Together We Can Transform Lives!
"Learn Together, Grow Together, and Heal Together." -Habesha Health
Growing up, the word together held a lot of weight in my family. I grew up always lending a helping hand and sharing my knowledge with those around me, whether it be assisting with translating a doctor's note or accompanying a loved one to a doctor's visit. This is a common role for many Habesha children. However, I did not realize how all these experiences were building my passion for public health at a young age. Truth be told, I hated going to the doctors as a child. Part of the reason was that I felt ignored by my pediatrician or always felt judged by the care team. When my parents visited the doctors, I could see the fear and confusion on their faces when they couldn't understand the doctor's diagnosis. They lacked the confidence to question the doctor and felt helpless in times of crisis. These experiences fuel my desire to become a public health professional, but more importantly, my commitment to transform my community by eliminating health disparities.
I am currently a third-year undergraduate student at Franklin and Marshall College, studying public health with a sociology concentration. As I was networking with alumni from my college, I had the opportunity to speak with a Habesha Health (HH) team member who introduced the platform's mission and asked if I wanted to join the next virtual team meeting. After attending the first meeting, I was inspired by the team members' passion, and the mission of this platform resonated with me, so I began working with them in June 2020.
COVID-19 prolonged stay-at-home orders across the nation, so we used this opportunity to advance the creation of this virtual health platform. Upon joining, I worked collaboratively with the team to design the website. I took a web development course at the time, so this platform allowed me to apply my knowledge to practice. Some of our tasks involved writing the mission statement, organizing the layout, creating forms for the community, and planning strategies to produce the educational content. After many revisions on different site components, we launched a well designed and readily accessible website.
The summer weeks progressed, the platform continued to grow, and the start of my fall semester approached, so I had to redefine what my role would look like on the team. I wanted to merge my interest in working with Habesha Health while also obtaining a class credit, leading me to participate in my college's internship-for-credit program. I officially became the first-ever public health communications intern for Habesha Health in September 2020. My primary responsibilities for this role included web content and social media management, graphic design, video production, and community outreach initiatives. Flexibility and creativity were essential in my position as I worked to develop my multi-media and marketing skills. From the time I spent editing the monthly educational videos to facilitating the social media campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I gained hands-on skills that have expanded my knowledge of the public health field. After our monthly health discussions, our team took ample time to reflect and evaluate the lessons learned so we could work to improve the development of the platform.
As part of this process, I also had to fulfill educational requirements, so this allowed me to meet with my academic advisor, who helped me understand the influence of social inequalities on the quality and health of immigrant communities in the United States. I watched documentaries and read academic papers on racial health disparities, cultural care beliefs, mental health practices, substance abuse problems, women's health challenges in rural Ethiopia, and much more! The limitation of research on the Habesha diaspora continues to be a significant challenge, but the resources that I found gave me a better understanding of how our cultural beliefs and practices impact our health outcomes (resource list below). Language barriers, low educational attainment, systemic racism, and the large emphasis on preserving cultural heritage are examples of disparities in our community. Once I gained the foundational knowledge about health disparities, I made notable connections between the literature, class discussions, and this internship, strengthening my understanding of public health at a higher level.
As we promote health equity and address Habesha health disparities, culturally competent health education is central to our mission. This resource will provide individuals with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed health decisions. We must continue to advocate, empower, and mobilize our community members to become stronger self-advocates. There are many taboos and cultural beliefs that put many people at higher risks of adverse health outcomes. Together, we can discuss these limitations and transform our community's health one conversation at a time.
I am immensely grateful for this position because it has connected me to a diverse network of Habesha healthcare professionals who have provided me with insightful advice and guidance to build my public health career. This role has strengthened my self-learning skills and allowed me to expand my evaluation and creative problem-solving abilities. More specifically, this experience has deepened my understanding of the tools needed to use a community-centered approach to address our community's healthcare needs.
In this new year, I will be serving as a lead team member who will guide our new public health communications intern and our outreach team to expand the Habesha Health platform. If you are interested in supporting Habesha Health, please consider completing the volunteer interest form on the H+H outreach tab on the website. If you can donate to help grow this platform, please click the donate button! Thank you for your continued support!
Franklin and Marshall College ’22
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