In their Own Words: Student's Insight from the Field

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Alix Pollack, Overseas Learning Collaboration, Bangaldesh, Spring '10
"I believe health is, in its practice and perception, itself much like a language. Like any language it has its history. It has roots and influences, accents and colloquialisms. It has rules to follow, and those to be bent and broken. It can be a unifying force when shared, and a great divide when not. It is often cultural, but has no borders. It is constant, and constantly changing. Being in Bangladesh with OLC has opened my eyes to the power of that language, and provided me with a first and most welcome opportunity not only to expand my knowledge, but also to put into practice, that language of public health in ways I did not anticipate.

Lauren Wingo, Overseas Learning Collaboration, Bangaldesh, Spring '10This experience has enabled me to realize the difficulties and challenges involved with public health fieldwork and to be more appreciative and humbled by the achievements that have already been made."

Shivani Murthy, Global Health Service Fellow, Dhaka, Bangaldesh, Fall '09"During my time in BangladeshI I have experienced public health in various way : visiting a remote village with limited access to clean water; riding on a cramped bus to Mirpur; attending a lecture on gender and sexuality. In each setting I have met many individuals and engaged in conversations which have gradually chipped away my preconceived notions, revealing a more defined and – hopefully – mature understanding of global health.

While in Bangaldesh, I visited The Dhaka Project – an NGO started in 2005 serving a small area of Dhaka city slums. It enrolls nearly 500 children in its educational programs, offering routine health screenings and nutritional services. I spent the day with Faria, the counselor for the organization, who regularly meets with participating families and children. She struck me as an earnest woman who brought a spirit of idealism and perseverance to her job.

We talked about “making a difference” – a cliché expression, but one we still felt compelled to use when discussing our aspirations. I soon realized Faria and I have different understandings of the phrase. For me, making a difference means thinking critically about a problem in global health, and finding ways to address it efficiently and sustainably, ideally by implementing an intervention that maximizes impact and minimizes cost. From Faria’s perspective, this is too removed from the situation. She needs to find a solution today for a child whose family has no food for the week; otherwise, they are more susceptible to disease, less likely to send the child to school, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty and struggle.

When I told Faria my degree was in “Global Health,” she smiled politely, but I sensed it had no meaning. The problems that I identify with the global or developing world are, for Faria, local.  They affect her friend and neighbors on a daily basis. She felt urgency and commitment I could not, half a world away in a Washington, DC office, feel as greatly.

This is my first extended stay abroad, but after witnessing that urgency, I hope that I can express similar emotion and drive in my future experiences. It is important that we continue to focus on big picture solutions, but not allow that view to dull the truth that every day individuals, families and communities struggle for their livelihood."

Julie Noblick, Global Health Service Fellow, Mbale, Uganda, Fall '09
"One of the programs here at The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Mbale, Uganda is home-based care outreach organized by the medical team to treat patients who are too ill to travel. This week, I was invited to accompany the team to the Sironko District to visit a female client. The woman’s brother had recently visited the TASO Mbale Center to retrieve her medication and reported a drastic decline in her health.

At first, we experienced great difficulty in locating the client’s home. We eventually met a young boy who was able to guide us to her village, which was about a 15 minute walk on a narrow path through the hills off of the main road. We were greeted at the door by the woman’s brother. The woman, 42 years of age, was HIV positive and had been doing consistently well on antiretroviral drugs until she was stricken by tuberculosis (TB) about five months before our visit. The nurses were surprised to hear a hacking cough still plaguing her tiny frame. Her brother rushed to show us that he had been faithfully managing her TB DOTS treatment, so the infection should have been under control.  After speaking with her, the nurses determined that she was disoriented, leading to suspicion of an underlying infection. In addition to her infections, the woman had also been unable to eat for several days, resulting in extreme malnourishment. An examination of her mouth revealed white patches covering nearly every surface of her mouth and throat. She was suffering from oral thrush, a common opportunistic infection that often afflicts those with compromised immune systems.

As we made our way back to the TASO vehicle to retrieve medication to alleviate her symptoms, the nurse observed that the woman had reached Clinical Stage 4, thus officially transitioning from HIV to AIDS. The current state of her health suggests that her chances of recovery are low. Nonetheless, the nurses instructed her brother to take to her the nearest health facility should her condition worsen. 

Not all of what I have seen in my time here is so sad and discouraging. In fact, this week was the exception rather than the rule. This woman, however, was an important reminder both of why TASO’s work here is so important and why I have chosen a career in public health."

 

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