This summer, I was fortunate enough to intern for the Global Health Initiative (GHI) in Peru, working in three distinct regions: Lima by the sea, Huánuco in the mountains, and Tingo María in the jungle. Each location presents a distinct set of challenges for public health and education. In Lima, entire neighborhoods are divided by the muro de la vergüenza (“wall of shame”), and poverty and prosperity coexist side by side. In Huánuco, a lack of infrastructure makes healthcare and education scarce commodities for those living on the margins.
Our focus as interns was largely on preventative education, and I quickly saw how central education is to community health. With Creciendo Juntos, I co-led workshops for children on topics such as dental hygiene, waste management, and nutrition. With Vida Sana, I worked with groups of mothers in Pamplona Alta, facilitating conversations about healthy living and child development. And with Corazones Excepcionales, I collaborated with children and young adults with Down syndrome, focusing on developing reading, writing, and speech skills. Beyond workshops, we painted classrooms, planted gardens, and built relationships with community partners who make this work sustainable year-round. As a Psychology major with minors in Spanish and Education, this experience was highly relevant to my own college track. I was able to witness a direct use of education as a means of empowerment, particularly among communities that face structural obstacles. I also became a more bilingual and eƯective intercultural communicator, learning how to tailor my teaching for a variety of ages and cultural settings. This experience further solidified for me the intention of working for a nonprofit organization, especially an educational nonprofit, to develop programs that not only educate but also help build confidence and endurance among underserved communities.
One of the supervisors also told me once, “Lo que siembras hoy, florecerá en los niños mañana” (“What you plant today will bloom in the children tomorrow”). This sentence has best summed up my internship experience. I am grateful to the GHI team, Professor Eric Wetzel, Jill Rogers, and our Peruvian partners, including Jorge, Bequet, Yair, Dyana, Beto, Milagros, as well as the volunteers and interns at the nonprofits with which we collaborated. Their guidance helped me learn, serve, and envision my career path.
