Recognition in Service Learning: Sweta Shrestha, Academic Staff, GHI

Project Name: Community Health and Health Disparity: Learning Through Service in Rural Nepal

Community Partner: Sarvodaya Nepal

2014 marked the fourth year of partnership with Sarvodaya USA/Nepal with GHI for the Undergraduate Certificate in Global Health field experience focusing on community health and health disparity. Service learning and working with community members serves as the crux of the program. Students along with their Nepali cohort work alongside community members on various projects chosen by the community. Over the past 4 years these shramadhana (gift of labor) have 1. Built an additional schoolroom with ‘earthbags,’ 2. Finished a local community owned school and built a playground for students of the school 3. Constructed a safe and durable walking path to school in the village and 4. Plastered and finished a school complex to make it habitable and usable year round Over 50 students have gone through the Nepal program since 2011 and have gone on to pursue public health, medicine and other fields dedicated to serving underserved and vulnerable populations. This partnership seeks to break the barriers and dependency created by the traditional aid-model and focuses on empowering communities through human connections and collaboration. Seeing development activities thrive locally in communities showcases the value of collaboration and community driven initiatives. This critical questioning of norms and assumptions serve as the core of the Nepal field course. Students complete the course with an appreciation for the local experts and organizations and critically think about the nature and impact of international aid along with the community assets.