An Interview with Michelle Eilers, Alice Rowan Swanson Fellow

Michelle in Belen, Chile with Aymara physician Don Basilio and Señora Benita

Michelle Eilers is a senior at Tufts University, where she studies Anthropology and Community Health. In the spring of 2009, Michelle participated on the SIT Study Abroad Chile: Culture, Development, and Social Justice program in Valparaiso. Originally from central Texas, Michelle has worked with Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants. She became interested in minority-related health disparities when she had an internship and later worked at a small, family-practice clinic in rural central Texas. Michelle was recently awarded the first Alice Rowan Swanson fellowship, which provides grant money for SIT Study Abroad alums to pursue projects relating to human rights. To read more about Alice Rowan Swanson, click here. To learn more about the fellowship guidelines and to download an application, click here.

Why did you decide to do SIT Study Abroad in Chile?

When looking at study abroad programs, I knew that I wanted to study in Chile, and I was attracted to the possibility of working with a community and conducting independent research while abroad, rather than simply taking university classes.  I was attracted to the program theme in Valparaíso and I knew that I did not want to live in a city as large as Santiago, so I chose the program on Culture, Development, and Social Justice.
 
What was your independent study project (ISP) in Chile, and how is that connected to the work you will be doing in Chile this coming January?

A new Aymara birthing room at a hospital in Arica, Chile

My independent study project focused on the pregnancy and birthing practices of indigenous Aymara women, who live in northern Chile, Bolivia, and Peru.  I looked at how the traditional practices have shifted due to Chilean Ministry of Health norms and trends towards increased modernity, as well as the current processes in place to maintain these traditions.  The work I will do in January focuses on a particular program called Utasanjam usuña (which means “to give birth as in our house,”) which was implemented in the northern city of Arica to provide Aymara women with a traditional birthing room that provided the appropriate herbs and treatment from an Aymara doctor within the local hospital, to ensure safe deliveries.  I will work with the organization that implemented the program, PESPI (Special Program for Health and Indigenous Communities) to assess the awareness of the program for the Aymara population, and how it is being received by Western medical professionals and the Aymara community.
 
Why did you decide to apply for this fellowship, and what do you hope to get out of it?
 
Upon return to school this summer, I felt that I was unable to fully assess the situation I had investigated during the ISP period, and I wanted to provide the community with a tangible and useful resource that would facilitate the process of retaining cultural birthing practices.  I was unsure of how to find enough funding to be able to return to Chile, until I read about the Alice Rowan Swanson fellowship, which is an amazing opportunity for an SIT alum to give back to the community where they studied.

 

Michelle with two Aymara physicians

How will this fellowship influence your next steps, and what do you plan to do after you graduate from Tufts?

The fellowship allows me to understand the process of independent research and facilitate my career plans to work with similar communities.  Through my coursework at Tufts and my experience in Chile, I have learned and witnessed firsthand the discrimination that impoverished communities suffer from, and my goal is to make meaningful contributions to such groups to help improve their health status.  I plan to apply for a Fulbright or Rotary Scholarship to work with a maternal health program in South America, and I aspire to attend medical school and complete an MD/MPH, with a focus on international medicine.  Following this, I plan to continue working in international health development in Latin America.

How has SIT Study Abroad shaped the way you look at the world?

SIT Study Abroad provided me with eye-opening experiences that I would likely have never experienced otherwise; I was able to live with families of different social strata and experience life in both a rural and urban setting.  Apart from greater language comprehension, I am now more aware of distinct cultural notions and how to navigate differences in cultures.  Additionally, the program introduced me to the field of international development, through the lens of human rights and social justice, and allowed me to more fully understand global issues and how to think about international concerns of which I was previously unaware.

SIT Study Abroad Panama Alum turns field research into education scholarships

In the fall of 2008, Tim Soo traveled to Panama on the SIT Study Abroad Panama: Tropical Ecology, Marine Ecosystems, and Biodiversity Conservation program. Soo, a student at Emory University who plans to become a doctor, spent the summer of 2008 working in a medical lab in Japan before heading directly to Panama. Once in Panama, the stark contrast between his homeland and the research lab in Japan struck him immediately, but the turning point occurred a few months later when his group visited the Comarca Ngobe, a reservation for the Ngobe indigenous group.

Though Soo and his fellow group members spent only one night in the Comarca, the experience was transformative for many of them. The Comarca Ngobe have traditionally been a nomadic people, but recent population growth in Panama has severely limited their movement. As a result, the Ngobe of the Comarca have become isolated in a small reservation in the mountains, virtually unable to produce enough food for survival. Language and cultural barriers only make the situation more severe, and the group receives very little help from the national government.

Soo originally planned to conduct research on medicine, but found the conversations always drifting back towards more basic needs for food and shelter. It was the first time he and the other group members had truly observed extreme poverty, and they decided that they needed to do something about it. “Through various discussions afterwards, we attempted to come up with a solution to escaping this endless cycle of poverty, to escaping these difficulties; we decided the best way was through education,” he says. The group then started “Few for Change,” an organization devoted to raising tuition money for students of the Comarca Ngobe. To date, the group has raised enough money for two scholarships, and has begun working with ASMUNG and Padres Familiares, two local organizations in Panama, who will help to identify scholarship recipients.

The organization is now up and running, and a prime example of the impact that field research can have on SIT Study Abroad students. To learn more about “Few for Change,” visit the organization’s website at: http://www.fewforchange.com/

SIT Study Abroad Alum Continues to Give through the World Learning/SIT Global Reciprocity Fund

Nadine Channaoui attended SIT Study Abroad Bolivia: Culture and Development Program in fall of 2008 and will start her final year at Brandeis University this fall.  She is currently fundraising for her host community in Bolivia through the World Learning/SIT Global Reciprocity Fund. 

SIT Study Abroad’s model of international education is grounded in the host communities and organizations with which they work. To support these communities and partnerships, SIT Study Abroad is expanding efforts to fund local initiatives in healthcare, the environment, education, and more through its new Global Reciprocity Fund.

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I was not originally planning on studying abroad in Bolivia.  Honestly, I didn’t even know where Bolivia was when I started browsing through programs.  Early on, I knew that I wanted to go to a Spanish-speaking country.  Later in the search process, I realized that I wanted to go to a developing country.  I was also very drawn to SIT programs as they seemed to add a whole other twist to studying abroad.  When (a friend) mentioned the (Culture and Development) program in Bolivia, I got hooked.  I read about the rich cultures and pressing social issues and knew that Bolivia would offer me a completely different experience from anything I had ever known—which was ultimately exactly what I wanted.

When I arrived in Cochabamba, Bolivia, the city seemed as spunky as its name with its panoramic mountains, colorful buildings, and picturesque plazas…However as I spent more time in the incredibly diverse country, I was gradually introduced to the complexity of its interior: the cracks that needed repairs; the features that, though different from my familiar home, were completely functional; and the differences among various regions, opinions, and cultures that all existed “under the same roof.”

During one of (SIT Study Abroad’s) seminar classes, we had sociology students from a local university visit and we all watched a couple of SIT student-made films about Bolivian migration and had a discussion about the topic afterwards.  One of the films, by Hanna Rosenthal-Fuller, was a series of interviews that discussed what life was like for children and spouses who lived in Bolivia while their family members migrated abroad.  It was a very touching film and really tugged at my heart strings.  I immediately wanted to learn more about the topic and wanted to provide some type of resource for the children. 

I decided to investigate this theme for my Independent Study Project (ISP), a month-long, field-work-based project done at the conclusion of the program. My investigations, which explored the emotional and behavioral effects of children with migrant parents, included volunteer work with an NGO, interviews with professionals, and group charlas (or chats) with Bolivian children who had at least one parent or relative abroad. I was not surprised to find that the children experienced emotional, academic, and responsibility alterations after their parents went abroad; however I was surprised to learn that despite their grief, they often so maturely understood that their parents left to benefit them… I was also aware that children’s literature was hard to come by in Bolivia and wanted to give back to a society that had taught me so much.  Writing a children’s book during my ISP seemed like the perfect solution!

 I hope that my book helps children with migrant parents understand that they are not alone, it is okay to miss their parents, and there are various methods of expressing and coping with their emotions.  At the conclusion of my study abroad experience, I was able to read my book aloud to a small gathering of local children. I’ll never forget their eyes gazing at me and my book as I read a story to which, more than likely, at least one of those ten children could have personally related.  I also hope that the book informs other children and adults around the world about the trend of Bolivian migration and possible emotional repercussions for children.

I learned many lessons from being in Bolivia.  One simple lesson that I learned and now think about on a nearly daily basis is that things aren’t so bad.  Life is so different “on the other side” and if people there (in Bolivia) are alright, I will be alright too.

(My advice) for students about to leave on SIT Study Abroad Programs: dare to be different.  By that, I mean to say challenge yourself to try new things that you never ever imagined you would do.  You’re already going on an incredibly unique program in a foreign country, you might as well make it is whacky, adventurous, and enlightening as possible! 

For the alumni: share, share, share!  It’s easy to fall right back into the fast-paced US American life, but when you share your experiences with others, it gives you a chance not only to remember your incredible experience, but also to educate and inspire others.

Visit Nadine’s fundraising page.

View pictures of Nadine’s experience in Bolivia.