Larissa Lamarca
Contributing Writer
This semester the Global Health and Inequality First Year Seminar (FYS) led by Dr. Brooke Krause of the economics department has been working hard to put together a Giving Tuesday fundraiser and has done much more with their class time and service work.
Students are making various items, including paper bread jewelry, out of recycled magazines to sell as a fundraiser. This idea ties in much of the theme from this year’s summer reading, “Garbology” by Edward Humes. The students hope to use the fundraiser as a way to raise money for the Central American Medical Outreach (CAMO), as well as connecting and educating the College community to a local organization that works on a global scale.
In the class, themes such as poverty, inequality and the importance of community engagement have been discussed. Additionally, Krause said they looked at “the multitude of challenges and obstacles organizations face when trying to study, design and implement a solution to complex outbreaks or health issues.” The students have taken their knowledge and service work and have applied it with social media to spread awareness of this fundraiser. “Instead of simply hearing lectures about issues of global health, we are taking action,” said Gordon Reeves ’22.
This work has provided students a chance to get some insight and develop new skill sets that relate to the daily challenges non-governmental organizations face. One of the class TA’s, Christina Gorey ’19, said this knowledge “will allow them to contribute to meaningful change in the world long after they conclude this FYS.”
From the students’ perspectives, Lilia Eisenstein ’22 said, “Our Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign gives us the opportunity to share the mission of a local organization with them.”
As for Quang Le ’22, “It would be the best to see the community supporting our campaign.”
The idea for this FYS came “from a desire to think about the ways in which inequality is perpetuated with respect to health care. How is it that so many neglected diseases are only neglected in certain parts of the world or for certain populations?” said Krause. The final goal for this class is for students to “develop the critical thinking skills necessary for informed global citizens to effectively engage in discourse on the importance of access to health care for a global society; understand the underlying histories, causes and structures that determine the current provision of health care and to address and participate in solving these important global problems,” explained Krause
The FYS is centered around the book the students are reading, “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” written by a medical anthropologist and doctor, Paul Farmer, who started the international organization, Partners in Health. “From reading ‘Mountains Beyond Mountains’ by Dr. Paul Farmer, we were able to see how some diseases that have been eradicated here in the United States, like tuberculosis, are still major problems in countries where people don’t have access to the same quality of healthcare, like Haiti and Peru,” said Ian Zonfa ’22.
In Doug Morris ’22’s words, “While this class is a lot of work, it’s equally as rewarding. Dr. Krause has done an amazing job in balancing the course to make it both productive and interactive.”
The class uses “critical reflections and discussions based on both the readings,” says Cornelius Gyamfi ’19, another TA for the course. The students also volunteer for the CAMO, an organization that provides care and resources for quality health care improvements in rural Honduras.
Gyamfi suggests this service work helps students grow with their knowledge and use of “information literacy, cultural competency, cohesive collaborative engagement and other skills that will develop the student’s intellect to excel in their presumed prospective disciplines.” Gyamfi largely sees the FYS as an opportunity for students to learn how to use available resources around them, in order to better who they are and their communities around them.
Nate Addington, the director of Civic and Social Responsibility, said that the Community Connections Program (CCP) is in the fourth year at the College and was originally a sub-branch of the Wooster Volunteer Network before becoming an independent program funded by A.P.E.X. and staffed by Civic and Social Responsibilities staff. Currently there are seven courses designed as part of CPP that use service for learning in their curriculum, this FYS being one of them.
The class has invited Founder and Executive Director for CAMO, Kathy Tschiegg, to talk on campus Monday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. in Williams 060. Additionally, they will be hosting a booth in Lowry during lunch and dinner Monday through Wednesday the week after Thanksgiving, as well as at the Holiday Artisan Fair from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5 in Lowry for people to learn more information.