Lara Kyriakou, School Readiness Specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), recently collaborated with FIMRC through the Global Health Volunteer Program.  She generously provided a digest of her time at Project Bumwalukani in Uganda.

I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer at FIMRC's clinic in Uganda for two weeks in March of this year.  As a child development specialist, my work in the clinic concentrated on the very young patients with a focus on children under the age of five.  I was able to observe and interview families about their questions and needs concerning the area of child development and behavior, with the support and assistance of the wonderful clinic staff.  Parents discussed challenges remarkably similar to those here in the U.S.: How do I get my child to listen?  Will they be ready for school? 

I also had the opportunity to play with some local children in an attempt to understand the typical developmental path of children in Bududa.  It was very important to me that I gain a clearer understanding of age-typical development of the children before I began creating a curriculum.

Later into my first week, I interviewed several people, also in an attempt to understand the context of children's lives in Bududa.  I met with the P1 and P2 teachers from the Arlington Academy of Hope and asked them about the challenges that they encounter with their students, especially when children first begin school.

With this valuable knowledge gained, I set out to create a basic curriculum of information for the clinic staff to refer to any time they had a concern about a child's development or behavior.  Topics included; the importance of consistent discipline, time outs, using praise, and meeting the needs of children within large families.  I also met with the staff about their concerns and what they needed in order to better meet the needs of their patients in regards to development and behavior.  The end result was a basic curriculum for FIMRC staff and volunteers regarding a variety of newborn/infant topics, such as attachment/bonding, reading babies' cues, nutrition and sleep.

Additionally, I will be completing posters about child developmental milestones for children, age birth to 5 years.  Pictures of children demonstrating skills at various ages will be posted at the clinic with a brief caption of the age-appropriate skill that the child is displaying.  These posters will be featured in a space where many parents sit and wait for further clinic treatment.  The goal is to have parents look at these photos and start to compare the skills featured to the skills their children possess.  Hopefully parents will then approach FIMRC staff with more questions about child development!

Although I packed in an awful lot in two weeks, I'm just getting started!  With the support of FIMRC leadership and staff, I hope to return and interview more families and community members to gain a deeper sense of the context of child development at Bumwalukani Parish and how residents would like to improve those issues, something that has not been done by anyone else in a professional context...Stay tuned!

Interested in participating in FIMRC's Global Health Volunteer Program? Contact us at missions@fimrc.org.

"There is a lot more to medicine than the present illness of the patient and prescription of drugs by the clinician."

Passionate about global health?  Want to become immersed into a community rather than simply be a spectator?  If so, FIMRC's Summer International Health Fellowship (SIHF) is a great fit for you!  SIHF is a four-week immersion and service program that provides a specialized, intensive daily clinical experience.  Planning and implementing public health education sessions alongside field staff in the community complements clinical exposure across the clinic, hospital, and health post settings.  SIHF's immersive nature gives students a chance to form lasting relationships, both with community members and fellow participants, while viewing an underserved population from within.

SIHF is offered at our project  sites in Huancayo, Peru and Las Delicias, El Salvador during two sessions.  Session I takes place from June 5 to July 3, and Session II spans from July 3 to 31.  Slots in the program are reserved on a rolling basis and are filling up quickly!  Please email missions@fimrc.org to ensure your space.

Thanks to Dr. Morales, FIMRC's on-site pediatrician, the Pediatric Health Program in Nicaragua has been up and running since February and has gained excellent traction.  Patient numbers are on the rise, with Dr. Morales attending 130 children last month.  FIMRC Fellow Jessica Southern, RN, will compliment Dr. Morales's expertise and leadership as she seeks to support the recently launched program through execution of acute and preventative patient care, the creation and distribution of health education materials, and streamlining data tracking and institutional memory practices.  FIMRC would like to acknowledge Dr. Morales and his invaluable addition to the team!

FIMRC would also like to wish Angela Supernaw, Director of Special Projects, "happy trails" after dedicating over a year of her time to raising the bar with some of the foundation's legacy programs such as the Ambassador/Fellows Program and the Micro Health Insurance Program (MHIP).  Additionally, Angie ensured that all in-kind donations were appropriately distributed to  project sites. Thanks, Angie, for all of your passionate work!