TANZANIA

Reflections from a Mental Health Project in Tanzania

7/7/08 -- LAST IMPRESSIONS. The entire experience of being in tanzania was, as one must expect, a thrilling an rewarding one. I remain in contact with the medical students who were our translators, and I find myself at times missing their company as much as any Duke friend I have here in the states... --- Read more...

RWANDA

Rwanda '08

7/9/08 — Last day in Gitarama, first days in Butare Monday was the most overwhelming day-on-the-job we’ve had so far. We showed up at the YWCA at 8 am as usual, expecting to have about six or seven people total... Read more...

Jessica Green in Rwanda

7/7/08 — Thought You Should Know. So Maddie and I are obsessed with Kigali (Rwanda's capital) partly because of the coffee store....AND because we found this post on Wikipedia that we found hilarious...Read more...

SOUTH AFRICA

Reflections on Health & Nutrition in South Africa

7/16/08 — WORKING IN THE RAIN. Things have been a bit hectic here and we've had to do a lot of rearranging of our plans this week! The safari was amazing and we had a great time! We also missed most of the REALLY terrible weather that was here in Cape Town... Read more...

Sarah Mallott's Blog

6/13/2008 &mdash Yesterday we went to Khayelitsha for the third week. For the first half of the day SiSi led the group as normal. They began with a prayer song (which only reaffirms my impression that every person here has a natural choir voice), then welcomed the new members... Read more...

TOGO

Reflections from Togo

5/31/08 — NEW CLINIC, NEW RESEARCH PLAN, NEW EXPERIENCES. I traveled to northern Togo with Charlie and a few other students that are in Togo also. It is a very mountainous area. The people are incredibly congenial (they were always offering us beer!), and the experience living with no electricity and no toilets for a few days was, well, enlightening. ... Read more...

UGANDA

Nourish International in Uganda

6/22/08 — NAAMA MILLENIUM. It has been almost two weeks since our last Blog and a lot has happened! First of all we are now in Mityana, staying at Kolping House. We are sharing rooms in a quieter area of the property since they wake up here and begin cleaning at 6am every morning to blasting... Read more...

Hospital Development in Kampala, Uganda

7/12/08 — OPENING WEEK. This week Ryan and I got acquainted with the engineering staff, operating room staff, and general staff of the hospital... Read more...

Development Project in Naama, Uganda

7/14/08 — SUCCESS & SUGGESTIONS. Everything is going amazing here. The work at school is coming along slowly but surely, and we're even thinking about taking on some new building projects before the summer is done. I'm working with Alaana a lot on the health and nutrition classes, which I think has been a great arrangment. Read more...

SINGAPORE

Reflections on a Global Health Lab Experience

7/11/08: FINAL WEEK -- (from Tammy Chin): Our stay in Vietnam this weekend was eye-opening. Before we went, my supervisor was telling me about his stay in Ho Chih Minh for a conference. He told me how busy the streets were and how crossing the road takes audacity. When we got there, I could see exactly what he meant. Scooters occupied places where cars couldn't and stop lights were rarely seen. The cyclists had face masks to keep from breathing in the very polluted air. --- Read more ...

MUMBAI, INDIA

Duke DPT Global Health Outreach Initiative

6/1/2008: YUSUF MEHERALLY & OFF TO CANCUN (INDIA) -- We started our morning early as we gathered for the buses at 8 AM. We met Mr. Shah, director of Yusuf Meherally, for breakfast that specialized in dosas, sheera, and masala chai tea. The team members ate well to ensure our energy for the day. We hopped back onto the bus for a 45-minute ride to the Yusuf Meherally - Mumbai site. Mr. Shah explained to us about the healthcare that they provided. Medical doctors and healthcare professionals that work at various nearby hospitals, such as KEM and Saifee Hospital, would volunteer on the weekends to provide service for this underserved population. --- Read more ...

DELHI, INDIA

John Stokes, Saraha House, Delhi, India

7/6/08 — HUMANIZING A FORGOTTEN MINORITY-- We ended our last week of interviews yesterday, and we wrapped it up at about 63. Afterwards, we threw a small party with ladoos, samosas, and Pepsi for all the hijras in attendance at their weekly dance gathering. It's a humbling experience... --- Read more...

PUNE, INDIA

Sweta Saxena, DukeEngage SureStart Program in Pune, India

6/25/08 — A FEW BUMPS IN THE ROAD: JThe interviews should be finished by the end of Wednesday, July 2nd. I've gotten about 50 back so far, but the answers for about 30 of the interviews still need to be translated into English. --- Read more...

HAITI

Reflections on Malnutrition in Haiti

6/30/08 — THE HEAT & 80%. Things are going on well. School ended which put a stop to me being able to access the kids there for the rest of the height and weight data, so now I’m carrying a scale... Read more...

COSTA RICA

Reflections on Research in Costa Rica

7/10/08 — MY FOURTH & IMMERSION. he next couple of days were filled with work… I managed to get 12 or so surveys in, but I’ve gotten no interviews so far (except with the doctor, the med students working at the clinic, and the other CRHF staff)... Read more...

PUERTO RICO

Reflections on a Teaching Experience in Puerto Rico

7/10/08 — UPDATE. TI'm in my last week of class and things have been going great. I have had a couple of new students come in for the last 4 weeks and they've all been wonderful students. I am sad that the class is coming to an end but I hope the kids have learned a lot and that they keep improving their English skills..... Read more...

MONTENEGRO

Reflections on Fighting AIDS in Montenegro

8/7/08: FINAL PUSH. I just finished my final week and a half of work at Juventas and it has been very busy. For much of the beginning of last week, I entered data from the July outreach work into the excel database I created earlier. The data was much easier to enter with the new format I created and, as I worked on this with one of the outreach staff, he will now be able to quickly and easily enter data each month to update the database....Read more ...