What GlobeMed Taught Me

It began in one of the all-girls halls on the fourth floor of Gilbert Hall, arguably the best freshman dorm at the University of Rochester.  It was early enough in the fall to trick yourself into thinking it was still summer, hanging on to the last few days you could wear shorts outside before the harsh Western New York winter crept in.  I had just become friends with a girl named Rohini Bhatia, who I now know as one of the most intelligent, sincere, and thoughtful people I’ve ever been able to call my friend (and an amazing dancer to boot).  In her room one afternoon, she began to tell me about this club she wanted to start on our campus.  It was this new health organization that was growing popularity at colleges throughout the United States.  She was interested in founding a chapter on our campus because it aligned with her interest in health, medicine, and epidemiology, which at this point, I didn’t even quite know what the latter one meant.  In order to start a chapter of the organization at Rochester, she had to apply but was scared of not being chosen.  Being a good friend, I assured her that she was a great candidate to be a chapter founder, but I didn’t think too much of it afterwards.  Besides, I probably had music theory homework and voice lessons for which to prepare since it was back in the day when I thought I was going to major in classical music, before I started hating it.

The organization Rohini was telling me about was GlobeMed.  GlobeMed is a national network of university student chapters, currently at 55 schools around the United States, that partner with grassroots health organizations around the world to work together to bring awareness of global health issues, raise funds, and promote global health equity.  I didn’t quite understand the concept too well, but I thought it was cool because Rohini seemed so jazzed about it.  Still, I had no prospects of joining it but planned on supporting Ro as much as I could.

Fast forward to a little over a year later as a sophomore – the year I had the most emotional and intellectual growth, or in other words, it was kinda crappy.  Rohini successfully became a chapter founder, and along with her hand-selected executive board, she was out to recruit staff members to join GlobeMed.  Once again, being a good friend, I thought to apply so it looked as if there were a lot of people interested in the organization.  I figured I had an interest in world issues because of a growing passion for anthropology, so it wasn’t too out of the blue to apply.  To this day, I don’t exactly know why I was chosen.  I hadn’t really developed an interest or had a background in health, and looking back at it now, that was probably the exact reason why I was picked.  At the time, I honestly thought I had an advantage because I was friends with the entire executive board.  It’s a little funny to think of how I ended up in GlobeMed, but I’m very glad that I did because it may have been one of the most transformative and enlightening decisions I’ve ever made.

Throughout the past few years as a staff member of the Rochester chapter and a brief stint as a communications intern at the National Office in Evanston during the summer of 2012, I have developed intellectually into a very different person than I was when I had that first afternoon chat with Rohini in her dorm room.  What I learned about public health, partnership, and international development because of GlobeMed helped shape the rest of my college experience and my current path.  I’d like to think that GlobeMed led me here to South Africa and my year-long internship with Grassroot Soccer.

Though I haven’t even been here for two months, I already acknowledge that my experience with GlobeMed in college has helped me understand my role here as an intern at the Grassroot Soccer Port Elizabeth office.  I have also realized how much I can use what I’ve learned from GlobeMed moving forward as I find my place within this organization and in the greater movement for global health equity.

Firstly, there are outstanding grassroots organizations everywhere, and they are run by remarkably dedicated role models.  Many people tell me that they are in awe of my work, but I’m truly humbled by the tireless work of the real grassroots health workers like my new colleagues here in Port Elizabeth.  I see much of what I saw in Manuel, GlobeMed at Rochester’s contact at our Peruvian partner Kallpa Iquitos, in Siya, the Programs Coordinator here in Port Elizabeth.  I see the same fire and passion to make a difference because the youth that they both serve are not just any kids.  They are their kids, the kids of their community, and they see themselves in them.  That’s what makes grassroots workers such outstanding role models: they want what’s best for the people with whom they work because they are kin.  This is the driving force behind the efficacy of grassroots movements.  The leaders of these organizations have a vested interest in bettering their communities because they have a personal stake in its success.  They are also visionaries – they fight for change in places where change is a long-lost dream.

A leader is only as strong as his or her supporters, and Grassroot Soccer’s coaches are that support system.  Coaches not only preach the power of soccer to change the lives of young people.  They live it every day.  These are the true inspirations, not myself.  They are the young, humble changemakers who often don’t realize how much they do.  But you see it in the numbers of participants.  You see it in the data collected about how much those participants change attitudes and behaviors by the end of an intervention.  You see it on the smiles on students’ faces when a coach walks into the room with a soccer ball in hand, sincerity in their heart, and the Grassroot Soccer logo emblazoned across their chest.  Every single time a participant changes his or her attitude, every single time one gets tested for HIV is proof that grassroots movements are working.  And that gives me faith.

With my belief that these cultural insiders are the most effective in their mission, I concluded that I know nothing in comparison.  This refers to the basic understanding of culture, language, and sheer experience.  Though I may know nothing in comparison, I still have something to offer.  This is the basis of partnership.  You may know something that I do not, and I may know something that you do not.  So let’s share that knowledge so both of us can learn.  Cross-cultural dialogue is necessary for the success of grassroots organizations.  Drawing from a multitude of backgrounds can unlock the potential of an entire group to think differently and create unique solutions.  The lesson to be learned about partnership is that together, people can create things greater than the sum of their parts.  This gives me confidence in providing what I can bring to the table, however glorious or banal it may be, as it may contribute to the greater good.  In order to work well in this environment, you must be able to admit your weaknesses and have pride in your strengths.  Only then can you work to your fullest potential but also let others shine, too.  Grassroots work is about solidarity, not solitude or selfishness.

Another thing that I learned and want to stress is that I am not doing charity work.  This really comes down to the language people use, even other interns, who say that we are “helping” and “giving up” a year of our lives.  It’s demeaning to these remarkable people who I’ve already lauded profusely because it makes it seem like we’re too good for them.  It’s as if I’m making a huge sacrifice in order to lend my expert knowledge and guidance when in reality, it’s the other way around.  In the end, I know that this organization will change me much more than I can ever change the organization.  I’m not lending as much expertise as it will lend me this upcoming year.  I recognize that this is an unpaid opportunity, but what I’m not getting in money, I’m getting in insight.  I understand that I can’t do unpaid internships forever, but I think I’d rather take the time now to figure things out and learn instead of going into something for the money only to realize that I never got a grip on myself or my purpose until it was too late.  With this charity mindset, it also undermines the sustainability of these projects, as if they are reliant on some kind of “help” in order to function, though I know that these organizations will still be doing magnificent work regardless of my presence.

Most importantly, though, I learned that being inspired by work going on around the world is what will make me work harder to make an impact in my own community.  I see these hardworking individuals completing feats that seem impossible, but they make it all happen.  Back in my own community, I can become the dedicated role model, the cultural insider, and the inspired changemaker who is the catalyst for others to do the same.  That’s what grassroots movements are all about.  But grassroots movements are not centered on isolated local communities anymore.  In the modern world, grassroots movements are about the global solidarity of local communities and the belief that small groups of people from around the globe can learn from each other to make a more just world for everyone in it.

Gone are the days of silence and injustice.  Now is the time for people to make their voices heard, and those voices must be amplified.  That is how I see my role for this year: to hold up the microphone and amplify those voices.  To kick it up a notch.  To turn up the volume.  In the end, it is not my voice that will be heard.  It will be that of the young people of South Africa who want to make a difference.