GlobeMed at CU-Boulder in the News!
Posted by Jon on August 29, 2010
Recognition of GlobeMed’s impact on campuses and in communities around the world is growing! Recently Taylor Roberts, Co-President of GlobeMed at CU-Boulder, was highlighted in a local Colorado NBC TV broadcast.
The news story was part of NBC 9’s “College Week” segment and discussed how GlobeMed has created a unique opportunity at CU Boulder – and at 32 other universities across the nation – for undergrads to connect their own interests and passions to impactful work in global health.
This story furthers the message that students do not necessarily have to be doctors or nurses to impact global health. Indeed, we need professionals in all sectors and fields who are motivated to advance health equity and social justice. The news feature discussed how Taylor wants to use his architectural engineering degree to design buildings that are needed in the developing world. With stories like Taylor’s and GlobeMed CU-Boulder, students are showcasing that with the right passion and a clear understanding of the needs within global health, everyone can aid in the work going toward global health equity.
2010 GROW Trips: Columbia goes to Gulu!
Posted by Ankur Asthana on July 13, 2010
By Laura Edison
Since this summer encompasses 13 GROW (GRassroots On-site Work) trips—more than we’ve ever had in the past! —I am going to highlight some of the trips in this series of blogs. This week, I am revisiting the four-week trip that Jo Blount, Justine Hope, Maya Cohen, Vir Patel, and Liza Plafsky took to Gulu, Uganda from May 19 to June 17. GlobeMed at Columbia is partnered with Gulu Women’s Economic Development and Globalization, or GWED-G for short. Their mission is to strengthen the capacity of grassroots communities in Northern Uganda to become self-reliant agents of change for peace and development by providing them with knowledge and skills concerning their health, rights, and development. This summer was the chapter’s first ever GROW trip.
The trip started out with the objective to document GWED-G’s successful entrepreneurship, which is aimed to empower both women and members of the community, and to conduct surveys and home visits to measure the impact of GlobeMed at Columbia’s financial support on the reduction of poverty levels. However, after talking to Oola Kasto, a former abductee to the Lord’s Resistance Army during the 25-year Ugandan civil war, the GROW team decided to redirect the entire focus of their trip. Kasto asked a simple question: why did aid groups with large logos plastered onto the side of their vehicles come to his village, take pictures, raise hopes, and then just leave in plumes of red dust, never to be seen or heard from again? The community wanted action, not pity; the GROW team therefore refocused their efforts on rebuilding infrastructure and recreating stability, rather than documenting trauma. With a renewed focus, they began asking every subsequent interviewee what problems they thought existed within their community. Says Justine Hope of this process, “It was surprising how many smiled or laughed at the question, for the idea that their opinion was to direct our future projects seemed ludicrous to people who had never been asked such questions before.”
The team held several interviews with community members who had been affected by the Ugandan civil war, including former child soldiers and escorts, families who had been forced into IDP camps, and even employees of GWED-G. The team learned about the horrors of the war and the resultant social crisis from evocative first-hand accounts. Based on community responses, the GROW team developed projects for the upcoming year. These projects include income-generating beekeeping and farming programs as well as an HIV prevention, education, and mother-to-child transmission prevention program. Additionally, the goat-lending income-generating project that the Columbia chapter funded during the year was evaluated and assessed for efficacy through interviews with all families involved.
As the GROW team reflects upon all they saw, experienced, and learned, they keep returning to a common theme: “Ugandans have a deep understanding of their own problems and a solid grasp on what needs to be done to fix them.” Perhaps this understanding can best be reflected by Samuel, a Gulu resident who took it upon himself to become a beekeeping expert in order to help those in the community who would be part of the beekeeping income-generating project. His outlook on the future is bright: “I hope if all people in this community adopt into this [bee keeping], they will actually come out of the poverty… We need this kind of project to uplift us, so when we get fully enrolled into this project, I believe the whole world will notice we exist. That is what I hope.”
GlobeMed at Columbia’s blog about the trip is available here: http://bethechange-columbia.tumblr.com/
GlobeMed’s Response to Bombings in Uganda
Posted by Ankur Asthana on July 12, 2010
Dear GlobeMedders:
In light of yesterday's bombings in Kampala, we would like to update you on GlobeMed's response.
First, everyone close to GlobeMed is fine. We have heard from all of the students that have been or are in Uganda currently, as well as our partner organizations in country, and everyone is safe.
As you know we currently have one team in Uganda (WashU) and have more teams traveling in the near future. In conjunction with the Northwestern University study abroad office, we are monitoring the situation closely. As per Northwestern University policy, we will follow the guidelines of the US State Department and the security recommendations of International SOS. At this time, neither party has declared a travel advisory or warning for Uganda.
No immediate threats have been identified for the Iganga area (where the WashU team is currently located). We hope that the attacks will remain an isolated incident. We are advising the WashU team to adhere to the recommendations of their partner organization, including to avoid travel to Kampala as well as places in and around Iganga where foreigners congregate.
For further information, take a look at the information I've copy pasted the ISOS Commentary and Analysis and travel advice at the end of this email.
Students planning to travel to Uganda or those interested in monitoring the situation, should register with the State Department to receive email updates from them: https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/.
Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and partners throughout Uganda.
Sincerely,
Jon Shaffer
Executive Director
GlobeMed
503.789.4677 (cell)
847.467.2143 (office)
www.globemed.org
---------------
Comment and Analysis
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks thus far, they occurred at two locations which were likely to be crowded as patrons had gathered to watch on television the 2010 FIFA World Cup football (soccer) final; this would suggest that they were aimed at causing a high number of casualties. The nature of the targets – an Ethiopian restaurant and, in both cases, football fans – would appear to lend credence to the police official's hypothesis; Ethiopia is considered as an enemy by al-Shabab due to its support to the Somali government and the group, beside recently calling on militants to attack Ugandan interests, also threatened in the past to attack World Cup-related events. While al-Shabab is not expected to have the resources or organizational capability to carry out a sustained terror campaign outside its traditional strongholds in Somalia, one-off attacks by local Islamist cells or affiliated transnational terrorist groups cannot be ruled out. Heightened security measures can be expected across the city, as well as at Entebbe International Airport (EBB) and in the city centre, over the next few days as the authorities conduct investigations. The increased police presence coupled with the road closures is likely to disrupt travel in the vicinity of the explosion sites.
Al-Shabab on 5 July threatened attacks on Uganda's interests and embassies, alleging atrocities committed by its peacekeeping forces deployed in Somalia. The Islamist insurgent group issued a similar threat in October 2009, warning of attacks in Kampala as well as in Bujumbura (Burundi), in retaliation for rocket attacks by soldiers of the two countries participating in the African Union (AU) Mission in Somalia (AMISOM); Burundi and Uganda each have around 2,500 peacekeepers in AMISOM. The explosions in Kampala also follow an increase in security in the west of the country due to reports of a possible attack by the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group largely considered to be responsible for a series of bomb and grenade attacks in Kampala and other urban areas around 1997. However, the group's capacity to carry out attacks that go beyond small incursions into the country is believed to be limited.
Travel Advice
* Account for staff.
* Avoid the area of the explosions until the situation becomes clearer.
* Expect roadblocks and delays in the vicinity of the explosion sites.
* Co-operate with all security directives given by the authorities.
The 2010 National Office Summer Interns!
Posted by Ankur Asthana on June 17, 2010
By Laura Edison
It’s summer: the sun is out, burgers are on the grill, and the National Office is getting a bit cramped. Five new people now have the privilege of choosing between a random assortment of deteriorating chairs and fighting with the spotty Internet connection: the summer interns! All from different chapters, the interns will be living, working, and exploring Chicago together until mid-August. Some fun events planned so far include attending a Cubs game, enjoying concerts at Ravinia and Millennium Park, and possibly a few road trips!
For the summer, the staff and interns will be divided into three teams: Development and Communications, Partnerships, and Chapter Programs. Each of the interns is on two of the three teams. Among many things, projects will include reformatting the website, consolidating media, creating new materials for globalhealthU and inside.globemed.org, producing a GlobeMed promotional video, and writing a history of GlobeMed. Additionally, each intern will work on an individual project of his or her own design. Renee is excited to start a social networking platform for all the chapters that would allow for online, network-wide discussions about global health; she is currently researching different types of platforms to see what would best fit GlobeMed's needs.
For the National Office, the summer is a time for large changes--how can we refine and expand our vision, approach, and impact? With the help of the summer interns, GlobeMed has the opportunity to develop pragmatic solutions to such questions and to actually enact changes. Coming from diverse universities, the interns can provide direct feedback to the National Office from the chapters’ point of view as well as from from the perspectives of very different academic disciplines and backgrounds. Additionally, the National Office hopes to help Laura, Renee, Amy, Sagar, and Brian become better and stronger GlobeMed leaders at their respective chapters; Amy says, "I can't wait to bring everything I learn this summer back to Michigan in the fall--I'm hoping the knowledge I gain here will help us develop as a chapter." Be sure to keep on the lookout for a lot of exciting changes this summer!
