National Office Blog

In Peru, more than 14 million people lack access to health care. A lack of other basic necessities, such as clean water and proper sanitation, exacerbate this problem by causing illnesses that are difficult to treat. Typhoid fever, hepatitis A, dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, and leptospirosis are all commonly contracted diseases.

This summer, the Nourish chapters at Ohio State University and Yale University teamed up with nonprofit MOCHE, Inc., to address health care access in Peru. The two project teams traveled to the Moche Valley to construct a health clinic that will provide subsidized and free services to 10,000 poor Peruvians. The clinic will be run by the local community, making it sustainable. Additionally, the project teams hosted health fairs to educate the local people about maternal health, hygiene, and nutrition.

MOCHE, Inc. is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the standard of living in impoverished communities, preserving archaeological sites, and promoting research and education on the rich cultural heritage of Peru. To do this, MOCHE forms partnerships with poor Peruvian communities. In exchange for education programs and funding for development projects, the communities agree to protect specific local archaeological sites.

The two project teams have returned from Peru after successfully completing their projects. This was OSU's second summer working with MOCHE and Yale's first.

You can read about the OSU chapter’s experiences by clicking here and the Yale chapter’s experiences by clicking here.

The Nourish International Board of Directors recently experienced some exciting membership changes. Though the board is sad to see student board member Pallavi Garg leave, they are excited for her as she begins law school this fall.

"Having a student board member is a great idea," says Garg. "It introduces a key perspective to the board and the national office. Board members have the same propensity as chapters of getting bogged down in financial or logistical details during meetings. I felt that I was able to remind people to keep the big picture in mind during meetings. It also helps bridge the gap between chapters and the board, and provide feedback for the national office's operational perspective."

In her time with Nourish, Garg also helped create Nourish's Alumni Committee and served as the University of Texas-Austin chapter's volunteer director and CEO.

In keeping with the notion that Nourish is a student-led movement, the board decided to add not one, but two new student members to replace Pallavi. Kyle Forrester is a sophomore at Ohio State University majoring in business with a minor in leadership studies. Kyle led his chapter's project to Peru in 2011 and will be serving as the human resources director for the 2011-2012 school year. He is excited to get his feet wet in the world of nonprofits and wants to facilitate inter-chapter communication so that the passions and techniques that empower Nourish members can be shared. Outside of Nourish, Kyle enjoys playing ukulele, reading, and running around outside.

Claire Boychuck, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the second new student to join the board. Claire holds an IB diploma from Pearson United World College and is currently studying geography and Chinese. She is passionate about the role of images, words and rhetoric in framing poverty and development. In her first year at UNC, she founded the Nourish-FIPAH Honduras partnership, co-led student teams to Honduras in 2009 and 2010, and served on the UNC Executive Board. As part of the Nourish–FIPAH partnership, Claire co-produced a documentary film, Saving the Seed, which explores the struggles of rural farmers in Honduras to control their food supplies and livelihoods. The film highlights one organization’s pioneering model for rural community development.

Garg is excited to see two students taking places on the board. "The expansion of this position is a great plan and I am excited to see it's impact on chapters," she says. "I hope the future student board members will further bridge the gap between the national structure and chapters."

Some of the schools in Urubamba, Peru, pose significant safety threats to students. Collapsing walls and roofs would not only disrupt the educational environment, they could also harm students and teachers while they are engaged in learning. Additionally, many of the students' diets are lacking proper nutrition, making it difficult for them to pay attention and learn to their maximum capacity.

This summer, the University of Texas at Austin and Duke University Nourish chapters are repairing dilapidated infrastructure and improving the educational environment at two schools in Urubamba. School walls and roofs are being rebuilt, and the project team is also creating vegetable gardens to improve the academic experience for students physically and nutritionally.

“In my opinion, providing proper education is the cornerstone to bringing communities out of poverty, for you give people the tools to help themselves,” says project leader John McCreary of UT-Austin.

The project team is partnering with local nonprofit Nexos Voluntarios. NeVo works to support social development in Peru through projects pertaining to public health, education, business, human rights, and the environment. “Because NeVo is located in the same communities that it works to help, it is very well in touch with the needs of these communities,” says McCreary.

The team is already hard at work in Peru and blogging almost daily about their experiences, including details of sight-seeing trips, lessons in high-altitude baking, and heart-touching anecdotes about the children they encounter at the project sites.

At the end of the trip, McCreary will have the opportunity to fly to the Chipaota community in Peru, where he led a project last summer. “I look forward to seeing the fruits of our efforts and the impact we made on the community,” he says.

The votes are in, and we have our winners!

Big thanks to everyone who submitted pictures.  It's been great looking through all of your pictures and seeing what an incredible time you all had over the summer.

1st Place - Grand Prize

"Planting tomatoes and cabbages in the garden nursery"
Haru Yamamoto, Duke University
Naama Village School
Mityana, Uganda

Hey everyone!

We’re hosting a photo contest on the Nourish Network to find the best pictures from our international projects this past summer.  We’re going to pick which photos we think best represent our work in Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Uganda and Peru this past summer.  The deadline for entry is this coming Friday, October 3rd at 5pm.  

But Logan, what will I win!?

I’m glad you asked.  Quit talking and listen:

1st place:  $50 & a Nourish Nalgene
2nd place:  $25 & a Nourish Nalgene
3rd place:  $25 & a Nourish Nalgene
4th-10th place:  Nourish Nalgenes

This is awesome Logan!  How do I enter!?

It’s easy!  Here’s how:

1.  Go to the Nourish Network
2.  Register if you haven’t already
3.  Upload your favorite pictures by clicking the “photos” tab
4.  Send Bryon Zandt (bryon@nourishinternational.org) a message with the names of your favorite 3 pictures

We’ll announce the winner next week, and post them on here for your viewing pleasure.  Good luck!

Until next time,

Logan

Hey Everyone-

We just set up blogs for the five projects that we have for this summer! This past spring has been an amazing one for Nourish and we are thrilled to continue the trend with these summer projects. 2008 brings a wide mix of themes and locations, from clean water in Peru to education in Uganda to food security in Honduras. All of these projects are the result of collaboration between Nourish students and a non-profit partner organization already working in the destination community.

Though the projects haven't started yet, some of the teams have begun writing on their blogs. It makes for an incredibly interesting read that has just begun to unfold. Go ahead and take a look at what we have so far--and don't forget to keep reading throughout the summer!

• Brazil - Palmamix (Musical Instrument Factory)
  led by students from Duke University
• Honduras - Biodiversity and Food Security
  led by students from UNC
• Mexico - Community Learning Center
  led by students from UNC
• Peru - Sustainable Clean Water Systems
  led by students from UNC
• Uganda - Educational Program Additions
  led by students from the University of Michigan

Oh, and and one last thing: if you have any questions and comments for the students on these projects, or just really like hearing about their experiences, I encourage you to create an account and leave a comment on their blogs. Really, they would love to hear from you!