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 […]

Hope where least expected

I work as an advocacy and communications specialist for Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation-Uganda (Baylor-Uganda) and I love what I do. I have always wanted to work for women and children, particularly African women and children and this is a big part of what I do at Baylor-Uganda.  I think I expected to see […]

Why pay more

Consultation  fees to see a doctor at the local health center where I work are only 2000 Ugandan shillings, or less than a dollar. This is significantly less than the 25000 shillings that I was used to before signing up for GHC Fellowship. This is exactly what I was looking for – a health center […]

Sometimes the only thing that can stop you is you

Just a few steps up the hill and it was all I could do to not drop to my knees and start crawling. My normal tactic of staring at the horizon and focusing on the end of the challenge just wasn’t working after everything I’d been through that day… I was realizing that continuing through […]

My First 60 Days

It has been 8 weeks since I started my work with the USAID-ASSIST project here in Uganda. When I entered the gates of this good-looking building with a pool that we never use, I didn’t know what to expect despite all the information I had read about the project. To be honest, 60% of the […]

A change in perception about health equity

As the saying goes, “My future, I can change, but for my past I have no say about it.” What came to me as a distant dream, today I see; I am a GHC Fellow, working with people committed to social justice and health equity. As we walk through the journey of life, how I […]

More than a number: finding purpose in monitoring and evaluation

As a sophomore in college, I changed my major to social work, declaring that “I just want to work with people.” Not formulas and theories – just real, live people. I rejoiced at the math-free curriculum and loved my direct-practice internships in refugee resettlement and school social work. But somewhere along the way my thinking […]

Murmured Words or: Why I Learn “Useless” Languages

“Subiramo muhalo” Say it again, slowly. The Monitoring and Evaluation office bursts into laughter around me, knowing smiles exchanged over my clumsy efforts. Only a month has passed since I arrived at Partners in Health as the new M&E Global Health Corps Fellow and my language skills leave much to be desired. My co-worker looks back […]