Community

• Conversations with renowned professors, researchers, and professionals in global health and related areas
• Socials with like-minded students

Volunteering & Service

• Annual, ​partially-funded service trip to FIMRC Project Sites (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, etc.)
• Opportunity to raise money and spread awareness about global health

Skill Development

• Develop professional skills in communications, tech development, fundraising, and management. 
• Free MCAT/GRE Prep through the Princeton Review

Student Highlight

Hi! My name is Keyuree Satam and I had the privilege of volunteering at Costa Rica's clinic over my junior year summer. Kids running around with toys, the staff's unfaltering smiles, and the enthusiasm of the other volunteers made the clinic an enjoyable place to work. I helped with check-in and prescription filling, and was also able to shadow the clinic's physician and psychologist. In addition to basic medical services, the clinic offered yoga and dance lessons (a friend and I attempted to teach simple Bhangra!), therapy for a local women's shelter, and assistance at the children's day care and soup kitchen down the street. Volunteers also gave weekly health lessons on topics such as nutrition and hydration to patients in the waiting room. Despite the lively atmosphere, things were not as rosy as they seemed.

Shadowing the physician, I saw cases of malnutrition, hypertension, diabetes, and various injuries. Yet, the reasons behind these diagnoses were eye-opening. I learned from one of staff members that the clinic had initially opened to serve the medical needs of Alajuelita. However, they soon saw that many residents' physical ailments were a direct product of the emotional, mental, and economic suffering they were experiencing, suffering that a simple prescription could not fix. To target this, the clinic also brought in a psychologist. Shadowing her for multiple afternoons, I heard many of the emotional traumas behind the physical symptoms. A number of women suffered from depression due to unemployment, fear for their children's futures, and poverty. Some alluded to accounts of sexual abuse and domestic violence. Their children often visited the psychologist as well, demonstrating a number of behavioral problems due to growing up in a home with abuse. In many of these situations, lack of education and income left the women unable to leave their spouses.

The clinic provides an invaluable service to the community through both free medical attention and psychological consultation, empowering women and children to seek a better future and educating the community on the importance of both physical and mental health, Having seen this impact firsthand, I hope to continue to give back to FIMRC's clinic through Harvard's chapter and hope to see a continued growth in the community of Alajuelita.

​*Note: I also volunteered in Peru through the Summer International Health Fellowship (SIHF). Check it out here!

Testimonials

I got involved with FIMRC my sophomore fall after taking global health classes during my first year and learning about the wide disparities in child and maternal health outcomes throughout the world. Through FIMRC, I was not only able to learn more about these disparities, but I was also able to do concrete work to begin to solve them. From volunteering with children in underserved communities in Boston to working to fundraise for projects impacting health outcomes in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, I have absolutely loved my time in FIMRC. FIMRC is also such a tight-knit social community, which makes it just as much fun as it is rewarding! I can’t wait to continue to serve for the rest of my time at Harvard!

Through FIMRC, I have been able to learn more about global and public health, along with learning about ways that I, as a global citizen, can help contribute to advancing health! FIMRC is a one of a kind organization, and the FIMRC community is one of my favorite on campus!

I think the FIMRC community is a great place where we can all work together to achieve a common goal of spreading awareness of global health. I appreciate the frequent member meetings that keep us up-to-date on the activities.

I most enjoy the environment! Everyone is very welcoming and committee meetings have been fun - listening to others' opinions and sharing diff perspectives have been very cool :)

FIMRC has given me the unique opportunity to meet and interact with students who are just as passionate about global health as I am. I believe that the board has done an excellent job in organizing the meeting agendas and keeping the club on track with our goals. ​

I think FIMRC is an amazing organization and I'm so happy to have been able to join the board this semester. I love the open and friendly space that I always come into for both member and board meetings and the events conducted are thoughtful and exciting. ​