Our trip is over, and we’re now winding down to the last few weeks of classes before finals. Some of us will be back at our summer jobs and looking forward to more years at UConn, others will be looking into Graduate School Programs and various other opportunities ahead.
However, it is so critical that we do not forget about the experience we’ve had in Baltimore: what we learned about ourselves, about each other, and about the community.
When we find ourselves, or our thoughts, at a road block - we must keep questioning and keep wondering until we’ve pushed through. And then, we must share that with others!
Whether it is about how to improve this trip and what we can take from it in the upcoming years, or about how we want to incorporate Public health into our future careers and our daily lives - whatever it is, it is so important to keep it active! Active in our minds and in our hearts, and allow these to seep through into our actions.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again
Engage in your thoughts, Engage in your Community, Engage in PH
Although many of us were sad to leave our work with Habitat behind, it came time to work with another great organization called Civic Works!
Civic Works is Baltimore’s Service Corps and we were lucky enough to help them in one of their latest projects. One of their main goals is to transform vacant lots into gardens and walking spaces so that people can once again live in a beautiful city. It was sad to experience living in such a monotone city known for poverty and violence that was once seen as lively and beautiful.
When we arrived at Civic Works headquarters we were introduced to some of the AmeriCorps volunteers and learned about their hopes for the future. We were given the opportunity to help with what they call the Community Lot Team in the upkeep of a garden around a local high school. Each volunteer was on hands and knees digging weeds out from between plants and trees. We finally had a sunny day in Baltimore, and what better way to spend it than gardening?! After weeding, new mulch was placed around the entire garden; wheelbarrows and wheelbarrows full of mulch were used to cover the entire area. Finally, plants were pruned and the place looked like new! It was great to feel like we had accomplished something that would help the community look and feel better.
While some of us continued working at the high school (pictured above) others got to drive to various locations in Baltimore where Civic Works had started other projects. It was wonderful to see what the team had done with their resources and the locations they had been given. A beautiful walkway was even painted between 2 lots that were transformed across the street from each other.
Although it was cooler in temperature and not many plants had been growing yet, the gardens and community spaces are sure to be beautifully in bloom by the Spring. We are all hoping that they will help add vibrancy to the lives of Baltimore residents and that they will remember to take care of their environment. Our work with the gardens truly connected to Public Health on an emotional and mental level. If you like what you see and where you are living, chances are you will have a better mental attitude and hopefully less stress in daily life. Sometimes a breath of fresh air is needed, and the transformation of these lots definitely provides that!
Once done with our service with Civic Works, we were able to climb up their tower and take in a breath-taking view of Baltimore.
-unknown
ENGAGE in PH
On Both Wednesday, March 9 and Thursday, March 10 we all volunteered with Habitat for Humanity! Again we were split into groups and helped with as many projects as we could. Our work was done on Jefferson Street and 10 of the homes on the street were being renovated by the Habitat organization. Habitat not only renovates individual homes, but it encourages the community to care about where they live. Some of the row houses on the street were also being renovated by private companies, so it was great to see such a positive impact!
Many of our volunteers helped prime the walls for painting on Wednesday. It was arduous work, but they could definitely see the difference it made for the people of Habitat. Any bit of extra help they could give to finish a house was a great thing! Niki and I helped build window boxes and put up wood frames for walls. It was great to see the progress that everyone was making on individual homes. Ashley helped on a house down the street and got to use a jackhammer!! She was helping put in fence posts for the house’s backyard, and was hard at work with a shovel when we went to see her progress. She also worked on the front door, and while working with Americorps volunteer Michelle and Habitat volunteer Chris was approached by a member of the Baltimore community. He proceeded to inquire about volunteering with Habitat because he had seen the change taking place! I happened to snag a picture of this taking place =)
The next day Eduardo helped Martise, a volunteer from Habitat, continue building window boxes, while others: Molly, Stephanie, Niki, Heather and I helped brush dust off of walls. The dust, if left on the walls, would make the primer for the paint come out bumpy, and no one wants bumpy walls! This turned out to be a much longer process than expected, starting from the ceiling and working our way down to the floor where the excess dust was vacuumed up. Another group of volunteers was down the street working on the house that had been primed the day before. Kiran, Sarah, Dan and Alana measured trim and baseboards for the house, while Chi and Ashley worked together to cut pieces of insulation. They got down and dirty in crawl spaces where the insulation needed to be cut, but they had to be very careful of the plexi glass insides!! Dan and Alana had learned that lesson the hard way the day before…
Overall, we all had a great experience working with Habitat! While some of us learned that manual labor may not be for them, some of us learned that they love it. We all noticed the difference it was having on the community, and hope to see a great change in the future.
On Tuesday, March 8, we all continued to work with the Moveable Feast organization! Our volunteers were split into groups and aided in many different aspects of the corporation. Some of us were helping bag groceries, which totaled up to 332 bags! They are prepared and then brought to the homes of HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, or blood cancer patients that are unable to do their own shopping. The grocery bags provide enough food for 16 meals to be prepared and also include five frozen entrees per week.
Another group of us made bagged lunches that were also brought to homes of those in need of aid, while others prepared frozen dinners. Our total number of meals in one day added up to over 1100!! It was amazing to see what a difference our group of 13 volunteers could have on an organization like this. Along with making a big difference in the community, and for the people receiving the food, we made friends along the way! Many of us enjoyed singing with the volunteer John, and Marvin loved to dance and joke around with all the volunteers.
MONDAY, March 7, 2011
Its been 48 hours since we arrived and things are great! We’re staying at the HI Hostel-Baltimore and it is totally quaint, housing guests from all over the globe. This week there is also a group from Michigan State University. Everyone is so excited to start our service experience and explore the city…
Sunday was our first full day here and it rained, but that didn’t seem to phase anyone because we all spent a fun afternoon touring Baltimore’s Inner Harbor! Everyone took a trip up to the 27th floor of the World Trade Center-Baltimore to take in the panoramic view, which was breathtaking. While in the Inner Harbor some took the opportunity to share Baltimore’s famous seafood for lunch. Last night was filled with bonding reflections of Baltimore’s health disparities and sharing of personal experiences. Before heading off to bed we all were sharing laughs, deep conversations and personal strange skills (guess who thinks they are a psychic mermaid). It was a ton of fun.
This morning we were able to sleep in, but had a full day of work ahead of us. This morning we were fortunate to observe a drug overdose training workshop at the Glenwood Treatment Facility which introduced us to the risks of a drug overdose episode and how to treat it. We were able to participate in the workshop with local community members.
Then we were off to help Moveable Feasts which is an organization that serves meals to home-bond HIV/AIDS and breast cancer patients. Our time was spent organizing the kitchen with new food deliveries and getting ready for tomorrow when we get to deliver meals.
Now it is late afternoon and most of the group is touring the John Hopkins University neighborhood, someone is taking a nap (guess who?) and someone else is being a good student and reading linguistics (guess who?). While everyone is relaxing, Ashley Hazelton UCONN ‘11, our amazing trip director and I are hard at work getting ready for this evenings activities. I can’t wait to see what we learn about each other tonight.
Stay tuned for more updates from the Public Health House (PHH) this week….
Carrie Graham
Kiran is from North Haven, CT and is a Junior majoring in Allied Health Science.
Her minor is in Biological Sciences and hopes to be a dentist! She’s also thinking about a career in public health dentistry.
Kiran’s favorite hobbies include swimming and Tae-Kwon Do. Do you participate in the club at UConn with Eduardo???
She would also LOVE to travel to France one day =)
From Baltimore she hopes to understand the different aspects of public health and how health issues effect a community as a whole.
By 7am tomorrow we will all be packed up and ready to go to good ol’ Baltimore! We will be having a final meeting tonight to have dinner and discuss final plans for our trip. Can’t wait!
Last we met, we had some solid plans for the upcoming week! Saturday will be mostly a travel day; arriving, unpacking, food shopping, dinner, and hopefully some quality group bonding!
Sunday we get to EXPLORE! Our students are currently researching exciting things to do in the city, so we will get to relax a day after traveling. Our hostel is located close to Chesapeake Bay, so it won’t be hard to find something to do.
Monday we start the real stuff! Around 9am we will begin work with MOVEABLE FEAST! The mission of Moveable Feast is to “provide nutritious foods and other services in order to preserve quality of life for people with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening conditions.” It will be a great experience for all the members of the Public Health House to witness what an impact we can have on these peoples lives. Like we’ve talked about through this experience, a lot of the problem is access to good foods, so we’re bringing the access to them!
“FEED people FIGHT disease FOSTER hope”
On Tuesday we will be working with Moveable Feast again, it will be a full day beginning at 8am and continuing until 3pm. After our work, we’ll return to the hostel, make a meal and reflect about: the work we did that day, what stood out about the experience, and how we can further enhance our work for the next day.
WEDNESDAY we begin working with HABITAT FOR HUMANITY! Beginning our day at 8am once again, we will be working in what is called “row housing” in Baltimore.
http://www.habitat.org/hw/jun-jul00/feature4.html
Hopefully we will be able to improve living conditions for some members of the community. There are a lot of health risks associated with row housing including: structural problems, ventilation problems, access to ramps for handicapped people, and close living quarters that help spread infection easily. It will be an interesting experience and all of the volunteers will hopefully learn a lot and be able to put some things into perspective!
Thursday we will continue to work with Habitat, and Friday, as of now, we will be working with Moveable Feast again. Some work is being put in to get us able to work on a farm, so information on that is to come.
Saturday is our departure day, but instead of leaving the city at the crack of dawn, we’ve decided to hang around for a local Health Expo! It is the Fox45 and CW - B’More Healthy Expo held at the Baltimore Convention Center. It is “designed to showcase vendors, programs, and opportunities to get people moving, taking action and making choices to be more healthy.” It will definitely be a good day for all members of the trip to see what will be present at the Expo and hopefully have fun learning! http://bmorehealthyexpo.com/
Another picture from the hostel!
