Summer 2009: My Experiences as a Global Health Leadership Intern
By Kok Hou Chia,
Princeton University Student
Summer 2009 Global Health Leadership Intern
As a Global Health Leadership Intern this summer, I worked closely with the CEO and Founder, Jennifer Staple-Clark, to develop educational materials for Unite For Sight’s Global Health University. I wrote several courses and articles that instruct Unite For Sight's fellows in best practice principles in global health that are distilled from peer-reviewed journals. As my mentor, Jennifer provided valuable research and guidance by directing my attention to various useful online resources.
I wrote these educational materials that are designed to nurture Unite For Sight's globally competent fellows:
- Created to promote high impact, innovative philanthropy, the social entrepreneurship course educates fellows regarding the importance of bringing entrepreneurial talent to bear on social issues, as mere charity is not sufficient in combating the world’s problems.
- The eye health course is a vital resource that familiarizes volunteers with prevalent eye problems in various parts of the developing world even before they embark on their Global Impact Corps programs.
- Besides highlighting the importance of building close provider-patient relationships, the health communication course teaches fellows to disseminate health information effectively using culturally relevant approaches.
- For those who are interested in a career in global health, the global health careers course is a relevant resource that provides an overview of career opportunities available at various establishments.
- The health workers in developing countries course is centered on community health workers’ role in sustaining healthcare systems weakened by chronic brain drain in developing countries.
- In addition, I also developed several shorter articles about photography ethics for international volunteers, the importance of education in global competence, the importance of forging local partnerships to increase the success of development work, and the need to intensify health research in developing countries.
During the internship, my knowledge of global health grew tremendously. Scouring the numerous global-health related websites and academic journals during the research process kept me abreast of significant developments in global health, increasing my awareness of various issues such as poor nutrition, maternal and child-care, HIV/AIDS, etc. Researching and writing about global health helped me see the interrelationships between global health issues and other “inherently global health problems” such as increasing poverty, environmental degradation, etc. From my internship, I realize that the scope of global health is certainly huge, and I am excited by the prospect of pursuing a career in this dynamic and challenging field.
Moreover, working as an intern in Unite For Sight’s office gave me firsthand exposure to high impact nonprofit management. Applying best practices in nonprofit management, Unite For Sight optimizes its cost-effectiveness by using high performance electronic systems that significantly reduce administrative costs. In order to create public credibility, Unite For Sight emphasizes the need to capture and publicize its social impact. More importantly, by building and maintaining strong relations with its donors and volunteers, it is able to create a systematic source of funding to sustain its impact abroad. As I would like to manage a nonprofit someday, I found it extremely useful to learn about these and many other best practice principles in nonprofit management.
The future Global Health Intern can expect a lot of close support as well as advice and suggestions from Unite For Sight's CEO. He/she will learn a lot about, or perhaps may even acquire an interest in, global health during the internship. For me, the Global Health Leadership Internship was a highly successful learning experience.