Foreign students launch fundraising campaign for community health projects in Ghana

Students in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing are initiating a crowdfunding campaign to support their service learning projects in Bolgatanga, Ghana, this summer. The 30-day campaign will run from now until April 3 at fundrazor.uark.edu/ghana2020.

While in Ghana, these 14 nursing students will have the opportunity to work in local clinics and provide valuable health education programs to the community. Each student will prepare and present their own teaching projects in villages with the greatest need.

Educational programs will focus on topics such as wound care, anemia testing, infant hydration, dental health for children, and teaching new mothers the importance of putting mosquito nets over their babies. Students will also implement a new program for school girls to teach them about anatomy and menstruation so they feel empowered to continue going to school.

One very impactful project students led last year was educating village women on how to generate less smoke while cooking. Women mostly cook with wood or charcoal on a tin coal pot, which produces more smoke than ceramic coal pots. Cooking with these pots can reduce early deaths due to respiratory illnesses. Through last year’s FundRAZOR campaign, students raised enough money to purchase 130 ceramic coal pots that were distributed to families.

Students who participate in this Service Learning Study Abroad program have described it as life-changing. It is a rich cultural experience that gives students a new perspective on healthcare as they interact with people in the communities and learn about medical care in a poor country.

“Studying in Ghana has taught me to be a more empathetic and compassionate nurse and also how to be a resourceful one. I came home a changed person.” — Abbey Dillon, a former student who studied abroad in 2018.

The crowdfunding campaign includes a variety of giving levels, each corresponding with the cost of supplies for the teaching projects. If you’d like to contribute, you can select the level you are most interested in. Please visit the group’s FundRAZOR page for more information.

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