A change of pace

Greetings from Ho, Ghana! I have arrived safely and am getting settled in the rural village that I will be staying at for the rest of my time in Africa. The pace of my life has definitely changed speed: from the hectic, bittersweet last days in South Africa (the World Cup soccer and International rugby games were amazing) to the relaxed, easygoing lifestyle in Ho. It has been neat to meet new people and try new things such as learning how to administer vaccines to young children as part of a child welfare program I'll be helping with (see bottom photo).

I will be working at the Health Outreach and Peer Education (H.O.P.E.) Center, which is a rural community health clinic. GlobeMed, the Northwestern global health student group that I am now president of, has had a sustained partnership with this Center for many years now. One of my primary goals while I am here will be to continue to expand this positive relationship. This will entail meeting with the Center staff, community organizers, and municipal health directors to ensure that we are all able to advance the Center's outreach programs. I have already been engaged in many great discussions with the Center’s head nurse, Margaret. We are currently in the planning stages of increasing the Center’s current (and very successful) childhood nutrition program. This nutrition program is run by the H.O.P.E Center's nurses who teach mothers how to prepare healthy meals for their children, especially since malnutrition is a significant health concern here. I will continue to give updates on our goals for this program, but suffice to say for now, exciting things are coming!

In addition to the administrative tasks that will cement the partnership between the H.O.P.E. Center and GlobeMed, I will also be conducting my own research on maternal health and nutrition. I will be going into the surrounding communities to interview pregnant women on their current eating practices, beliefs, and knowledge. This will enable us to assess where there are nutritional shortfalls and how we can best respond. One of the aforementioned goals is to expand the current nutrition program’s outreach to include expecting mothers. I hope that my research can provide the informational link that we’ll need to best tailor the program to meet these women’s needs. I am looking forward to the chance to engage, collaborate, and learn from them.

All in all, this change of pace is something that I am already loving. It is such a neat opportunity to be here and I can’t wait to see what the coming weeks will bring!