Mount Allison student one of 12 in North America recognized for their contributions to development organization
2012-02-29 10:15:46
SACKVILLE, NB – Daniela Fernandez is one of only a dozen student leaders from across North America to be recognized by Global Brigades for their exceptional dedication to the organization. She is featured on their Facebook page, as well as their web site, as part of Global Brigades Month.
Fernandez has been involved with the Mount Allison chapter of Global Brigades for the past three years. She understands better than most why Global Brigades, the world's largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization, is so important.
“I grew up in Colombia. I came from a city of four million, where I witnessed poverty and urban inequality and a lot of injustice,” she says. “After moving to Canada seven years ago, I saw things could be different and it led me down the road of being interested in social sciences.”
Fernandez found out about Global Brigades in her second year at Mount Allison and knew it was the perfect fit for her.
“I saw it as a good opportunity for me to get some field experience in international development work, something that has always interested me and something I knew I wanted to work towards,” she says. “I want to change some of the things I grew up seeing.”
Fernandez has taken on increasingly important roles with Global Brigades at Mount Allison each year. Last year she was the Spanish and education co-ordinator, educating people on the context they would be working in on their mission to Honduras, as well as helping them learn Spanish language and culture. This year she is the vice-president of the public health brigade.
Fernandez is graduating this spring with an honours degree in environmental studies with a major in geography and is hoping to pursue a one-year internship with Global Brigades before moving on to graduate studies.
“I want to continue to be involved in international development work, especially with an organization that has taught me about the way it should be done,” she says. “I really appreciate the work that they do and appreciate that they do it differently than some other NGOs, who might not worry about the long-term impact or why they are there.”
Mount Allison has had a Global Brigades chapter on campus since 2008, the first in Atlantic Canada, and sends a team to Honduras each year. This year 87 people, including 74 students and five health professionals, travelled to the country from Feb. 16 to 24 as part of four brigades: medical/dental, public health, microfinance, and water.
The medical/dental group provided more than 900 people with medical care and more than 150 with dental care in the communities of Villa Santa and Santa Maria. The other three brigades worked in El Canton, where they connected 27 homes to a new water system; provided water storage, latrines, hygiene stations, concrete floors, and ecostoves for two families; and offered financial direction to families. They also donated $1,300 towards the construction of a rural bank to serve the community.
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