Past Projects
Ophthalmology Training in Tirana, Albania
Pediatric Rehabilitation Training in Chengdu, China
Onchocerciasis Reduction Project, Littoral Province and Yaounde, Cameroon
HIV/AIDS Prevention Project, Hunan Province, China
Children’s Enrichment Project, Fillmore, California
Prescribe-a-Book for Children Project (Rx: ABC), Chicago, Illinois
Smoking and Alcohol Prevention Project, Youngstown, Ohio
HIV/AIDS Prevention Project, Georgetown, Guyana
Gap Youth Wellness Project, Chicago, Illinois
Multi-Specialty Community Health Project, Guyana
Individual Service Activities
Ophthalmology Training in Tirana, Albania, 1992 – 2008
Local Partner: Albania University Eye Center
Project Achievements: Reduced blindness in Albania by improving the capacity for modern eye services, with particular focus on cataract surgery and retina services.
Pediatric Rehabilitation Training in Chengdu, China, 1999-2009
Local Partner: West China University of Medical Sciences
Project Achievements: Improved the quality of life for children with disabilities by developing the capacity for pediatric rehabilitation services.
Onchocerciasis Reduction Project, Littoral Province and Yaounde, Cameroon, 1996 – 2007
Local Partner: PersPective
Project Achievements: Supported development of local non-governmental organization to manage local health workers for the elimination of river blindness (onchocerciasis) as a public health concern through Community-Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI).
HIV/AIDS Prevention Project, Hunan Province, China, 2002-2007
Local Partner: Health Bureau, Hunan Provincial Government
Project Achievements: Supported the provincial health bureau in efforts to increase knowledge and reduce misconceptions about HIV/AIDS among Party workers, political leaders, health professionals, and college and university faculty and students; and to increase HIV testing mainly through Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center (VCT).
Children’s Enrichment Project, Fillmore, California, 2000 – 2007
Local Partner: Full-Circle Learning
Project Achievements: Supported the work of a local non-profit agency to improve the well being of children by nurturing altruistic identities through educational projects that infuse integrated character development, global humanitarian service, and conflict-resolution training into academic and music/arts curriculum, particularly in underserved communities such as the migrant community.
Prescribe-a-Book for Children Project (Rx: ABC), Chicago, Illinois, 2000 – 2007
Local Partner: West Town Health Clinic, Chicago Department of Public Health
Project Achievements: Project volunteers read to children and demonstrated positive reading habits to parents while the families wait for their physician appointments. The project served over 3,000 children and families and distributes more than 1,500 books every year.
Smoking and Alcohol Prevention Project, Youngstown, Ohio, 1997 – 2007
Project Achievements: Over the ten years of the project’s existence, the lecture series, “Harmful Effects of Smoking and Drinking Alcohol on the Body” reached 20,000 students. About 3,850 students entered the Smoking Prevention Poster Contest. This contest helped the students reinforce and integrate the message by using art and creativity to deter smoking and alcohol use.
HIV/AIDS Prevention Project, Georgetown, Guyana, 2002 – 2004
Local Partner: Varqa Foundation
Project Achievements: Assisted an HIV/AIDS intervention project with youth, in collaboration with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Volunteers surveyed teens on knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding HIV/AIDS.
Gap Youth Wellness Project, Chicago, Illinois, 1994-2003
Project Achievements: Served some one hundred different children, many of whom continued to participate in the project for years. The core activity of the Gap Project was its ‘work ethics’ program centered on neighborhood cleanup, with a focus on long-term relationship building between mentors and participants.
Multi-Specialty Community Health Project, Guyana, 1992- 2001
Local Partners: The Varqa Foundation, Guyana Office of Social and Economic Development
Project Achievements: Supported local partner’s efforts to improve the quality of living and health care access in the rural indigenous region of the Rupununi. Activities included literacy promotion, breastfeeding promotion, and rural health clinics.
Individual Service Activities
Individual Service Activities have been offered by Health for Humanity volunteers in the following countries since 1992: Belize, Bolivia, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, Guyana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Republic of Georgia, South Korea, St. Martin’s, Swaziland, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu Islands, and Venezuela.
