The U.Va.-Guatemala Initiative, a Center for Global Health program that brings students and faculty together to better Guatemalan communities, collaborated with the Department of Emergency Medicine last week to bring the University “Guatemala Week,” welcoming several Guatemalan guests to Grounds and hosting a variety of events.
Throughout the week students, faculty and Guatemalan visiting partners participated in bilingual events, including a film screening, discussions about issues such as healthcare and clean water, a symposium in the Rotunda Dome Room and a “fiesta” to fundraise for two Guatemalan organizations which were founded by University alumni.
Assoc. Medical Prof. David Burt and Jessica Gonzalez, the in-county director of the initiative, began the U.Va.-Guatemala Initiative as a program specifically for medical students, with the idea that they would gain valuable working experience assisting Guatemalan communities.
“[The initiative] represents an opportunity for the very best type of learning that a place like the University of Virginia has to offer,” Engineering Prof. Dana Elzey said.
The Guatemalan partners gave presentations in their areas of expertise, ranging from women’s rights to cardiovascular health. The visitors were able to catch a glimpse of the University community that works with them, while the students at the University were able to put a face with the Guatemalan communities partnered with the initiative.
The first trip to Guatemala was made by a group of Engineering students, named “Team Agua,” who planned a construction project to bring water to a Guatemalan community. The follow-up group, “Team Pura I,” began the water filtration portion of the project. Since then, different groups of students have traveled there to assist with the water filtering system.
“When Engineering students work in a setting where it is not about making profit, it is about improving quality of life … they learn what engineering should really be about,” Elzey said.“It stimulates human creativity and innovation. There is enormous value in these types of experiences.”
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