Anil Kumar, MPH ’24, Dornsife School of Public Health

Anil Kumar is a graduate student who spent 3 months working alongside the World Vision Tanzania WASH team. He is pursuing a master’s degree in Epidemiology within the Dornsife School of Public Health and is excited to have experienced the rich culture and natural beauty that Tanzania has to offer.

Prior to this experience, Anil worked with the Teach for India foundation in New Delhi working with kids from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Additionally, Anil is actively involved in the Dornsife Student Government Organization as the President at Drexel.

While in Tanzania, Anil led a cross-sectional study in Karatu, Tanzania that explored accessibility to water sources and the prevalence of childhood diarrhea.

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Devneet Kainth, MD ’26, Drexel University College of Medicine

Devneet Kaur Kainth is a second-year doctorate student who spent 2.5 months working alongside the World Vision Tanzania WASH team. She is pursuing a degree in medicine (M.D.) at Drexel University College of Medicine and is excited to have experienced the academic and cultural opportunities that Northern Tanzania has to offer.

Prior to this experience, Devneet has worked with diverse communities in Philadelphia and New York City and, globally, in Nicaragua and Honduras. Additionally, Devneet is actively involved in Health Outreach Projects and Co-President of the Global Health Interest Group at Drexel.

While in Tanzania, Devneet led a research study assessing the financial barriers to uptake of WASH services in Karatu District.

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Emily Lincoln, MPH ’24, Dornsife School of Public Health

Emily Lincoln is a graduate student who spent 3 months working alongside the World Vision Eswatini WASH team. She is pursuing her master’s in public health in Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) and loved learning from international partners about weaving cultural and communal values into public health solutions.

Before this experience, Emily has worked as an Educational Equity Specialist, improving schools for students with marginalized identities. Prior to that she contributed to urban agriculture and food justice programs in partnership with community organizations fighting for land and health sovereignty. At Drexel, Emily is a Dornsife Public Health Research Fellow working on health communication efforts of extreme heat, an active member of the EOH Journal Club, and lover of a hearty case competition.

While in Eswatini, Emily led a research project exploring accessibility, perceptions, and barriers to sustaining safely managed water in Hhohho (Madlangempisi Area Program) and Lobamba (Mpolonjeni Area Program).

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Talmadge Gaither MD ’26, Drexel University College of Medicine

Talmadge Gaither is a second-year medical student who spent 6 weeks working alongside the World Vision Tanzania WASH team. He is pursuing his medical degree within the Drexel College of Medicine (DUCOM) and is excited to have experienced a different cultural perspective on how to approach sustainability and community engagement.

Prior to attending DUCOM, Talmadge worked with middle school students in the greater Columbus, Ohio area, where the team addressed the impacts of food deserts that cover eastern and southern Columbus with a program called Urban Gems. Between a collaborative effort with his engineering capstone project and Urban Gems, his team focused on creating a water efficient device called an aeroponic garden that would be more cost effective than competitors on the market to be utilized by the community. At DUCOM, he currently co-coordinates MicroGreens HOP clinic, which is an organization that focuses on growing microgreens and teaching community members how to grow their own food at home in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, Talmadge is actively involved in various organizations within the Drexel community, including the Black Doctor’s Network, Urology Interest group, Hiking Club, and Aspiring Physician Executives Club.

While in Tanzania, Talmadge supported research efforts that explored the barriers to uptake of WASH services in Karatu District.

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Victoria Rodríguez Villarreal BS ’25, Dornsife School of Public Health

Victoria Rodríguez Villarreal is an undergraduate student who spent three months working alongside the World Vision Eswatini WASH team. She is pursuing a degree in Public Health within the Dornsife School of Public Health and is excited to have experienced the rich cultural heritage, vibrant arts scene, and natural landscape of the local community and learn their unique history and connection between conflict, climate change, and COVID-19 pandemic that affect community members in Eswatini.

Prior to this experience, Victoria was involved in Global Citizen Year Certification, the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, ECOSOC Youth Forum, raising awareness about the climate crisis from gender, human rights, and Latin America perspectives. Additionally, Victoria is actively involved in the Sanitation Health Aid Relief Project (SHARP), the Dornsife Undergraduate Student Government Organization (DUSGO), and the Civic Engagement Committee of the Undergraduate Student Government (USGA) while serving as a representative for the Student Leadership Council on Climate and Sustainability at Drexel. Victoria is interested in health policy and equity and the intersection of health care and social justice, stemming from her passion for helping communities disproportionately affected by climate change.

While in Eswatini, Victoria led a research project evaluating the impact of safely managed WASH facilities on menstrual health in rural schools within the Shewula Area Program.

Rebounding from COVID-19 interruptions last year, a group of eight scholars from the Dornsife Global Development Scholars Program traveled to Ghana for an intensive field experience.

This immersive program was a guided collaboration between Drexel University, World Vision, and the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, and was a new approach for the ninth cohort of Dornsife Scholars.

The two-week program covered a wide range of topics that aligned with global strategies to end extreme poverty, reduce health inequalities, and better protect the planet by 2030.

Scholars also engaged with World Vision staff who were participating in the WASH Capacity Building Certificate Program.

The 2022 cohort of scholars included:

• Amna Khalafalla '22, Public Policy and Development, Pennoni Honors College
• Drexlar Attram '23, BS/MPH Public Health Dual-Degree, Dornsife School of Public Health
• Duyen Tran '22, Marketing and Business Economics Co-major, Lebow College of Business
• Julia Langmuir '23, Global Studies Major, College of Arts and Sciences
• Kaelah Grant '23: Psychology Major/Premed Major, Drexel College of Arts and Sciences
• Maria Garcia '23, Biomedical Engineering Major, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
• Meghan Gupta '23, BS/MPH Public Health Dual-Degree, Dornsife School of Public Health
• Nahian Ehtesham '22, Public Health Major, Dornsife School of Public Health

Field activities for the inaugural intensive took place throughout seven regions in Ghana (Greater Accra, Central, Bono Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono East, Northern, Upper East), and challenged students to explore community development strategies aimed at assessing and promoting WASH behaviors in community settings and health facilities.

The 2021 cohort of scholars tackled climate change through a first-of-its-kind research collaboration with World Vision International:

• Salamata Bah '23: Computer Science Major, Drexel College of Computing & Informatics
• J’Anna-Mare Lue '22: BS/MS Environmental Engineering Dual-Degree, Drexel College of Engineering
• Kaelah Grant '23: Psychology Major/Premed Major, Drexel College of Arts and Sciences
• Leila Nzekele '22: Public Health Major, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health

The students investigated inequalities, evaluated power dynamics, and developed action items related to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in high-income and low-income economies. Afterwards they received invitations to present their work at three international conferences. "Our work thus far has educated many across the world and I hope it continues to do so," said Kaelah Grant.

Hear more about their research and read a Q&A with Kaelah Grant on the Dornsife student stories blog: Leading Research on Decolonizing Global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Initiatives

Learn more about the impact of J’Anna-Mare Lue's time as a Dornsife Global Development Scholar doing research in southern Africa: One Alumna’s Life-changing and Career-building Work at Drexel and in Lesotho

Salamata Bah

J’Anna-Mare Lue

Kaelah Grant

Leila Nzekele

Amna Khalafalla (Pre-Junior Custom-designed Major, Pennoni Honors College), a 2020 co-op experience scholar, will be spending 6 months in Rwanda. Her interest in global health are due to her experiences of living the first seven years of her life in East Africa and coming to understand the effects of the lack of public health due to structural issues in her hometown. She believes that improving water access, sanitation, and health services are the most necessary and chief aspects of economic development. In Rwanda, she is looking forward to understanding the efficacy of World Vision’s initiatives and the personal impacts they have on Rwandans alongside Rwanda’s steady economic growth. Even more, she hopes to gain knowledge about how cultural and social factors impact behavioral changes under development. A former Sociology student, the sociological perspective is the principle lens that guides her. Through this lens, Amna hopes to develop a complete image of sustainable development that centers culture and indigenous practices.

Armonie Pierre-Jacques (First-Year Masters Student, Community Health and Prevention Major, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 3 months in Ghana. She is interested in how social determinants of health shape people’s health outcomes globally. Her passion in global health also idealizes how diversity in world views and systems thinking can offer different solutions in public health. She is looking forward to engaging with those from underrepresented populations, immersing in a diverse culture, and collaborating on projects that contribute to hygiene and sanitation. Armonie hopes to strengthen her approach in advocating for human rights across landscapes. Through this lens, she is eager to work with World Vision in their partnerships with the Ghanaian community to build sustainability.

Betel Yemane (Pre-Junior, Finance with Business analytics concentration Major, Lebow College of Business), a 2020 CO-OP scholar, will be spending three months in Ethiopia and another three months in India. Betel is a returning scholar of 2018, where she spent two months in Malawi on how to use Sanitation as a business. Her interest in playing a role in providing sustainable global development has motivated her to understand this problem in depth. She will expand on her previous project from Malawi, in India, where she will compare what behavioral changes contributed to the success of using Sanitation as a business in India. For her project in Ethiopia, she will work closely with World Vision to strengthen their pilot program called Learning Root, which is designed to develop and prepare children, from ages three through six, for a successful transition to primary school. In addition, Betel is excited to experience the cultural differences and immersion between these communities. 

Drexlar Attram (Freshman, Public Health Major, Dornsife School of Public Health, Pennoni Honors College), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 3 months in Sierra Leone. Her interests in global health arise from her belief of health as a human right. By observing the health disparities around the world, Drexlar believes that it is her responsibility as a member of a high income country to support and implement sustainable health practices and policies in low and middle income countries. In Sierra Leone, Drexlar hopes to grasp a further understanding of the healthcare systems in underprivileged countries. Additionally, she is excited to experience the unique culture of Sierra Leone. Drexlar is looking forward to blending cultural aspects of Sierra Leone with American health systems in a way that promotes healthy community practices. Furthermore, as she plans to minor in photography, Drexlar intends to use her opportunity through World Vision and her passion for digital art to advocate for the health of low income countries in a way this generation could easily understand.

Duyen Tran (Sophomore, Marketing and Business Economics Co-major, Lebow College of Business), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 10 weeks in India. Duyen’s interest in global health stems from her real-life experiences while working with ethnic minority children in the mountainous Northwest region of Vietnam. Having grown up in a small town of Vietnam, she acknowledges the essential role of Quality Education for underprivileged children in terms of affecting their health behaviors, as well as improving public health in a community as a whole. With the mindset of a social entrepreneur, Duyen hopes to utilize this experience to learn more about the Design for Behavioral Change program and connect it with Quality Education to solve cross-cutting issues sustainably, effectively and efficiently. She is looking forward to examining the impact of health policies on health behaviors, specifically how NGOs/NPOs work with stakeholders and local government in terms of the policy to solve the problems. Duyen’s passion for cultural diversity and her mindset of opening for all possibilities give her a multidimensional perspective while collaborating with World Vision.

Gabrielle Brizzi (Junior, Public Health Major, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2020 Co-op Scholar, will be spending 3 months in Ghana. Gabrielle is an advocate for global health equity and has a strong interest in clinical public health. As an aspiring physician, Gabrielle plans to dedicate her career to addressing global health disparities and dismantling the systems that perpetuate such. In Ghana, Gabrielle is looking forward to learning more about WASH in healthcare facilities, WASH-related illnesses, and the impact the climate crisis has on the health of vulnerable populations. Having visited Ghana before, Gabrielle is excited to continue to establish relationships with community members, visit historical landmarks, and explore new places, food, and music. With this experience, Gabrielle hopes to strengthen her understanding of WASH-related behavior change and how public health practice varies depending on cultural, historical, and political contexts. Before her experience in Ghana, Gabrielle will be completing the first half of her co-op in Cambodia through Drexel’s international co-op program. She is excited to apply the skills she acquires in Cambodia and what she has already learned from her time as a 2018 Summer Experience Dornsife Scholar in eSwatini to an entirely different context in Ghana.

 
Ivy Steinberg-McElroy (Pre-Junior, Environmental Studies and Sustainability Major, College of Arts and Sciences), a 2020 Co-op Scholar, will be spending 6 months in Rwanda. Her interests in global health stem from her passion to help communities that are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. She believes that access to clean drinking water, nutritional food, and education are human rights that everyone deserves access to. Additionally, she knows that gaining access to these resources will only get harder for people in low to middle income countries as climate change-related catastrophes increase over time. Ivy is looking forward to immersing herself in the culture of communities in Rwanda and to better understanding the impacts that climate change caused by high income countries has on low to middle income countries. She hopes to learn more about the connections between the environment and human health and the social determinants of health that affect community members in Rwanda. Ivy’s main goal is to best prepare community members to prepare for and respond to the effects of climate change in an empowering way that provides them with self-efficacy and more social, educational, and economic opportunities.

Julia Langmuir (Freshman, Global Studies Major, College of Arts and Sciences), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 3 months in Senegal. Her passion for global health stems from her interest in finding solutions across disciplines to guarantee health as a human right. As a premedical student, she is interested in the ways in which understanding large-scale sustainable medical practices will reflect on her interest in primary care. Through the interdisciplinary Global Studies program, she is learning about global economics, public health, policy, and the sciences, and she hopes to apply this knowledge from a variety of different fields to the development of multifaceted solutions to community needs. Julia looks forward to learning about the history, culture, and traditions of Senegal through her experiences working with different communities. She is interested in studying the social determinants of health disparities in Senegal and the ways in which community engagement can contribute to the implementation and advancement of WASH practices in local communities. 

Update: After returning, Julia reflected on her experience working with World Vision in Ghana on the Dornsife student stories blog.

Kaelah Grant (Freshman, Psychology Major/Premed, College of Arts and Sciences), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 10 weeks in Ghana. She is a strong advocate for equal rights and health. She believes that everyone should have equal access to medical treatment and resources, and necessities that improve one’s quality of life. Her interest in global health stemmed from the idea that the work that needs to be done outside of the U.S. is greater than what has to be done within the U.S. She believes that, as a student and American, she has a duty to use her privilege to help LMIC and make the world equal in terms of human rights and health. During her time in Ghana, Kaelah hopes to gain knowledge about different cultures and become more culturally competent to aid her in the future as a surgeon. As a life-long learner and innovator, she wishes to discover novel ways to conduct research and create lasting solutions for long-standing health issues. While continuing the efforts of WASH, she strives to make an impact on the people and communities in rural parts of Ghana.

Kira Smith (First-Year Medical Student, Drexel University College of Medicine), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 6 weeks in Uganda. Her passion for global health arises from her belief that reducing health disparities generated by societal inequities must extend beyond the hospital or doctor's office. While medical school will equip her with clinical skills and a solid foundation of knowledge, hands-on opportunities will provide the experience needed to explore and reduce the spectrum of health inequities confronting underserved populations around the world. She is eager to partner with community leaders to engage in the collaborative process of generating changes that are effective, sustainable, and directly beneficial to those most affected. Furthermore, she is excited to immerse herself in the rich diversity of Uganda and learn about the various cultures, traditions, and norms. Kira hopes to further her understanding of incorporating and implementing systems of health and wellness at the community level in order to practice comprehensive medicine. During her time with World Vision and in the future, she aspires to serve as a social agent of change through research, advocacy, and the relationships she develops with patients and communities.

Leila Nzekele (Junior, Public Health Major, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2020 Co-op Dornsife Global Development Scholar, will be spending 6 months in Rwanda. Her interests are rooted in the field of global health with concentrations in maternal and child health as well as behavioral science with the idea that equity must be provided for all. Furthermore, it is essential to create dialogue in order to build and improve relationships to facilitate change and address health issues. Leila is looking forward to gaining additional experience in the field, where she will be able to conduct research further in-depth, ultimately working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal number 6, “clean water and sanitation for all” along with being immersed in Rwandan culture. She strives to strengthen strategic planning and affect behavior change influencing grassroots movements, empowering communities and more importantly, women to establish sustainability. Leila is both a convergent and divergent thinker. By employing this lens in conjunction with community-based participatory research she wishes to promote co-learning in menstrual hygiene and latrine maintenance.

 
María José Garcia (Freshman, Biomedical Engineering Major, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar will be spending 3 months in Honduras. She is deeply passionate about the development of equitable access to health care stemmed by strong multisectoral partnerships, community-centered networks and generational improvement of prevention strategies. She believes proper education can help develop a healthcare system based on competency, equality and empathy. Being a Honduran herself, she understands and acknowledges the impact of limited resources and inadequate healthcare services. Nevertheless, she has been inspired throughout her life by the kindness and creativity of her fellow countrymen and woman, so she looks forward to experiencing the roots of her culture by interacting with the optimistic spirits of her people. As a biomedical engineering major, she is enthusiastic to apply her knowledge to create a synergy between communities, physicians and authorities to promote preventive care, risk assessment, and timely effective responses. Working alongside World Vision, she is hopeful to identify the source and effect of microbial water contamination in order to expand WASH initiatives that effectively impact and improve human development. Her extensive experience with fieldwork and previous research makes her a critical thinker that incorporates kind, empathetic and compassionate assessment. María José, with her deep-rooted optimism and willingness to learn, believes her collaboration with World Vision will help initiate the butterfly effect that contributes towards meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

 
Marlee McCadden (First-Year Law Student, Thomas R. Kline School of Law), a 2020 Summer Experience scholar, will be spending 2.5 months in Senegal. Her interest in global health stems from a belief that access to health is an undeniable human right. She is interested in the cross-sections between immigration, international, and health law and desires to couple her knowledge of law and work with World Vision to improve global human rights policies. She is looking forward to experiencing the culture of Senegal and working with the Senegalese people. Marlee hopes to increase her understanding of how gender norms and religious norms affect health behaviors. Marlee hopes to further water, sanitation, and hygiene efforts by working with women in local religious groups to improve awareness of hygiene as it relates to religious practices. 

 
Maya Stallings (First-Year Masters Student, Epidemiology Major, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 3 months in Uganda. Through her work in AmeriCorps, she has had the opportunity to build partnerships with many community leaders who have done amazing work in the lives of the students and families in Philadelphia. Through an internship in Malawi, she was able to assist with strategic planning and volunteered in a local community health center. As a result of her experiences she has learned diligence, discipline, and the perseverance to know that any good deed, no matter how small, truly can make a difference in the world. She looks forward to bringing this perspective to Uganda. Through this upcoming experience in Uganda, she looks forward to building on these previous experiences through getting to know you all and deepening her understanding of what it means to be a global citizen in the international field of public health. She also looks forward to contributing effectively to the amazing work that the team is already doing while learning about maternal health. With that fresh perspective, she hopes to fulfill her passion of intersecting healthcare and education to promote social justice in the United States and internationally.

 
Meghan Gupta (Freshman, Public Health Major, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 3 months in India. Her interests in global health stem from the lack of adequate health systems causing an increase in various diseases. Therefore, ample services need to be provided for these households to prevent diseases which allows for changes in behavior. Meghan hopes to further her understanding of nutrition, healthcare-associated infections, food safety, and food insecurity. Similar to the works of Ophelia Dahl, Meghan is advocating for health services and rights for residents in specific area programs. Through this lens, she hopes to make sustainable efforts to create a health care services through health campaigns to help residents understand the use of these services in the rural parts of India.

 
Nahian Ehtesham (Freshman, Public Health Major, Penonni Honors College, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 3 months in Senegal. Her interests in global health comes from her mom who takes service trips to Bangladesh to educate women on maternal care. Nahian’s long term goal is to become a doctor for Doctors Without Borders, she strongly believes in health as a human right for all citizens across the globe. Nahian is hoping to integrate her current knowledge from prior experiences with the projects she will be working on. She is looking forward to learn about the culture of Senegal. In addition to helping the community in Senegal, Nahian hopes to form new skills that will help her with her goal of working for Doctors Without Borders.

Update: After returning, Nanian reflected on her experience working with World Vision in Ghana for the Dornsife student stories blog.

 
Ngwi Tayong (First-Year Masters Student, Epidemiology Major, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2020 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending 3 months in Uganda. Her interests include studying the distribution of health events in under resourced populations to address morbidity and mortality. She believes that traditional knowledge and intergenerational community engagement are essential to sustaining health promoting interventions. As a Dornsife Global Development Scholar, Ngwi hopes to support efforts to bridge the gap between research and practice. She is looking forward to studying the conditions that influence health outcomes in Uganda, particularly those factors related to water sanitation and hygiene (WASH). She hopes to apply evidence-based interventions that promote health. She is excited for the opportunity to learn from local community leaders, advocate for health equity and apply her current skills to her fieldwork. As a creative thinker, she intends to use her nuanced lens to partner with World Vision WASH to meaningfully support efforts to improve the health for all individuals.

 
Salamata Bah (Freshman, Computer Science, College of Computing and Informatics), a 2020 Summer Experience Dornsife Global Development Scholar, will be spending 3 months in Sierra Leone. She is interested in Global Health because she would like to live in a world where everyone has access to adequate health services. She believes that we all can contribute to ensure that everyone is living a healthy life by making the smallest impact possible. While in Sierra Leone, she is looking forward to using her problem-solving skills to provide clean water in areas of Sierra Leone. She is looking to achieve this goal by immersing herself in the Sierra Leonean culture, and raising awareness about the importance of safe drinking water. Inspired by the foundation of Bill Gates, Salamata hopes to solve the water crisis in parts of the world by using innovative technologies.

Aditi Bawa (Sophomore, Science Policy Major, Penoni Honors College), a Spring and Summer Term Coop Scholar, will be spending six months in Zambia. Her passion for science policy comes from a belief in evidence-based science affecting public policies that impact society for the better. By pursuing a highly interdisciplinary major that draws from classes in biotechnology, public policy, public health, ethics, and law, she is interested in understanding the ways that WASH can be integrated into policymaking at the local level. As a Dornsife Global Development Scholar, Aditi hopes to further this understanding and explore first-hand the connection between local WASH policies and implementation into everyday lives. She is excited to unravel what it truly means to be a "global citizen" by approaching her co-op with a multifaceted lens and using a bottom-up approach to bring clean water to everyone.

Allie Eastus (Junior, Public Health Major, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Spring Term Coop Scholar, will be spending three months in Eswatini. She is interested in the development of sustainable health systems and health policies that promote health as a universal human right. Allie is looking forward to integrating community-based practices in the field and working alongside World Vision staff to address designing programs for behavior change. In addition to her experience with qualitative research, Allie hopes to further her skills and knowledge of quantitative data. Importantly, she anticipates that she will be able to use these skills in support of the translation process to policy. Based on the courses she has taken thus far, Allie is aiming to understand the health outcomes in Eswatini using the Social Ecological Model (SEM). She aspires to use this model to address health outcomes from various levels of influence.

Briana Guillory (First-year Master's Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending three months in Lesotho. Briana's interest in global health stems from understanding that the world is interconnected through the environment. Our environment is not localized but globalized through natural processes. Improving the environment of one community is the pathway to improving communities around the globe. Briana is excited about being able to be on the ground, doing the heavy lifting and diving deeper into the specific health issues in Lesotho. Furthermore, Briana would like to gain a better understanding of the underlying causes of today's health crisis form a localized perspective; how to create and sustain healthy communities; and how to promote healthy behaviors. Briana intends to use her training in environmental science in conjunction with her passion for the differing narratives of others to empower communities and to assist communities in achieving healthier lifestyles and behaviors.

Christiana Obeng (First-year Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending six weeks in Lesotho. Christiana’s interests in global health aligns with Tom Frieden’s, who once said “I loved clinical science, but in public health you can impact more than one person at a time. The whole society is your patient.” Christiana appreciates the methodical and in-depth training that she receives through her medical training. However, she believes that by coupling her medical knowledge with large-scale preventative and cost-effective measures, implemented through public health models, she can have a much wider and long-lasting impact as a future physician. Christiana is looking forward to being immersed in the rich culture of Lesotho and learning of the traditions and norms of the people of Lesotho. Globally, there is an alarming rate of maternal mortality, especially in low-income countries. Christiana hopes to further her understanding of the social determinants of maternal health disparities in such countries. She hopes to join efforts which target audiences such as traditional leaders of societies that endorse child marriages, to discuss how such marriages could further increase the risk of maternal mortality in young mothers.

Cierra Bryant (First-year Master's Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending three months in Lesotho. Cierra is passionate about global health and believes that everyone should have the same opportunities to achieve optimal health. Cierra is eager to work with various communities in Lesotho and to witness them reach this level of optimal health with clean water and improved sanitation practices. She hopes to strengthen her understanding of menstrual hygiene management and how that can be used to improve sanitation conditions. She is enthusiastic about being submerged in a new environment with new cultural norms and practices. Her open mind will guide her as she collaborates with World Vision Lesotho.

Francis Song (Junior, Health Sciences Major, College of Nursing and Health Professions), a Spring and Summer Term Co-op Scholar, will be spending six months in Zambia. He is interested in the betterment of human health and the enhancement of a sustainable lifestyle. Furthermore, he believes that the improvement of global health will significantly improve overall global development. He looks forward to providing a meaningful impact and experiencing the beautiful country of Zambia first-hand. He plans to further expand his knowledge of global health and working in international settings. Francis is a passionate learner and hopes to provide a memorable service in all of his work. 

Jerusalem Tamire (Sophomore, Economics Major, Lebow College of Business), a Spring Term Co-op Scholar, will be spending three months in Eswatini. Her interest in global health comes from her passion for healthcare policy in low-income countries. Having grown up in Ethiopia, she acknowledges the impact of underprivileged healthcare services. This motivates her aim to improve policy so that all can receive free and adequate care. In Eswatini, she looks forward to broadening her knowledge and perspective while working alongside some great African minds at World Vision. Her interests in behavioral economics and neuroscience will immerse her into the Design for Behavioral Change program.

Katherine Boyd (Medical Student, College of Medicine) a Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending six weeks in Zambia. Kat is passionate about partnering with communities and making sustainable changes that will be carried on by the people who benefit from them. She is particularly excited by opportunities to improve and expand public health offerings within communities. Kat is looking forward to learning more about Zambia’s culture and better understanding how health programs are implemented and maintained within this cultural context. Her collaboration with World Vision will be guided by a strong desire to learn about development work within Zambia and build relationships that strengthen the partnerships between community and World Vision. In addition to serving the people of Zambia, she hopes to build a skill set that will further her own career goals of providing healthcare to underserved populations, and working with the systems that provide it in order to fundamentally better them.

Matthew Wabwire (Freshman, Public Health Major, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2019 Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending three months in Malawi. His interests in global health stem from his experience with hygiene improvement schemes for adolescent girls in Kenya, and his research in socioeconomic disparities, antenatal healthcare and delivery services in Uganda. Within the field of public health, his has formed a keen interest in the study of social epidemiology. During his time in Malawi, Matthew looks forward to applying his current knowledge and cultural intelligence to the various community projects he will engage with. He is hopeful that through his previous experiences, more opportunities for cross-cultural communication and knowledge of the stakeholders within these projects, he will be able to make an invaluable contribution to the Designing for Behavioral Change framework for World Vision in Malawi.

Maxine Davis (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending three months in Zambia. Her interest in global health steams from her passion for empowering underrepresented communities while being immersed in new cultures. Maxine is looking forward to strengthening her understanding of the relationship between behavior change and current practices for water and sanitation hygiene to ultimately improve health outcomes for the community.

Sebastien Trott (First Year, Drexel University College of Medicine) a Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending six weeks in Malawi. He is passionate about Global Health, particularly in preventative medicine and improving access to care in communities where health systems are underdeveloped. While access to healthcare has significant room for improvement both domestically and abroad, Sebastien’s interests in navigating cultural and language barriers in delivering this care have driven him to a more globally-focused career path. He is excited to expand his medical training by gaining hands-on experience in the field and a more globally nuanced understanding of social determinants of health. Sebastien’s technical knowledge and mindset will help him and his team take a systematic approach of identifying and creating solutions to the challenges they will encounter.

Timilehin Adedokun (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent three months working with World Vision Lesotho in Teyateyaneng, Berea Area Development Program, which is located in northern region of Lesotho.

Timi designed and conducted interviews with community members (including men) in focus group discussions at schools. With a primary focus on assessing knowledge, attitude, and beliefs, Timi was able to better understand perspectives of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and educating for school-age girls. Interestingly, Timi found that the schools did provide sanitary pads for girls, yet a more sustainable encouragement was needed to keep girls in school. In this study, Timi encouraged men to be the focus of sustainable MHM community-led projects.

Amid this work, her most memorable moment was the impact this had on the interest that fathers had in their daughter’s health. Timi recalls a focus group discussion with two groups—fathers and non-father—and realized bringing the overall impact to men was huge in scaling this project throughout the community.

Ewurama Amoonua Adenu-Mensah (BS/MS, College of Engineering), a Spring-Summer Term Co-op Scholar, spent 6 months working with World Vision Ghana in Tamale, Northern Region at the GI-WASH Operation Base.

Ewurama assessed the progress of Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 (equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water) in the Gbumgbum community in the Savelugu District. Ewurama also designed and executed household surveys as well as performed water quality sampling (E. coli presence testing) to determine how far the community had come in reaching the goals, and presented some recommendations to World Vision Ghana on how to proceed in achieving the goal by 2030.

One of the most impactful moments of this experience was when she realized, firsthand, how her research directly impacted lives of individuals and families, and how grateful she was to partake in World Vision's amiable mission.

Jordan Beck, (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), a Co-op Scholar, spent six months working with World Vision Mozambique in Nampula within the Nacaroa and Mucate ADPs in the northern region of Mozambique.

Jordan spent his time examining and evaluating the implementation and long-term sustainability of World Vision's behavior change model in the southern Africa region. In addition, Jordan also worked on an initiative that focused on ways to make World Vision's programs more inclusive for women and individuals with limited abilities.

One of the most impactful moments of this experience for Jordan was receiving feedback from field technicians that recommendations he made for disability-inclusive latrines were being implemented and would have a positive impact for the entire community.

Gabrielle Brizzi (Undergraduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent three months working with World Vision eSwatini in the Gege Area Program within the Shiselweni region in the southern portion of the country.

Gabrielle concentrated primarily on nutrition and early childhood development in her project as she evaluated World Vision eSwatini’s Timed and Targeted Counseling (ttC) program. The ttC program focuses on reducing maternal and child morbidity and mortality in rural communities using a storybook method that teaches lessons on healthy behaviors. Gabrielle conducted interviews with ttC beneficiaries, facilitators, and clinicians in order to assess its impact and to identify potential gaps. Gabrielle provided recommendations on ways to improve the ttC program in areas like male involvement, early childhood development, family planning, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. In addition to her work with the ttC program, Gabrielle also participated in child sponsorship recruitment events and spent time working in primary schools on HIV prevention and education.

Being able to engage with community members and learn about how impactful the ttC program has been on their health and overall quality of living was the most impactful aspect of her experience.

Imani Calloway-Ennis (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), a Co-op Scholar, spent sic months working with World Vision Zambia in Choma within the Moyo/Hamaundu ADP in the Southern Province of the country.

Imani conducted interviews with women to gather information regarding their participation in community water point committees and their feelings about their roles in these committees as well as within their communities as a whole. In addition, Imani also observed and evaluated the effectiveness of different aspects of World Vision’s donor visits and marketing strategies.

One of the most impactful moments of this experience was hearing the impact stories of the children at Kanchomba school about how the WASHUP! program helped them be able to live healthy, happy lives by making sure they have access to clean water.

Margot Debrabandere (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent six weeks working with World Vision Swaziland (WVS) in Nhlangano within the Maseyesini ADP in the Shiselweni Region of the country.

Margot evaluated the impact of WVS’s HIV Prevention Program on young women’s knowledge, beliefs, behavior, and attitude toward sexual health, HIV/AIDS, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted with key players within the program, such as the enrolled girls and women, Youth Facilitators, and WVS health outreach partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

The most impactful moments of the experience included attending various community health awareness events, and seeing how these gatherings not only increased awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS, among other health topics, but also strengthened community bonds and maintained cultural traditions.

Sharon Dei-Tumi (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 10 weeks working with World Vision Lesotho in Ha Majane within the Rotthe ADP in the south region of the country.

Due to abject poverty in some parts of Lesotho, many girls are unable to afford disposable sanitary pads during their time of the month, and as such resort to the use of supplementary materials such as sheepskin, old socks, newspapers, tissues, plastic or stay at home to avoid any embarrassment. When faced with similar issues, other African countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa resorted to the use of reusable cloth pads made from readily available materials such as t-shirts to help reduce the state of helplessness experienced by girls during the time of their month. Sharon focused on teaching girls how to make these pads from readily available materials such as cotton t-shirts, and how to properly wash these pads to ensure menstrual hygiene management (MHM).

One of the most impactful moments of this experience was seeing the positive reception for the reusable cloth pads. This positive attitude is very promising as the use of reusable pads can supplement present efforts by World Vision Lesotho and Her Majesty Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso.

Liam Giberson (Undergraduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent three months with World Vision Rwanda.

Liam worked collaboratively with two other Scholars in both Kigali and in the Northern Province of Rwanda on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behavior change initiatives.

One of the most impactful moments was being able to translate theory into practice, ultimately playing a major role in the growth and development of marginalized populations.

Mike Hauer (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent three months working with World Vision Rwanda.

Mike had spent an split time in Kigali but also in an Area program in Gakenke, located in the Northern Province of the country. During the beginning of his experience, assisted with an Annual Monitoring of Child Well-Being Indicators data collect process and conducing a water tap functionality and community understanding of water tap maintenance study.

One of the most impactful moments of Mikes experience was attending a community celebration of a new water supply system constructed by World Vision Rwanda. The water supply system provided water to 13,000 people who had never had running water or access to clean water before.

Afrah Howlader (Undergraduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent three months working with World Vision Swaziland in the Shiselweni Region within the Maseyisini and Gege APs in the southwest region of the country.

Afrah conducted an evaluation of World Vision’s HIV Prevention Education efforts in adolescent girls and young women aged 10-24, specifically the Reach Three Project and HIV Risk Assessment Program. Through this, Afrah conducted several focus group discussions and interviews with participating girls, youth facilitators, and nurses in order to assess knowledge acquisition and perceptions among the club members and provide recommendations for the next phase of the project. In addition, Afrah assisted World Vision staff at community health promotion events held at clinics in rural communities.

One of the most impactful moments of this experience was when, at the end of her first club meeting observation, every girl ran up, hugged her, and thanked her for visiting them.

Alexis Johnson (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent three months working with World Vision Lesotho in Berea within Sefikeng in the Southern Region of Lesotho.

Alexis worked on understanding the adverse health brought by El Niño-induced drought. In addition, Alexis also focused on the unrevealing and the demonstration of the new latrine system in participating public schools from a hygiene initiative related project.

Of the most impactful moments of this experience was being able to lead a focus group for village health workers about the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding the drought.

J’Anna-Mare Lue (Undergraduate, College of Engineering), an iSTAR Scholar, spent two months working with World Vision Lesotho in Sekameng ADP within the Mafateng District in the Southern Region of the country.

J’Anna’s research focused on the effects of the El- Nino-induced drought of 2015-2016 on the community of Sekameng especially the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, as well as community attitudes and knowledge regarding WASH. In addition, Janna researched trends in diarrheal diseases from 2015 to present to determine impacts of drought on health.

One of the most impactful moments of this experience was interacting with the communities where she learned a great deal about Basotho culture.

Gabriella Macera (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), an iSTAR Scholar, spent nine weeks working with World Vision Malawi in Lilongwe within the Central Region of the country.

Gabriella carried out an independent research study focused on the impact of clean water on women and children’s mental and physical health. Her research consisted of household surveys in communities with and without access to clean water.

One particularly poignant experience was the joy women who had benefited from the boreholes installed by World Vision shared with me.

Rhea Mathew (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent six weeks working with World Vision Swaziland in Nhalangano within the Shisulweni Area Development Program of Eswatini.

Rhea evaluated the perceived impact of World Vision's ESwatini’s Timed and Targeted Counseling (TTC) Program through interviews with pregnant and lactating women enrolled in the program, as well as with rural health motivators. Her discussions with participants explored TTC’s ability to increase their knowledge of healthy child rearing practices, change behaviors regarding breast feeding and home births, and improve male involvement in child care.

One of the most impactful moments of Rhea's time in ESwatini was when she was able to attend a community health meeting, in which children and teens acted out skits, recited poetry, and gave speeches about the importance of sexual and reproductive health.

Lindsay Morrissey (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), a Co-op Scholar, spent three months working with World Vision Senegal in the area near the capital city, Dakar.

While there, Lindsay worked alongside World Vision to develop and administer a survey that evaluated the accessibility of quality WASH services within the community. With these findings, Lindsay helped craft and translate a report to improve the way World Vision implements related projects.

One of the most impactful moments came through the realization of just how import language is in community-level work. It was challenging to work in a country where English was not the primary language, however she focused on strengthening her French to better engage with World Vision and the community members in Senegal.

Steeve Ndjila Ndohnwou (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health) a Summer Experience Scholar, spent three months with World Vision Rwanda.

Being originally from Cameroon, Central Africa, the issue of access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities in rural parts of Africa has always laid a great burden to his heart. Working in both Kigali and the Northern Province, Steeve learned from and served communities similar to the one he grew up in, while promoting healthy WASH practices and infrastructure.

Alberta Nkrumah (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending three months with World Vision Ghana.

She became a Dornsife Global Development Scholar because this opportunity will integrate the knowledge and skills gained in the lecture room into valuable practical experiences through community placements and partnerships. Nkrumah hopes to gain more skills and knowledge from the projects she works on and positively impact the communities that she will be working in.

Leila Nzekele (Undergraduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, will be spending three months with World Vision Lesotho.

She has a passion for educating people on health awareness; developing health initiatives and changing social health consciousness. From this experience, Nzekele wishes to acquire a deeper understanding of global health from having a firsthand account, apply what she has learned in the classroom to real-world situation, and to learn from the country as a whole: communities, language, and culture.

Kyra Sacksith (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), a Summer Experience Scholar will be spending three months with World Vision Senegal.

Sacksith enjoys helping people and looks forward to helping people through the water crisis. She looks forward to using a community-based approach to create and implement WASH interventions. Sacksith hopes this experience will prepare her for her career in public health.

Krishna Venigalla (Undergraduate, Pennoni Honors College), an iSTAR Scholar, will be spending 10 weeks working with World Vision Zambia on a follow-up project from previous Scholars to further the advancement of the commercialization of water systems.

Krishna is looking forward to building on her classroom knowledge to connecting the dots between policy, business planning, and community-level organizing to support World Vision’s approach to sustainable development. She hopes to use the interdisciplinary theory taught in her classes to continue working on global issues that affect marginalized populations.

Betel Yemane (Undergraduate, LeBow College of Business), an iSTAR Scholar, spent two months working with World Vision Malawi in Lilongwe district in the central region of the country.

Betel worked on how to use sanitation as a business. Sanitation as a business is a new concept/approach which involves business entrepreneur and household thereby solving current unhygienic sanitation problem faced by the population. It creates an ongoing relationship between household and entrepreneur providing sanitation services to solve current sanitation problems. She presented a proposal to World Vision on how it can improve its current sanitation approach by comparing with other similar models that were implemented in Malawi.

Along with her research, Betel also organized and raised funds for the former president of Malawi, Joyce Banda’s foundation (JBF). She attended as a guest of honor for a political campaign/donation ceremony where she presented the children with school bags. Through this occasion, she was able to meet her excellency Joyce Banda in person as well. Another important experience for Betel was learning to embrace a different and new culture.

Theophilus Abah (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 6 weeks working with World Vision Lesotho in the Butha Buthe region, within the Makhunoane Area Development Program, in the Northern Province of Lesotho.

Theo conducted interviews within households to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices and the impact of community led total sanitation campaigns (i.e., recent UNICEF/WASH interventions). 

Garcelle Alequine (Graduate Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zambia within an Area Development program in Mumbwa, located in the Central Province of the country.

Garcelle conducted an impact evaluation within World Vision sponsored communities, to assess the effect of the health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects on the nutritional status of children younger than 5. Interviews were conducted within households to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices and the impact of WASH and health interventions in achieving improved health status of children under 5. 

Alia Barnes (Graduate Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Senegal in Fatick, Senegal within the Fatick Area Development Program.

Alia conducted household surveys and focus groups to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards sanitation and the use of Women's Village and Loans Savings Groups to acquire household latrines.
 

Sabrina Charles (Graduate Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Senegal in Kolda, Senegal within the Kolda and Kedougou Nutrition Integration Project, which is in the Southern Region of the country.

Sabrina conducted interviews at the local health centers and within households to assess disease prevalence, nutrition status, and knowledge of mothers within households. Sabrina also focused on sanitation and hygiene behaviors, quality and access to a latrine, and quality and access to drinking water which helped to evaluate the effectiveness of the introduction of WASH methods and interventions and its impact on nutrition to reduce mortality and malnutrition in children.

Austin Chilembo (Graduate Student, Mzuzu University in Mzuzu, Malawi), an Inbound Research Scholar from World Vision Malawi and also completing his Master of Science in Transformative Community Development at Mzuzu University in Malawi.

Austin visited during the winter 2017 term advancing his research on factors affecting attainment and sustainability of open defecation free (ODF) villages. Additionally, Austin serves as a Monitoring and Evaluation Manager in Northern Malawi with the Malawi integrated Water Sanitation and Hygiene (MiWASH) Technical Program. In this role, Austin has led a variety of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects to include: Malawi Literacy for Empowerment Through Action Research and Networking (M- LEARN), Chikwina Mpamba Gravity Water System Project, and the Malawi Maternal New Born and Child Health (M-MNeCH) Technical Program. 

Ariana Downs (Undergraduate Student, College of Arts and Sciences), a summer term Co-op Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Swaziland in the Shiselweni region within the Matsanjeni and Somtongo Area Development Programs.

Ariana conducted interviews and surveys within households and schools to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of menstrual hygiene and girl’s education. She also interviewed community members to understand how the recent WASH interventions positively impacted the lives of school-age youth and their families. 

Claudia Duguay (Undergraduate Student, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems), a spring-term Co-op Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zambia in Monzé within the Monzé Area Development Program, which is in the Southern Province of the country.

Claudia conducted interviews with school children to evaluate the effectiveness of the WASH Up! Program. WASH Up! is a program designed through a partnership between Sesame Workshop and World Vision that supports WASH education for primary school children in grade 1 through 4. 

Sachin Gandhi (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Research Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Lesotho in Morija, Lesotho within the Matelile and Sekameng Area Development Programs, which are in the Mafeteng District of the country.

Sachin conducted cross-sectional community interviews with individual households and village chief's as well as visited clinics to understand the regional disease burden. The goal of his efforts was to explore the impact of the 2015-2016 drought on WASH practices and the resulting disease burden in the Lesotho lowlands in order to support drought policy, planning, and implementation of mitigation strategies. 

Samyuktha Guttha (BS/MD Student, College of Arts and Sciences and College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 2 months working with World Vision Lesotho in Berea, Lesotho within the Sefikaneng, Mopoteng, and Koening Area Development Programs (ADP) which are in a Central District of the country.

Samyuktha conducted interviews with healthcare providers within ADP clinics and district level hospitals and World Vision ADP staff to evaluate current attitudes and practices towards opportunistic infections secondary to HIV and investigate how this correlated to community WASH efforts (to better provide World Vision Lesotho with current information to better program). 

Gregory Kunkel (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Research Scholar, spent 2 months working with World Vision Malawi and Mzuzu University in Mzuzu, Northern Region, Malawi.

Greg conducted research on the capacity for adequate and accurate drinking water quality monitoring at all levels of the Malawi Government. In addition, Greg conducted drinking water quality analysis of boreholes and gravity-fed piped water schemes built by World Vision in the Kayezi and Chikwina-Mpamba Area Development Programs (ADP). 

Wesley Goodman-Levy (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 6 weeks working with World Vision Lesotho in Mohale's Hoek, Lesotho with the Mpharane Area Development Program, which is the southern portion of the country.

Wesley conducted interviews with sangomas (traditional healers) and local villagers to evaluate attitudes and practices regarding HIV disease and the impact the clinics World Vision supports have had on the community.

Shakye Jones (Graduate Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Malawi in Mzuzu in the northern region and, within the central region in Lilongwe.

Shakye conducted interviews within health care facilities to evaluate knowledge about policies and procedures surrounding WASH management.

Eunice Kamami (Undergraduate Student, College of Arts and Sciences), a spring and summer term Co-op Scholar, spent 6 months working with World Vision Kenya in Nairobi, Kenya at the National Office, which is located in the capitol city of the country.

Eunice conducted interviews within households, community water committees, and schools to evaluate World Vision WASH performance throughout 14 area programs, aided in disaster preparedness for the contentious Kenyan election, and compiled data analysis for the Voices of Children project which aims to air what Kenyan children are most proud of, what makes them sad, and how leaders in the community can aid in creating a higher standard of living for children in the country including improving WASH, enforcing children's rights and ensuring education for all. 

Mariah Menanno (Undergraduate Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent three months with World Vision Lesotho working in Cluster 3 –about 45 minutes south of the capital of Maseru.

Mariah co-lead a project relating to the El Niño-induced drought that occurred in the 2015-2016 rainy season in order to determine resulting disease burden and hygiene practices to help inform future policy within World Vision. To inform her project, Mariah conducted interviews in communities and schools and visited clinics to collect quantitative data to analyze. 

Jerry Nutor (Graduate Student, College of Nursing and Health Professions), a Research Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zambia.

As a returning Dornsife Global Development Scholar, Jerry collaborated with World Vision Zambia in Lusaka and Sinazongwe Districts which are in the Lusaka and Southern Provinces respectively to follow up on his previous work in the region. In fulfillment of his dissertation research, Jerry conducted interviews among HIV positive pregnant and breastfeeding women on the impact of water hygiene and sanitation on antiretroviral treatment (ART) medication adherence intention. 

 

Elenda Nwandu (Undergraduate Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a summer-term Co-op Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Uganda in Kole, Uganda within the Aboke Area Development Program, which is in the Northern Region of the country.

Elenda conducted interviews within households and schools to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices and the impact of community led total sanitation campaign in achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) communities. Elenda also formed a student health club in a primary school to teach kids about topics which impact their health.

Marissa Olson (Undergraduate Student, College of Arts and Sciences), a summer term Co-op Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Swaziland in the areas of Matsanjeni, Somntongo, and Siphofaneni, which are in the Shiselweni region of the country.

Marissa co-created a video expressing the ways WASH affects girls' education and menstrual hygiene, interviewed students, teachers, and community members, and created surveys to assess the knowledge girl students have on menstruation and to see what their schools offer pertaining to menstrual hygiene. Additionally, Marissa proposed recommendations regarding best practices for menstrual hygiene for school-age girls.

Tessa Pelger (Graduate Student, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Lesotho in Teyateyaneng within the Bera Area Development Program, which is located in Northwestern Lesotho.

Tessa completed surveys within primary schools and high schools to evaluate schools that had renovated latrines versus those that did not, and how the quality of facilities affected children's absenteeism and menstrual health management. 

Noella Sama (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vison Ghana at the Ghana Integrated-WASH (GI-WASH) Regional Office in Savelugu located in the Northern District.

Noella conducted household surveys in Open Defecation Free (ODF) communities within Bawku West District to assess the impact of Open Defecation Free (ODF) status on the health and well-being of children. The data collected helped to inform program design and implementation of the WASH team.

Velton Showell (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Ghana in Tamale, Northern, Ghana at the GI-WASH office.

Velton primarily worked in 5 communities within the Saboba Area Development Program, which is also located in the Northern Region of the country. Velton assessed water purification options for households within rural communities located in disaster prone areas. He designed and conducted household surveys to specifically evaluate household knowledge of the Procter & Gamble water purification program.

Another key aspect of his project was carrying out microbial analysis on samples of purified water taken from the households to measure water quality and effectiveness of the implemented program by testing for the presence of E. coli. Velton then analyzed his results and detailed his findings in research report which he presented to the GI-WASH office prior to his departure.

Akshata Yalvigi (Undergraduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a spring and summer term Co-op Scholar, spent 6 months working with World Vision Uganda in Northern Uganda within the Aboke Area Development Program.

Akshata worked on integrating World Vision’s sanitation, nutrition, and maternal health programs by conducting house to house interviews concerning issues including sanitation and hygiene, child feeding habits, and adherence to antenatal care. 

Ruby Abaka-Yankson (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zambia in Chipata, Zambia within the Makungwa Area Development Program, which is in the Eastern Province of the country. Ruby conducted interviews within households and schools to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices and the impact of community led total sanitation campaign in achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) communities. Ruby interviewed village members, village headmen, school children and the chief of the chiefdom.

Courtney Boyd, (Undergraduate, Pennoni Honors College), a Co-op Scholar, spent 6 months working with World Vision Malawi in Mzuzu, Malawi within the Chikwina-Mpamba Area Development Program, which is in the Northern Zone. Courtney facilitated surveys and other qualitative research within households, community focus groups, and world vision focus groups to measure the willingness to pay for improved water infrastructure and the implications of water management. She focused on the economic viability of sustaining the gravity fed water scheme currently in place in the area program.

Giovanna Byrd, (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), a Co-op Scholar, is working with World Vision in Uganda for her Spring/Summer term. Giovanna is a global health advocate who is committed to serving mankind. She has previous experience working on water development projects in low-resource settings with a service organization called People to People.

Morgan Flash, (Undergraduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Co-op Scholar, is spending his Spring/Summer term in Zambia with World Vision. Inspired by meeting Dana and David Dornsife during the 2014 Jonathan Mann Lecture, Morgan has previously spent time helping to establish water infrastructure in rural Jamaica, in areas surrounding his family compound.

Felix Garcia-Weffer, (Undergraduate, Lebow College of Business), a Co-op Scholar, spent 6 months in Nampula with World Vision Mozambique. There, Felix worked on a borehole assessment project in the Northern Region, which developed into his final project where he assessed current impacts and possible improvements for World Vision Areas of Development Programs (ADPs) in the District of Nampula.

Sachin Ghandi, (BS/MD, College of Medicine), ​a 2016 Summer Experience Scholar, spent 2 months with​ World Vision Zambia in the Sinazongwe Area Development Program in ​the Southern Province of Zambia. Sachin investigated the Exit Strategy of World Vision Zambia in Sinazongwe. He examined initiatives in the Health Sector that would eventually allow for a sustainable departure upon leaving the region. In order to do so, he participated in district summits across Zambia in which transitioning plans were laid down with the help of the community, partners, government, and other stakeholders. Upon compiling this data, Sachin studied the various methods and compared them against indicators of health to identify successful exit tactics.

Benjamin Hertford, (Undergraduate, College of Engineering), a Fall/Winter Co-op Scholar, spent 6 months in Nampula with World Vision Mozambique. There, he evaluated the effectiveness of community-led total sanitation efforts in the Northern Region of the country.

Sana Imam, (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zimbabwe in Murambinda, Zimbabwe within the Buhera Area Development Program, which is the Northeast Zone. Sana conducted surveys within the community to assess the impact of rural sanitation facility construction. She gathered data on the community's financial status and involvement in various World Vision community-based programs to evaluate the impact of a newly implemented WASH program to end open defecation.

Kaitlynn Jones, (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2016 Dornsife Global Development Scholar, spent 3 months working in conjunction with World Vision Zimbabwe, specifically paired with Limpopo Area Development Program, which is in the southern-most part of the country. Kaitlynn conducted research on the social effects of water point installation in ward 5 of Beitbridge district, specifically focusing on access/usage, gender equality, and health. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods she conducted separate community meetings with women, children, and the health clinic in the ward.  Once the research was completed Kaitlynn compiled a report and presented her findings to representatives from both World Vision Zimbabwe and World Vision USA. In addition to her research, Kaitlynn also monitored latrine construction in rural primary schools, and participated in community stakeholder meetings about gender-based violence and HIV prevention.

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Katrina Lewis, (Undergraduate, College of Nursing and Health Professions), a Co-op Scholar, spent 6 months working with World Vision Zambia in Chongwe, Zambia within the Kapululwe Area Development Program (ADP). Katrina had the privilege to work on various projects throughout her time in Zambia. The two main programs Katrina focused on was the Sesame WASH UP! Program, which was funded by World Vision Zambia and Sesame Street, and the Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Program. The Sesame WASH UP! Program focused on using muppets such as Elmo and Rahi to deliver WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) messages to children in rural schools and communities. On a weekly basis, Katrina evaluated the program in all 14 primary schools where WASH UP! was implemented. For MHM, Katrina facilitated a training meeting where school faculty, community members, and even church members were sensitized to the concept of menstruation. The main highlight of the training was the teaching of how to make reusable pads from materials they had at home. In addition to this, Katrina got to be a part of the planning of an Open Defecation Free (ODF) Day for a village.

Evan Newcomer, (Undergraduate, College of Engineering), a 2016 Co-op Scholar, spent 6 months working with World Vision Malawi in Mzuzu, Malawi within the Chikwina-Mpamba Area Program, which is in the northern zone.  Evan worked with local project partners to design and conduct a study assessing the potential for domestic greywater reuse in rural, low-income communities, to reduce the burden of collecting potable water.  The study consisted of administering household surveys throughout the Chikwina-Mpamba area and collecting and testing greywater samples for the presence of Total Coliform and E. coli.  In addition to the greywater study, which was his main focus, Evan also tested community water points for bacterial contamination and created a map showing areas with high health risks, for World Vision and community stake holders to use.

Jerry John Nutor, (Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Professions), a 2016 Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zambia in Sinanongwe, within the Sinazongwe Area Development Program, which is in the Southern Province of Zambia. Jerry conducted several health education program for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and community health volunteers on prevention of malaria, prevention of STIs and HIV, family planning, breastfeeding, personal hygiene and importance of maintaining good sanitation. He focused on improving breastfeeding practices among mothers at the community level where he designed a tool for educating mothers to improve attachment during breastfeeding. In addition to this, Jerry also developed interest in examining factors influencing adherence and retention in care of pregnant women tested positive for HIV.

Kehinde Ogebule, (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working within World Vision Mozambique in Gaza, Mozambique within the Chibuto and Chivongoene Area Development Program in the Southern Zone. Kehinde assessed the aftereffects of installing boreholes in several communities. By conducting surveys in households, high schools and community clinics, Kehinde assessed the impact of WASH initiatives in relation to the new infrastructure. Kehinde also investigated how community members utilize the benefit of having potable water by assessing what daily activities that are productive to improve their quality of life--for instance child education, agriculture and construction. In addition, Kehinde also supported the Malaria project to evaluate healthcare providers, teachers and health committee's efforts in community education on Malaria prevention methods.

Paulina Ramirez, (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Mozambique in both the Xai-Xai and Chibuto Districts in the Southern Region of Mozambique. Paulina conducted surveys within households, at middle schools, and at health centers to understand behavior change and impact MozWASH initiatives have had in the region. She focused on learning the factors of implementation of water boreholes, and the importance of a community dynamics as it relates to improved water infrastructure. Paulina assessed community perspectives on the importance of sustainable water resources and its relationship to health and sanitation. In addition to this, Paulina worked on a major malaria prevention project where volunteers and school-age youth from the community are taught ways to prevent malaria, and then empowered to teach other community members those lessons.

Sarah Robitaille, (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zambia in Monze, Zambia within the Choongo Area Development Program, which is in the Southern Province. Sarah conducted surveys within schools to measure the impact of WASH on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) and female student absenteeism. She compiled reports on existing resources in the community and how WASH can formally integrate MHM into its program.

Anamika Saha, (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zambia in Monze, Zambia with the Choongo Area Development Program, which is in the Southern Province. Anamika conducted interviews with mothers with children under age five to examine the impact of water, hygiene and sanitation(WASH) initiatives as they relate to a recent cholera outbreak that affected Monze. In addition, Anamika facilitated one of the regional summits which encompassed community representatives that spanned all age groups from 4 villages. The summit was held to learn of community specific limitations within the villages, as well as to develop a plan for World Vision to better address these issues.

Shedane Shaw, (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Zambia in Chipata, at the Makungwa ADP is in the Eastern Province. Shedane conducted field research to evaluate the impact of a community-led total sanitation open defecation free campaign that was initiated in 2012. Her work involved the creation and administration of a qualitative survey that assessed the change in knowledge of and attitudes toward open defecation in community residents, school children, headmen, and the chief in the Madzimawe chiefdom. Shedane's findings and field date were translated into a qualitative research submitted on behalf of World Vision Zambia.

Svenja Schneider, (Medical Student, College of Medicine), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Senegal in Kolda, Senegal within the Mampatim Area Development Program, which is in the Southern Region. Svenja conducted home visits and administered questionnaires to evaluate the efficacy of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). Through comparison of defecation practices, hygiene and contamination understanding, and hand-washing practices, she was able to show the success of CLTS in eliciting lasting behavior change and also identify barriers to change and elements of the program that need improvement.

Alexandra Skula, (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a Summer Experience Scholar, spent 3 months working with World Vision Ghana at the Ghana Integrated - WASH (GI-WASH) Regional Office in Savelugu in Ghana's Northern District. Alex conducted focus groups to compare communities that had been certified as Open Defecation Free and communities that practiced open defecation to determine how they differ in knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Comparisons across communities that were and were not triggered with Community Led Total Sanitation efforts were made as well. Additionally, Alex supported the Monitoring and Evaluation department of the GI-WASH office in report writing and documentation, as well as compiling materials for Ghana's Sesame Street WASH Up! program.

Mom “Nini” Tatah Mentan, (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2016 Research Scholar, spent three weeks in Rwanda with World Vision advancing some of her previous work she led as a 2015 Scholar. Nini returned to Rwanda to complete her master’s thesis work assessing the health impact of WASH on orphans and vulnerable children in Mugombwa Refugee Camp.

Meinkeng Stephannie Acha-Morfaw (Graduate, College of Medicine), a 2015 Scholar, worked in Karongi, Rwanda within the Byiringiro Area Development Program, which is in the Western Zone. Stephannie conducted surveys within households, at schools, health centers and community hygiene clubs to measure the impact of WASH on children's health, children's education, and the economic impact to the children's families. She focused on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) where she compiled reports on existing resources for the community and how WASH can formally integrate MHM into its program.

 

Oyinkansola Aderele (Undergraduate, College of Engineering), a 2015 Scholar, spent her spring/summer co-op working with the Mazabuka community in Zambia. Oyin worked with the Mazabuka Area Development Program improving boreholes. She also offered on suggestions for more efficient drilling practices, while educating the communities on rehabilitation and maintenance.

Ruth Boansi(Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2015 Scholar, worked within the Southern Africa Region in Zambia. She assisted the Sinazongwe Area Development Program with several of their WASH education initiatives. Most notably, Ruth evaluated the health and social markers of communities with successful Mechanized Water Systems.

 

Christina Bowles (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2015 Scholar, worked in Chipinge, Zimbabwe helping the Chipinge Area Development Program, evaluating ways to increase the sustainability of the functionality of water points with an emphasis on improving the functionality of water point committees.

 

 

Heidi Elnathan (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2015 Scholar, worked in Lugazi, Uganda helping the World Vision Mukono/Buikwe Cluster office assess hand hygiene among health workers and the provision of hygiene and sanitation training to new mothers in Health facilities that provide MNCH (Maternal, New Born and Child Health) services.

 

Andy Fox (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2015 Scholar, worked out of the World Vision office in Savelugu, in Northern Ghana. Andy worked on a project called “Software" where a team of World Vision personnel went into local communities to talk with people about hygiene behavior and the use of latrines, water stations, and other WASH programs. Demonstrations were done using a water treatment product that was developed by Proctor and Gamble.

Itoro Inoyo (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2015 Scholar, worked in Balaka, Malawi where she supported the World Vision Malawi office, working with both the Ntcheu and Balaka Area Development Programs. Itoro facilitated and assisted in the monitoring and evaluation of ongoing MNCH projects under World Vision's Malawi's WASH office, which focuses on improving health outcomes related to diarrhea, HIV/AIDs, acute respiratory diseases and malaria.

Gregory Kunkel (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), a 2015 Scholar, worked in Tamale, Ghana with the World Vision team in one of the most advanced water treatment labs in the entire continent. At the Regional Water Quality Lab, Greg helped advance a variety of initiatives that the World Vision Tamale Area Development Program currently has underway.

 

Beatrice Mwonga (BS/MS, College of Engineering), a 2015 Scholar, returned to her home country of Kenya, to assist the World Vision WASH team in Nairobi on infrastructure enhancements. Her work directly benefited communities that she has grown up in witnessing firsthand the importance of proper WASH infrastructure.

Leah Popek (Undergraduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2015 Scholar, worked within the Southern Africa Region in Zambia. She assisted the Sinazongwe Area Development Program with several of their WASH education initiatives. Most notably, Leah evaluated the health and social markers of communities with successful Mechanized Water Systems.

Mom “Nini” Tatah Mentan (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2015 Scholar, was located in the Karongi District, in the Western Province of Rwanda and worked within the Byiringiro Area Development Program. Nini used survey questionnaires to assess, the health, economic, educational impact of WASH on orphans and vulnerable children. She also used survey questionnaires to evaluate management of water and sanitation infrastructures, community based environmental health programs and WASH in schools.

 

Tara Tobin (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), a 2015 Scholar, completed a successful spring/summer co-op placement in Zambia. Tara worked with the World Vision Choongo Area Development Program leading several projects including improving WASH in schools and WASH education in local communities.

2014 Dornsife Scholars

 

Valerissa Baker (Undergraduate, College of Arts and Sciences), a 2014 Scholar, was the first recipient of the Dornsife Global Development Scholars program. She spent her spring/summer 2014 co-op in Zambia working with World Vision on intervention programs improving hand washing, personal hygiene, and menstrual hygiene practices.

 

Reeti Sharma (Graduate, Dornsife School of Public Health), a 2014 Scholar, was the first international experience recipient of the Dornsife Global Development Scholars program. She spent her summer 2014 term in Malawi working with World Vision and the Mzuzu University collecting data examining water quality in northern Malawi.