Uganda
As a new volunteer, I was surprised by the quick and efficient turnaround of IHELP’s projects. One day, I was interviewing Community Health Workers for input on the IHELP training handbook, and the next, I was on a flight to Entebbe, Uganda.
The next 15 days were filled with teaching, group activities for practicing skills, and engaging in conversations between Community Health Workers (CHWs) about their knowledge of their community’s health. For 15 days, I got to see the months of work that IHELP and I put into compiling knowledge for the training, as well as the resources that made it happen. We conducted interviews with CHWs and community members, educated ourselves on cultural practices and health determinants, and tailored educational materials to be relevant and useful to our Ugandan CHWs. All that work culminated in a gathering of intelligent and passionate CHWs who traveled miles each morning on foot to discuss their community’s health care challenges and to set goals with other health workers.
Hearing the discussions that came out of IHELP’s training materials made me feel extremely proud to have been part of its development. That feeling of pride was enough to get me up early every morning, to get me through the eight hours of teaching, through eating the bananas people kept giving me (I don’t like bananas), and the long evenings spent prepping for the next day (while still allowing time for Ugandan children to braid my hair).
Overall, IHELP put a meticulous amount of work into bringing their project to fruition, and the Hope4Youth and House of Love Fellowship Community Health Workers are exceptional advocates for improving health in their communities. I am left with an invigorated passion for global community health after taking on this project.
– Samantha Good, MPH Intern
