Nepal: Mia Beres
Program: UW Global Health Community Health and Health Disparity in Nepal, Summer
Mia’s Major: Global Health, Honors, Statistics
What is the moment you are most proud of?
I am most proud of completing the three-day service-learning project from my course, in which we painted the inside of primary school classrooms. Not only did it feel good to help a community accomplish its own goals, but I learned a lot about the impact of education on a person’s health and well-being.
I gained a more nuanced perspective about the relationships between rural communities, education, and health.
What is your most memorable experience from your program?
My most memorable experience from my program is speaking to Anuradha Koirala, the founder of an NGO called Maiti Nepal that is dedicated to stopping human trafficking and helping victims of human trafficking. This organization was very memorable because of its multifaceted approach. They tackle underlying issues that lead to human trafficking, such as poverty, educational inequality, and gender discrimination, as well as helping victims in many areas of their life, from mental health care to legal advice to teaching income-generating skills. Meeting Anuradha Koirala was meaningful to me because she was so passionate about her work and very open about her experiences leading the organization.
What is your advice for someone considering your program?
As a fieldwork course, we talked to many experts of their fields. Unlike a typical lecture, the people we talked to wanted to hear our thoughts and opinions too. A piece of advice I would give is to ask as many questions as possible and to have confidence in your own ideas.