate the disease. Tools and knowledge have evolved to combat malaria in the past several hundred years: quinine’s protective properties against […]