This week’s Spotlight centers on a group of UVa students spreading awareness of women’s health in developing countries. The group consists of Sareena Brown (UVa Med. ‘14), Ariel Majidi (College ’13), Shreya Kanth (UVa Med. ‘14), Steffi Castillo (College ’13), O. Darlene Nnanyelugoh (College ’12), and Vatsal Patel (College ’13). They traveled to Guatemala through the UVa-Guatemala Initiative and created a detailed health survey to determine the wellbeing in the surrounding community of Santiago Atitlan. The survey addressed issues such as maternal health, education, and domestic violence.
Since returning to UVa, these dedicated students have been working to submit their work to a local journal to spark a broad response to this issue. A translated version will also be sent to the community they worked with in Guatemala. The group hopes that this action will provide leaders and organizations with the necessary information to resolve the issues. In addition, they want to make the information widely accessible in the UVa community. The group says, “We would like students at UVa to know that women still face disparities even in areas such as health access.” They encourage more people to get involved and make a difference. These students are certainly dedicated and hopefully their efforts result in long term improvement in Guatemala.
