“The Water Guy”: My Reflections Studying Water Systems in Rural Honduras

Pictured above: Local volunteer holds sediment at risk of contaminating spring water collection site in Santa Lucia, Honduras. By Nava Barman Rose Service Learning Fellow MPH Candidate, Global Health Background When I visited Intibucá, Honduras for the first time as an undergraduate in 2017, I was struck by its similarity to my family’s hometown in Northeast India. Tucked away in the mountains away from any major city, life is more…

Reflections on Field Based Experience: A Lesson I Learned From Female Head Porters Popularly Known As “Kayayei” In Accra Ghana

By Ruth Zeto Rose Service Learning Fellow MPH Candidate, Global Health Growing up in Ghana, I saw teenage girls like me carry aluminum pans on their head with goods from one part of the market to the other for income. Not only teenage girls did I see, but also women. On the busy streets of major cities like Kumasi and Accra, they can easily be spotted with aluminum pans with…

Launching the 10th Cohort of Rose Service Learning Fellows

Pictured above: DrPH students awarded Rose Service Learning Fellowships are among 14 fellows in the Fall 2022 cohort. (From Left to Right: Hailu Dhufera, Teguo Djoyum, Erin McGuinness and Kevin Linn)   In its fifth year of supporting students and post-doctoral fellows in community engaged research and practice, the Rose Service Learning Fellowship launched its 10th cohort of fellows on Wednesday December 7.  Thirteen students and one post-doctoral fellow will be…

Student Field Post: Health in Artisanal Miners Communities: The Harsh Realities of Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cobalt mine in Democratic Republic of Congo

By Benita Kayembe Rose Service Learning Fellow SM Candidate, Global Health and Population When talking about the economic development of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is usual to hear people highlight how rich this country is in natural resources. The Congo is indeed rich in natural resources and lately has been at the center of discussions regarding Cobalt since up to 60% of the global reserve of this…

New Community Engaged Learning Fellows in the field

Twenty new fellowships have been awarded to students and post-docs at Harvard Chan to support their community engaged learning work spanning the U.S. from Boston to Alaska, and globally in El Salvador, Uganda, and Madagascar, among other locations. The fellowships include the flagship Rose Service Learning Fellowship, now in its fifth year, and the Herbert S. Winokur Fellowship in Public Health for the Mississippi Delta. The newest Global Mental Health…

Commencement 2022: Public Health Practice Awards

Ghana Widows and Orphans Movement

The Office of Field Education and Practice is pleased to announce recipients of the Gareth M. Green Award and James H. Ware Award for 2022, which are presented during the week of Commencement ceremonies. Please visit each awardee’s link to learn more about their outstanding work in the field. GARETH M. GREEN AWARD Samuel Johnston, MPH ’22 JAMES H. WARE AWARD Patience Sumbawiera Saaka, MPH ’22 The image in the header is…

Gareth M. Green Award 2022: Samuel Johnston

Awardee: Samuel Johnston Program: MPH in Health Management Project Title: Designing financially sustainable and impactful ambulatory surgical services for a social enterprise in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Organization: Hospitals Beyond Boundaries (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) More about Dr. Johnston The project’s purpose was to undertake a strategic review of how to provide impactful and sustainable healthcare within the Cham community in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Cham community are a Muslim minority group…

James H. Ware Award 2022: Patience Sumbawiera Saaka

Awardee: Patience Sumbawiera Saaka Program: MPH in Global Health Project Title: Stories for Impact – Ending dehumanising widowhood rites in Bolgatanga, Ghana, through Storytelling Organization: Widows and Orphans Movement (Bolgatanga, Ghana) More about Dr. Saaka Across several ethnic groups in Ghana, women go through a set of rites and rituals as part of the funeral rites of their dead husbands. The practice of widowhood rites is particularly very onerous on…

Students offer perspective to European leaders on migrant crisis

The FXB Field Education program* is a Harvard university-wide program and provides an opportunity for Harvard students to expand their knowledge and field experience in community development, health, and human rights for impoverished and marginalized populations, and to contribute to agency’s program capacity building, advocacy, and public policy. The field experience consists of qualitative and participatory action research. This summer students from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard…