DukeEngage | Duke Center for Civic Engagement

photo by Eric Van Danen

Four years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city of New Orleans, DukeEngage students, including Andrew Ognibene, continue to play a major role in helping to rebuild the community's infrastructure.  DukeEngage in New Orleans, now in its third year of service, is one of seven domestic DukeEngage programs underway this summer.  Below, Andrew describes what compelled him to get involved in this key initiative.

1.  What drew you to this particular program?

New Orleans is a pretty distinctive program, in my mind.  First, the culture here is an entertainingly wreckless blend of influences that cannot be replicated anywhere else.  How a city this size becomes this diverse is beyond me, but it's fantastic (yes, the food really is that good, and yes, the music is, too).  But most importantly, we have an opportunity to help rebuild from a disaster that has largely slipped from the national conscience .  The reality is that New Orleans still needs urgent help in very significant ways—from healthcare and education to politics, housing and crime.  While daunting and sometimes overwhelming, it's exciting to know that there's an opportunity to catalyze change and get these systems rebuilt from the ground up.
  
2.  What excited you about working with your community partner?
 
I worked with Seedco Financial, a non-profit community lending partner.  Seedco sparks economic development by offering low-interest loans and technical know-how to people who may not qualify for traditional funding sources or are just looking for some business help.  Since 2007, the organization has provided $30 million in funds to the local area, so I found that pretty exciting.  And on a personal level, I've been able to get some experience in the financial sector without neglecting my interest in community development.    

3.  What benefit do you hope your service will have for your community partner and your host community?
 
It's pretty clear this organization has a sizable impact on this community.  At the same time, it's always great to personally see the people recieve their money and put that name to a face.  People are appreciative that we're essentially investing in their business, and it manifested itself for me in a few business cards and city-tour offers.  I  also was able to help the staff prepare for a $50 million proposal to work with the New Orleans government.

4.  How do you hope to put into action what you learned through your DukeEngage experience once back at Duke? 
 
The biggest thing I'll be doing is teaching a house course on DukeEngage (minor plug: syllabus!) next semester.  I was in the class last year, and I thought it was a great way for those who haven't done DukeEngage to learn about the program, and for those who have done DukeEngage to find ways to reflect on their experiences.  It should be fun.  Besides that, I'll be coordinating my selective living group's relationship with a local elementary school (teaching Spanish, organizing after-school chess and science club), and serving as a crew leader in Project BUILD. 

DukeEngage is featuring 18 students over the course of the summer participating in both group programs and independent projects.  Check back weekly to view the latest student profile.    

Jambo! We are back in Nairobi and about to head to the airport for the return to the USA (about 24 hours later). In one week, we'll be back at Duke, completely energized to further develop and contribute to WISER stateside. CampWISER was an amazing experience and perfect finale for our 8 weeks. For more details and pictures, see my personal blog at knowthisplanet.blogspot.com. It has already been a transition from village life to city life, and bittersweet goodbye: oriti...

Please visit http://deuganda.wordpress.com for our group's blog!

photo by Eric Van Danen

Ju Yon Kang joined six other students in the DukeEngage "Healing and Change in Haiti" program this summer to help with health education initiatives and plans for a new health center.  Below she shares what sparked her interest in the program and what she hopes to bring back to Duke's campus this fall.

1. What drew you to this particular program or project?

I wanted to do a health-focused project to apply what I learned in my global health classes and to learn more about the subject through a first-hand fieldwork experience. I chose Haiti, because reading "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder about the work of Dr. Paul Farmer and Zanmi Lasante sparked my interest in the country, and I saw that this project would allow me to directly interact with the members of the community.

2. What excited you about working with your community partner?

Family Health Ministries had plans to enhance the clinic that it has established in Leogane.  I was excited that I got to partake in this improvement process by working together with various community members and doctors in the clinic. Also, our group took a couple of Creole lessons as a pre-departure preparation, so I was very excited about the opportunity to use the language and learn more Creole words and phrases while serving the community.

3. What benefit do you hope your service will have for your community partner and your host community?

I hope that my service contributed to promoting a trusting relationship between Family Health Ministries and the Leogane community. In addition, I hope that by surveying the women in the community about their health needs and the obstacles they face in accessing health care, I helped the clinic determine its priorities in improving its services and facilities.

4. How do you hope to put into action what you learned through your DukeEngage experience once back at Duke? 

I plan on sharing what I learn through DukeEngage in my classes and presenting my experiences to the Duke Global Health Institute upon my return to Duke.  I also hope that I can help next year’s students participating in the DukeEngage in Haiti program by giving them advice on how to optimize their experience and maximize benefits to the community.

DukeEngage is featuring 18 students over the course of the summer participating in both group programs and independent projects.  Check back weekly to view the latest student profile.
 

photo by Eric Van Danen

Rollin Say ventured to Brazil this summer to explore an interest in telemedicine within the context of service to communities in need.  Below, he describes what compelled him to design this unique project and what he hoped to gain from it.

1.  What drew you to this particular project?

Telemedicine is an exciting and developing method to provide health care access to remote and rural populations. My interest in medicine and global health drew me to this project, as I see telemedicine as a potentially powerful tool to extend health care to people in need.

2.  What excited you about working with your community partner?

The Edumed Institute and the director, Dr. Renato Sabbatini, are well-established leaders in the field of telemedicine. They have succesfully implemented a number of projects in the past.  I was very excited to be working with such an experienced team.

3.  What benefit do you hope your service will have for your community partner and your host community?

I entered my project hoping to contribute in as many ways as I could to help with the implementation of this project in the Amazon state of Rondonia. I believe my education and set of skills allowed me to learn quickly and to provide valuable service to my community partner and host community.

4.  How do you hope to put into action what you learned through your DukeEngage experience once back at Duke?

I plan on maintaining a strong tie with my community partner. I hope to continue working with telemedicine in the future, whether through further service in the field or research.

DukeEngage is featuring 18 students over the course of the summer participating in both group programs and independent projects.  Check back weekly to view the latest student profile.