First, I wish you a happy new year. 2019 started for me in Eswatini with some of my family who visited me, it was awesome 🙂 Months after the first blog, and before going back to GSK Belgium, I’m sharing some memorable experiences. All this time, I’ve enjoyed every moment working with EPI (Expanded Programme on Immunization), CHAI, WHO, […]
Category Archives: CHAI
January
08
Dear Future PULSE Volunteers
posted by lorrainewing
It’s been 162 days since I started my PULSE journey. What have I learned? As my assignment is coming to an end, here are my top 5 tips for those who applied or are thinking about applying to the 2019 cycle. 1. Be adaptable: have an open mind. You will be new to the work pace and […]
November
21
PAB#2: Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable!
posted by ajalfabete
When I was in primary school, I am used to the arrangement where my Mom would give me my total 5-day allowance at the start of the week. And it was up to me how to spend it – whether I want to live a “grand” life, from a kid’s point of view of course, […]
November
20
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Myself.
posted by Helen Bemis
When I met my husband, he said I was a rabid recycler. What I don’t think he realized was that 5 years in Congo early in my career made me not only a rabid recycler as a well as a MacGyver wannabe. Who wouldn’t want to escape from situations/solve problems with nothing but a paper […]
November
03
The papaya tree in the neighbour’s backyard
posted by ritamoitasantos
There is a papaya tree in the neighbour’s garden, that I can see from my landlord’s kitchen. At the end of each day, I sit in the kitchen’s door steps to get a stable network signal to talk with my family. Inevitably, I stare at the papaya tree. It has been growing quite a lot […]
October
17
Camouflage Uniforms
posted by lorrainewing
2 pm on a rainy Thursday, I sit in a room surrounded by boxes of latex gloves, red sharps disposal containers, and a group of men and women in camouflage uniforms. I am at the National Borders Service central base camp, where I have the chance to support the Ministry of Health in a three-day […]
September
27
You can learn to surf…
posted by louiseclarkepulse10
Life in Liberia So I’m three months in and only just making the time to write again. It feels like it has gone so quick and yet day 1 feels like a lifetime ago. My team at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) sits in the Ministry of Health (MoH) building, which is outside […]
September
10
Patience and Persistence
posted by lorrainewing
A few weeks ago, I joined the rest of the team for the Mesoamerica Malaria Meeting in Antigua, Guatemala. It was a great chance to learn about the ongoing work in other countries, their pressing challenges, and the success stories from recent years. It was also exciting to hear the Global Malaria leadership team […]
August
22
My 1st month with CHAI in Eswatini
posted by Malika Almansouri
I’m writing for the first time a blog to share my experience in Eswatini (previously Swaziland). A couple of years ago I could not locate it on a map, now I’m living and working in Eswatini 🙂 DISCLAIMER: What is written below reflects solely my opinions and does not engage any other person or any […]
August
10
Malaria and the City of Knowledge
posted by lorrainewing
It’s been two weeks since I started my PULSE assignment with CHAI in Panama. Their office is in an area called City of Knowledge, right across the street from the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. These buildings used to be part of a military base in the 20th century, but have since been transformed […]
August
03
Sand from the Sahara!
posted by ritamoitasantos
It’s the expression that will forever be associated in my mind to my first field trip in Nigeria. Not because I’ve actually been in the dessert, but because in Kano, when the wind blows, grains of sand get lifted in the air. One can argue that it may not be sand from the Sahara (the […]
July
03
África minha!
posted by ritamoitasantos
On the 18th of June 2018 I’ve started my own Africa adventure, and after being in Nigeria for almost two weeks, I feel I need to borrow the title of a childhood movie for my first blog. “África minha” is the Portuguese adopted title for the Sydney Pollack’s movie from 1985, “Out of Africa”, which […]
June
25
Today…
posted by louiseclarkepulse10
Today cancer is the second leading cause of death globally Today approximately 70% of deaths from cancer occur in low and middle-income countries[1] Today it is estimated that less than 5% of patients needing chemotherapy have access to treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa[2] Today more than 90% of cancer patients in Liberia present with locally advanced […]
June
20
More communication, less communication tools
posted by Helen Bemis
Today is the day, here we go, into the wild blue yonder! 2 Flights, looooong flights, and sometime tomorrow (yesterday?) I’ll arrive in Laos in the dead of night, grab a taxi and head to a hotel where I’ll stay until I get my housing sorted out. It’s exciting, scary (in a good way), and […]
June
08
Part of something bigger
posted by lorrainewing
Back in May, I had the chance to meet my fellow PULSE 2018 volunteers in our face-to-face orientation at GSK House. During those three days, we laughed, we cried, we danced to Shakira’s Waka Waka and we played with Lego bricks and marshmallows. But more importantly, we felt part of something bigger. We created […]
