re:TH!NK and Growing Oshkosh partnered together for the pilot year of the School Garden Program. Due to the lack of green thumbs in re:TH!NK, Growing Oshkosh's knowledge with the gardens was crucial to making the School Garden Program as successful as possible. The gardens are currently producing an abundance of vegetables!
eatsmart! is another program that would not be as wide-reaching if not for local partners. ThedaCare and local health professionals have teamed together to work with participating restaurants. The mission of eatsmart! is to have healthy options be identified and available for those who want to eat healthy is a restaurant setting. The recipe of identified food has been evaluated by a registered dietitian and is marked with the eatsmart! thumbs up! Any interested restaurants can choose to participate. Currently there are 8 participating restaurants in the area!
It is my personal belief that no matter what the program, it is important to team up with others in community. Networking is an important part of working in Public Health. While in Swaziland, Give Hope, Fight Poverty met with different local organizations to find out what else was going on in the community. We didn't want to be competing for resources with others who were trying to accomplish the same things. One of the organizations focuses on the HIV pandemic, currently 40% of Swazi people are HIV positive, some of our orphans included. The organization sets up clinics for anti-retroviral treatment for those in the more rural areas. They also help to place HIV positive people in support groups. This information is good to know and we may use them as a resource in the future. For the time being we were able to to help them by donating some clothing!
Swaziland has some of the highest rates of HIV worldwide! This is a picture I took at the border crossing to help promote the use of condoms and safe sexual practice.
Swaziland is the last absolute monarach and ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. King Mswati has 13 wives, each with her own palace.The royal family will sponsor different organizations. One of the organizations we met with is actually sponsored by one of the princesses. The mission of this organization is to focus and enhance female education. The details of this are still being worked out and the program will hopefully be launched soon. Again, knowledge is valuable and may be useful in the future.
It doesn't matter where you are in the world networking is important. Partners help to make projects more impactful. It is important to know and utilize the resources available. I am amazed at how much I have learned while interning for re:TH!NK. I loved the variety of opportunities I was able to experience! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and my time with re:TH!NK is coming to a rapid close. I am definitely going to miss all the new friends I have come know! I am grateful for the great intership they provided for me.
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