GlobeMed mobilizes a community of students and grassroots leaders to work together to improve the health of people around the world and sponsors the Grassroots On-site Work (GROW)  internship program for University of Colorado Boulder students. The CU Boulder 2022 internship team–Shreya Sharma, Jeremiah Diaz, and Grace Matsey–will travel to Nepal from June to July 2022 to participate in a five- to six- week field program.

This year’s GROW interns are partnering with Himalayan Health Care (HHC) to build a sustainable long term healthcare structure in the Ruby Valley, Nepal through a “three-legged stool” approach. In collaboration with local residents, they will work to establish productive home vegetable gardens, divert human waste through building and maintaining household toilets, and assess nutritional dietary gain in participating and non-participating residents. 

Onsite leaders from both GlobeMed and Himalayan Health Care continually assess the effectiveness of work conducted in the partnership. Organization leaders Sharad (Anil) Parajuli and Soni KC Parajuli will supervise and guide the CU Boulder interns in this work.  Anil works full-time on HHC activities and is an Ashoka Fellow (2021). Anil is a co-founder of HHC (established 1992). 

GlobeMed/HHC projects occurring in the Ruby Valley, Nepal include: 

• Farming campaign – Efforts to achieve “one home/one kitchen gardens for Ruby Valley residents began with an experimental farm in 2014. GlobeMed at CU Boulder is the leading partner. Villagers gain and implement knowledge, skills, and techniques for sustainable growing projects to enhance family/community nutrition and generate income. The increase in family income through the sale of surplus crops has improved family nutrition and food security (especially for children and women).  Many resident farmers are motivated and have learned about ways to engage in more effective and profitable agricultural projects that will benefit their communities.
• Nutrition assessments – Interns will help survey and gauge the effectiveness of  of HHC’s aid against malnutrition in the Ruby Valley. Our team will be under local leaders within the community/HHC and will assess malnutrition through various methods  including but not limited to weight and height recording.
• Toilet construction – Interns will continue work carried out by CU Boulder GROW Interns in 2019-2020 and by locals during the global pandemic. The household toilet is crucial to establishing and maintaining public health and health equity. GlobeMed has supported hundreds of permanent toilets in the region. GROW interns may have hands-on experience in building toilets and/or contribute to maintenance through videography and written reports.

Progress in the Grassroots On-Site Work program will inform future phases for the CU GlobeMed chapter and its partnerships. Assessment methods include note-taking, journaling, critical reflection, and more. We will also survey villagers on their social structures, focusing on where responsibility of gardening lies, how improvements in the gardening system have changed those structures, specific results as to crop yields, and how we can continue making and implementing improvements in all areas. 

GlobeMed Goals for the GROW Program:

1. To build strong relationships in order to strengthen all aspects of the partnership

Relationships are at the heart of the GROW experience. GROW fosters friendships and mutual understanding, which inspires students and partners’ commitment to global health equity and deepens the partnership for future collaboration.

2. To engage in mutual learning through the collaboration on community-centered projects

Students work with partner organization staff to gain an understanding of  grassroots work and how their partner organization is addressing the barriers that their community faces. As experts in their community and organizational needs, partners collaboratively work with students on projects focused on existing organizational work and/or new supplementary projects.

3. To collectively reflect on the strengths and areas of growth from the previous year of partnership and set goals for the upcoming year through the development of a new Annual Action Framework

GlobeMed students and partners work together to reflect on the past year’s successes, challenges, and accomplishments by assessing the data collected, stories told, progression of projects, and goals achieved. This process ensures mutual accountability, learning, continued growth, and sustainability on both sides. By the end of the GROW experience, students and partners complete a draft of the next year’s Annual Action Framework.

• HHC Experimental Farm

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  Location

  outside US

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  Not Applicable

• HHC's "One Home, One Toilet" Program

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  Location

  outside US

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  Not Applicable

• Nutritional Survey

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  Location

  outside colorado

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  Not Applicable