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Intern Abroad Health Projects
Andean communities that hardly see a doctor, clinics in impoverished areas of Oaxaca, public health campaigns in Belize, HIV and Aids in Thailand, and health services promotion in India, ProWorld’s health projects help communities throughout the year. Below are some of your project options.
Apply to join a ProWorld Health Project
Peru
Clinical Assistance Health Project
Work with public and private health institutions to improve the health of community members in the Sacred Valley and Cusco. You can choose to work with local hospitals and/or small local clinics.
Volunteers working with local hospitals will serve the poor residents of communities by providing preventive health care and education, and offering free and low cost health services. Local doctors and nurses will assist you in learning about the practice of medicine in resource-poor settings, as well as provide an invaluable perspective regarding the unique health care needs and concerns of the surrounding communities.
Public Health Education Project
Help community members of the Sacred Valley and Cusco improve their health and increase their knowledge of how to care for themselves. You and ProPeru staff will work with the Department of Cusco to provide community members access to qualified health care, preventative health care education, and training.
You can also opt to work with the Casa Materna (birthing center) where they educate expectant and new mothers regarding prenatal and infant health. Ultimately, it is the intention of ProPeru to establish health care initiatives which will enable community members to gain the knowledge and skills needed to promote the their own, their families' and their community's health.
Public Health Investigation Project
Assist with ongoing research projects that seek to further understand the specific health care needs of communities within the Sacred Valley and Cusco. You will work with ProPeru staff and health care professionals, local organizations, and community leaders in an effort to conduct scientifically sound and relevant research.
Research projects seek to determine the prevalence of specific diseases, to elucidate risk factors for such cases, and to pinpoint possible areas for appropriate and effective intervention. Results from such research will be used to formulate and guide health education initiatives, as well as be prepared for publication in public health journals.
Find out more about the ProPeru Intern Abroad program
Belize
Octavia Waight
Help care for those who cannot care for themselves. At Octavia Waight Center, you have the opportunity to participate in nursing, physiotherapy, geriatric care, and general health care.
You will focus on establishing emotional relationships with patients who would otherwise have few or no visitors. Volunteers also have the opportunity to design and implement various programs to meet other needs of patients.
BFLA (Belize Family Life Association)
Help improve family planning and pre-natal services in San Igancio. At the Belize Family Life Association family planning clinic, you will assist staff with the daily running of clinic, pre-natal and post-natal workshops, HIV educational outreach, and preparation of educational materials in Spanish and English. Spanish language skill is a plus.
In addition to this, Nurse Dolly Witts works with the public health sector of the San Ignacio hospital. She participates in counseling and education along with the other nurses at the hospital.
Public Health Campaigns
Develop and Assist with ongoing research projects that seek to further understand the specific health care needs of communities within the Cayo District of Belize. You will work with ProBelize staff and health care professionals, local organizations, and community leaders in an effort to conduct scientifically sound and relevant research.
Research projects seek to determine the prevalence of specific diseases, to elucidate risk factors for such cases, and to pinpoint possible areas for appropriate and effective intervention. Results from such research will be used to formulate and guide health education initiatives, as well as be prepared for publication in public health journals.
CARE Belize
CARE Belize was founded due to a need to give therapy to children with disabilities under the age of 18. Disabled children do not usually receive the physical therapy and social attention needed to help them rise above their disabilities. These children have a need to be taken out of their homes and be allowed to grow and participate in the community at large.
You will help in taking the children outside for activities, providing physical therapy and exercise, and activities such as singing, drawing, playing, etc. This project will be coupled with another project because CARE does not operate every day.
La Loma Luz Hospital
Gain clinical experience at one of the local hospitals in Santa Elena. La Loma Luz Adventist Hospital is a charitable, non-profit healthcare facility with a mission to provide quality health care to even the poorest of Belize’s citizens. A volunteer’s previous medical experience will dictate their specific responsibilities.
San Ignacio or Belmopan Public Hospitals
Gain clinical experience working at a public hospital in San Ignacio or in the capital city of Belmopan. These government run facilities provide free healthcare to all Belizean citizens. A volunteer’s previous medical experience will dictate their specific responsibilities.
Malaria Prevention & Health Education
Help conduct malaria research in areas once affected by malaria. Collect water samples and study mosquito breeding grounds to better understand the spread of malaria in villages. Interview villagers to see the impact malaria has had. Help dispense prevention information and educate villagers on how to clear their houses of mosquito breeding grounds.
Find out more about the ProBelize Intern Abroad program
Mexico
Clinica del Pueblo
Contribute to the Clinica del Pueblo’s efforts to provide health care to the poorest community members of Oaxaca. The clinic provides basic health services and several outpatient surgeries.
Volunteers will contribute to the clinic’s efforts in a variety of ways, including taking vitals, treating injuries, shadowing nurses and doctors, sitting in on surgeries and cleaning and preparing instruments. Volunteers may also perform other duties as needed such as document translation and categorization of donated medications.
Secretaria de Salubridad y Asistencia (SSA Clínicas)
This is the public healthcare system for citizens who are generally the poorest in Oaxaca and do not have health insurance. There is a main hospital located in the city of Oaxaca and numerous clinics scattered through the state providing various clinical and health education services.
Participants will work in the smaller clinics alongside nurses and doctors.
Casa Hogar para Ancianos
This home for the elderly was built in 1991 on funds donated by the local artist Rufiño Tamayo and his wife Olga Flores. Since its inauguration the home has been under the support and direction of the National System for Integral Family development.
The Casa Hogar’s objectives are to offer quality physical, mental and social services to the elderly that have been either abandoned or do not have the resources to support themselves. The home guarantees security to its inhabitants while working to secure for them the highest level of autonomy and auto sufficiency and the opportunity to a healthy environment where they can live with dignity.
They like volunteers who are good with people and willing to interact with the community.
CORAL (Centro Oaxaqueño de Rehabilitación de Audición y Lenguaje)
CORAL offers hearing-impaired children and adults the gift of a brighter future by providing a full range of low-cost hearing rehabilitative services and programs for those Oaxaqueños that generally cannot afford them.
Volunteers will work with the director and teachers at CORAL to facilitate education, help with fundraising, and work with the children.
Find out more about the ProMexico Intern Abroad program
India
Health Projects at ProIndia are broken down into Clinical and Public Health experiences. ProIndia partners with local NGOs to place interns at area hospitals to learn about the Indian healthcare system and have the opportunity to interact with both patients and healthcare professionals.
Through its partners, ProIndia supports a number of ongoing Public Health initiatives as well including rural health camps, HIV outreach, and the construction of soak and compost pits, bathrooms, clean-burning stoves and kitchen gardens. Interns work in rural communities, learning the ins and outs of the planning, executing, monitoring and evaluating of these projects.
Interns are placed based on their skills and experiences along with their interest, and will find a balance between field and office work.
Find out more about the ProIndia Intern Abroad program
Thailand
Health Projects supported by ProThailand allow for interns to engage with NGOs to combat various health issues Northern Thailand faces. Various organizations tackle numerous health related problems, such as proper care & treatment for HIV/AIDS, distribution of resources and medications, and working to develop social programs for communities indirectly affected by disease and health.
Participants can join a local or national partner organization and contribute to their missions by supporting field work, spearheading fundraising projects to support programs, or providing administrative support to ensure smooth operations, all of which contribute to the daily progress of changing lives.
The skills, interests, and experiences of all interns will be matched with the needs of a partner organization.
Some organizations ProThailand partners with on various projects are:
The Foundation to Encourage the Potential of Disabled Persons
This is a foundation that works to provide mobility devices & physical therapy, free of charge, to disabled communities in 6 Provinces of northern Thailand. The majority of staff at this Foundation have been empowered to manage their own life affairs and become self-sufficient.
Grandma Cares
This organization helps children of northern Thailand who have been orphaned by AIDS and are often left to fend for themselves. Grandma Cares projects help children to gain healthy life skills and work towards successful futures in Thai society.
Find out more about the ProThailand Intern Abroad program
When you're ready, apply at www.myproworld.org/apply.