Dartmouth's GlobeMed chapter, which became a College-sanctioned organization this fall, has planned a number of fundraising events and education campaigns throughout the year to further the mission of the national GlobeMed organization and align itself with the goals of Kachin Women's Association.
External co-president Andy Zureick '13 obtained approval from the national office to start Dartmouth's GlobeMed chapter in January. The chapter joins a nationwide network of university chapters that partner with grassroots health organizations internationally and domestically, according to Humphries. Dartmouth's chapter started recruiting members and hosting meetings and fundraisers this fall, she said.
GlobeMed's model focuses on sustained partnerships that chapters maintain from year to year, Humphries said. Each of the 46 chapters partners with a different grassroots organization, she said.
Dartmouth's partner, Kachin Women's Association, helps individuals displaced by civil war in Burma and focuses on facilitating female empowerment. Due to safety concerns related to the civil war, the organization is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Humphries said.
Kachin Women's Association runs several initiatives, including a woman's shelter, a migrant worker program and anti-trafficking programs. This year, the Dartmouth chapter is focused on assisting with Kachin Women's Association's health program, which aims to the improve reproductive health of displaced women, Humphries said.
Dartmouth GlobeMed's main project is to raise money to operate a reproductive health training clinic in Chiang Mai in May 2012. Community health workers many of whom are religious or political figures will travel to Chiang Mai to receive training related to reproductive health and then bring that knowledge back to their villages, according to Humphries. Fifteen leaders from Burma and 10 from Thailand are currently scheduled to attend the clinic, she said.
"The cool thing about GlobeMed is when we raise money we have a set project that we fund," Humphries said. "It's not like we send the money to the national headquarters. This money is going directly to them."
The group aims to raise at least $3,500 by the end of the year in order to fund the training clinic's curriculum, educational materials and family planning supplies, according to campaigns coordinator Adam Kraus '14.
"We're funding not only supplies, but food, training, everything," Humphries said. "The thing that comes with this responsibility is if we don't raise the money, they don't do it."
GlobeMed hosted a Halloween fundraiser in which the organization delivered 12 pumpkin pies and 144 cupcakes across campus, Humphries said. Approximately 120 people received deliveries, which made the campaign "very successful," Zureick said.
The group also plans to hold an individual giving campaign in December. Other events, including a benefit dinner for Winter term, are in the planning stages, Humphries said.
Dartmouth GlobeMed will also host educational events related to global health issues and the current violence in Burma and Thailand. The group is also planning a "grassroots on-site work trip" known as a "GROW" trip that aims to bring Dartmouth students to Thailand to work on-site with the partner organization. Barring any security or safety reasons to refrain from a trip to Southeast Asia, Dartmouth GlobeMed plans to send a group of students this summer, Humphries said. The trip will hopefully allow students to learn from the community, gain a better sense of the work their partner is doing and physically participate in the work, she said.
The Dartmouth chapter also aims to make a lasting positive impact along the Thai-Burma border. GlobeMed's founding Northwestern University chapter built a clinic in Rwanda with a pathology lab and diagnostic services currently run by Rwandan medical students, Humphries said.
"This is what we as a chapter are working towards leaving a legacy that can have an impact for generations," she said.
Zureick heard about GlobeMed last year through a friend who had considered applying to start a chapter, he said. He was formerly involved with the Dartmouth Coalition of Global Health, but was interested in participating in a long-term service project.
To establish a College chapter recognized by the larger organization, Zureick underwent a rigorous application process that included 10 essays, a case study and a phone interview, he said. The GlobeMed national office, based out of Northwestern, selects new chapters each year, but only accepted 15 of the 80 applications to start new chapters that it received in 2010, according to Zureick.
Humphries and Zureick attended GlobeMed's Leadership Institute at Northwestern in the beginning of September to receive training and guidance from the national organization. The support of the national office and the other chapters makes the Dartmouth chapter more effective, Humphries said.
"We came into this year with 46 chapters worth of pictures, outlines, failures and successes," she said.
The Dartmouth chapter hopes to collaborate with the Middlebury College GlobeMed chapter to host speakers in the future, Humphries said. Student representatives will also attend a summit for all GlobeMed chapters and their members at Northwestern in March, she said.
GlobeMed has close ties to Partners In Health, and many individuals involved with PIH have spoken at previous GlobeMed summits, according to Zureick.
Zureick said organizers of this year's summit, which will take place in March, have approached him about the possibility of bringing College President Jim Yong Kim, a founder of PIH, to speak at the event. Zureick said he hopes to meet with Kim in the future to discuss GlobeMed's work in the public health sector.
In addition to working with other GlobeMed chapters, Zureick said Dartmouth GlobeMed will try to form partnerships with other public health groups on campus, including Medlife and Social Justice Alliance. GlobeMed also plans to co-sponsor speakers, since bringing individuals to campus "is definitely hard to do unilaterally," Humphries said.
