Working as graduate Public Health students with our Benedictine Sisters of St. Gertrude in Njombe, Tanzania, with the Friends of Imiliwaha, was an absolute gift and opportunity to extend our love to our neighbors abroad. We came with a natural curiosity to learn about the state of health in the Njombe, as well as open hearts to serve the community. With the help of our Sisters we conducted health assessment interviews with patients in the local clinic, asking about access to health resources and the community or cultural factors that influence their health behaviors. We also brought water filters, which we shared with local villages, to help extend access to clean drinking water in hopes of curbing the impacts of waterborne diseases in the region. For as much as we gave, the community gave us more in return - welcoming us with song and open arms into their lives and homes, helping us to learn and blessing us with memories that will help us to remember that no neighbor is too far to extend our love to.

-Megan Sheridan