Provide Sustainable Health Resources for Nicaraguan Health Clinics - Wake Forest and Penn

Why William Galeano? On the outskirts of Managua, Nicaragua lies the residential community of William Galeano in the larger area of Camilo Ortega. On average, the 900 or so residents of William Galeano earn less than $2 a day and have 3.9 years of education. The community has limited access to health resources and high rates of malnutrition, kidney disease, hypertension, parasitic infections, and asthma. The diet is very limited, consisting mostly of beans, rice, bread, and tortillas, leading to mineral and vitamin deficiencies. These issues combined with a high birth rate and high rates of domestic violence and substance abuse has led to catastrophic effects on the health, and furthermore, on the economy, of the community.

What are we doing to help? The University of Pennsylvania and Wake Forest University Chapters of Nourish International are partnering with the local group ATRAVES in William Galeano to build a computer lab to be used for health resource access by clinic staff and create in-lab educational programs for community members. With the the computer lab, the staff will be able to better serve the community, and the community members will have better access to essential health information. Volunteers will also interact with the residents, planning and leading activities in ATRAVES’ health education and health leadership program. Volunteers will work with local kids after school to teach them about green and healthy practices, leading some fun community activities like healthy cooking classes. Other smaller projects during the trip include community clean-up, environmental after-school workshops, planting activities, and participation at the clinic. These projects will be carried out for a five week period this summer, so volunteers will truly have a big role in this project with ATRAVES from start to finish.

How will this project impact the William Galeano community? The education lab will allow sustained access to vital health information for clinic staff, students, and the rest of the community. The improved organizational/informational systems in the clinic and the home visits program will allow the clinic to be more effective and efficient. This resource will have a truly profound impact on the community as the clinic works to improve residents’ outlooks on healthy practices. After all, knowledge is the most important tool for change. This applies to the other pieces of the project as well. Teaching healthy and green practices through workshops and school curriculums will leave the community with health knowledge that will stick with them long after our volunteers have left. The creative health education activities planned will pique community interest in healthy practices, and the children involved will take what they learn with them through the rest of their lives, sustaining the change our volunteers initiate. In addition, the time volunteers spend helping in the clinic will improve the efficiency of the clinic so that it may better serve the community.