Catherine Papa T’27 always imagined that her Global Health and Biomedical Engineering majors would lead to an office job. But this summer, she spent most of her time outside with DukeEngage Eswatini, putting her knowledge to use in different ways.
Along with other DukeEngage students and a group from Cornell University, Papa worked with Engineers in Action, local construction workers, and community volunteers to build a water system for a primary school in the Herefords community in the Hhohho region. The team also established sustainable methods to maintain the system so that it can continue to function and provide clean water for students and teachers for years to come.
While Papa knew she was doing important work, she says that spending time in the community was the most impactful part of the program for her — whether cheering on community members who were playing in a soccer game or joining them at the dinner table.
Papa says that the experience also caused her to reflect on her privilege as someone with access to far greater resources than many of the people around her, simply because of where she was born.
“To understand the inequality in the world as a concept is one thing, but to sit across from someone at the dinner table who you have come to see as a friend, and to see the inequality between the two of you just because of the country you were born in, is entirely more personal.”
As one of the site’s Project Managers, Papa expressed gratitude for community volunteers and fellow student workers at a celebration event for the new water system, which was covered by Eswatini Positive News.
To read Papa’s short profile, visit the Duke Global Health Institute website, where they recently published her story alongside profiles of four other committed global health undergraduates.
