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The Grand Challenges Program requires the Global Perspectives experience in order to expose students to and address issues of global concern. My experience of volunteering with and leading a service trip to Nicaragua with Global Brigades occupied 7-10 hours a week for the entire academic year.
The Grand Challenges Program requires the Global Perspectives experience in order to expose students to and address issues of global concern. My experience of volunteering with and leading a service trip to Nicaragua with Global Brigades occupied 7-10 hours a week for the entire academic year.
Global Brigades is an international non-profit that connects student volunteers to service projects in Ghana, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The organization works with local community members to decide on and implement projects in line with the health and economic goals of that area specifically.
Global Brigades is an international non-profit that connects student volunteers to service projects in Ghana, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The organization works with local community members to decide on and implement projects in line with the health and economic goals of that area specifically.
I established the Public Health program through Global Brigades at UMBC by working over the course of the 2015-2016 academic year, which culminated in a week-long service trip to Nicaragua with 17 UMBC students.
I established the Public Health program through Global Brigades at UMBC by working over the course of the 2015-2016 academic year, which culminated in a week-long service trip to Nicaragua with 17 UMBC students.
This program works to build home infrastructure that prevents health issues. This includes latrines, showers, wash basins, and water storage units to combat gastrointestinal infection, parasites, and diarrhea from unimproved drinking water sources. The latrine in the top left picture hangs over a cliff with a river at the bottom; the same river the family collects water from to cook and clean with.
This program works to build home infrastructure that prevents health issues. This includes latrines, showers, wash basins, and water storage units to combat gastrointestinal infection, parasites, and diarrhea from unimproved drinking water sources. The latrine in the top left picture hangs over a cliff with a river at the bottom; the same river the family collects water from to cook and clean with.
The Global Brigades Public Health program directly relates to my Grand Challenge of improving access to clean water. Because of the completed latrine project, the family and their neighbors will have cleaner water from the river to use for their daily activities.
The Global Brigades Public Health program directly relates to my Grand Challenge of improving access to clean water. Because of the completed latrine project, the family and their neighbors will have cleaner water from the river to use for their daily activities.
Working with Diverse Teams and Openness to Difference
Working with Diverse Teams and Openness to Difference
Through this project I worked with culturally diverse students from UMBC, Indiana University, and Duke University, as well as Nicaraguan staff and community members. We formed friendships that went beyond our mutual interest of working on the projects. I found that every person brought something valuable and unique to the team, making it possible for us to successfully construct latrines, showers, wash basins, water storage units, septic tanks, and concrete floors that will benefit 18 family members for decades to come.
Global Citizenship and Cultural Awareness
Global Citizenship and Cultural Awareness
People often say to me: "You don't need to leave Baltimore to find people in need! Why don't you help people here?" to which I have two responses. First, the quality of life of someone 3,600 miles away is not more or less valuable than someone 3 miles away. Second, being an American citizen and a global citizen are not mutually exclusive. I can volunteer in the Baltimore area for the majority of the year and still travel abroad to help there too.
Working abroad also helps to gain new cultural perspectives from adapting and engaging in daily interactions with others. Getting to know people with completely different life experiences from me is something I thoroughly enjoy, I feel it gives me insights for future interactions.
Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication
This experience was greatly enhanced for me because Spanish is the focus language I selected for my major. Spending a week in Nicaragua having conversations in Spanish definitely helped me improve my abilities for future interactions. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with the family members about what the projects' completion meant to them and how we might be able to improve in the future. Their input was very important to me so Global Brigades can change their policies, which relates to the program's learning objectives of perspectivism and flexibility.
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