The service days in the above calendar provide sufficient time for students to learn about the issue first-hand, understand the methodology of the host NGO with which they work, and complete meaningful service for the host community. If the host NGO worked to address public health in an area where HIV/AIDS rates were high, as many NGOs currently operate throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, the students would learn through the fourteen service/seminar days as follows:
Day 4: Students meet with the host NGO and its leadership. Students receive an overview of the issue addressed by the host NGO and the philosophy behind the methodology it uses. Students receive a tour of the community and meet some of the people whom the host NGO assists. Students begin training in data collection and practice with the host NGO’s staff. Seminar includes a discussion of the host NGO’s model and methodology and a discussion of the global context of public health based on assigned readings. Students begin reading Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. This book chronicles the unique efforts of one American doctor working in Haiti and other parts of the developing world to combat the spread of tuberculosis. It offers a fresh and revolutionary perspective on approaches to public health. Students also begin a new section in their journal to capture their thoughts throughout the stay in this community. Students will write one evening reflection on each day of their stay in the host community.
Days 5-8: Students travel to surrounding communities to collect data with the host NGO’s staff. Paired with members of the host NGO’s staff, students have the opportunity to discuss the nuances of the issue, the realities of those affected families and individuals who benefit from the host NGO’s services, and the emotional and cultural struggle embodied in public health. Seminars include students sharing observations and specific information to help the group build a more comprehensive view of the community and public health. Inherent in the conversation are discussions about race, class, and gender patterns.
Days 9-11: Students work in the clinic maintained by the host NGO to provide services to those whose cases have progressed and who now require more intensive care. Students witness the challenges, successes, and limitations of the host NGO as it works to meet the needs of those who are ill. Seminars on these days include analysis of readings about the economy and culture of the host country. Students are challenged to build connections between the economic and cultural realities of the country and the approach to public health exhibited by the host NGO.
Day 15:Students visit another public health NGO in a neighboring community to speak with their staff, understand their specific approach, and compare and contrast the two NGOs. Seminar includes discussion of Mountains Beyond Mountains and an effort to identify the primary assumptions behind each NGO. Students then compare and contrast those assumptions with their understanding of the economy and culture of the community to determine the effectiveness of the host NGO’s methodology. Students update their blog on the TBB website with their thoughts on the International Community Development Initiative.
Days 16-18, Day 22: Students join construction crews working with the host NGO to improve the infrastructure that will prevent disease. Students are directly involved in the improvement of houses and sanitation through re-roofing, laying cement floors, and digging latrines and wells. This period allows students to work directly with people of the community who are not necessarily health officials, allowing them new perspectives on how public health is approached in the community. Seminars include a look at texts from the United Nations and Centers for Disease Control that serve to give a global perspective to the discussion of public health. The Learning Guides will push students to expand their observations in the host community to the broader issue of global public health. Particularly, students will work to understand the continued spread of TB and malaria throughout the developing world.
Day 23: Students visit a third public health NGO in a neighboring community to speak with their staff, understand their approach, and compare and contrast the two NGOs. Seminar includes discussion of Mountains Beyond Mountains and an effort to identify the primary assumptions behind each NGO. Students then compare and contrast those assumptions with their understanding of the economy and culture of the community to determine the effectiveness of the host NGO’s methodology. Along with the observations of the host NGO and the public health NGO observed on day 15, students now have broad exposure to approaches and organizations in the field in order to compare and contrast.
Days 24-25: Students have the opportunity to return to volunteer in any of the host NGO’s service areas that they have visited. Some students may choose to work with staff members with whom they have developed a relationship, others may choose to return to an area that offered a particularly powerful experience. Seminars will include final processing of student experiences, allowing students to share their journal writings and reflections with each other and determine what the critical next steps should be for public health initiatives in the host community and globally. Students will update their blog on the TBB website with their conclusions about the International Community Development Initiative, and the host NGO, as well as their overall experience in this community and country. Students will also post their video conference to students back in the United States, presenting the public health issues affecting this community and how the host NGO is helping.
