Project Philippines 2008

Project Philippines 2008
When: Sunday 24 August 2008 - Saturday 6 September 2008
Location: Cebu, Philippines

Problem

• Gastrointestinal parasites are a neglected health problem despite their prevalence, affecting 7 out of every 10 children in the Philippines. These parasites will often cause children to miss school, adversely affecting their education
• There is a lack of effective health education aimed at worm control

Objectives: "Worm Control and Education"

• Create a worm control curriculum for parents and students that the National Institutes of Health can utilize in their national campaign for worm control
  
• Strengthen the SEALNet Young Entrepreneurs’ Club in the University of the Philippines-Cebu High school established by last year's SEALNet project in the Philippines
  

Approaches

• Health education: We will work with a local community, directly educating children and their parents about worm control
• We plan to educate children through a classroom-based health fair, in which team members will design a set of engaging activities to educate students about gastrointestinal worms, the importance of treatment, and recommended hygiene practices
• Team members will also reach out to parents by conducting a health fair in a public space, as well as visiting individual residences in the community in order to spend one-on-one time with parents
• Educational materials for dissemination: We plan to create forms of mass media such as a comic book and radio ad
• Youth empowerment: Local high school students will be given workshops on harnessing creativity and developing leadership skills

Local Partner

• We will be working with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), based in the University of the Philippines-Manila. The NIH is in charge of the national worm control campaign, implementing worm control projects across the country.

Team Member Responsibilities

• Help create media and a curriculum of activities for worm control education
• Create and conduct both the classroom-based and public health fairs
• Engage local high school students by preparing empowerment workshops
• Be involved in the creation process of the materials and curriculum before going on the ground

Skills Needed

• Creativity and initiative
• Ability to comfortably communicate with people of different ages
• A willingness to dive into the project
• And a willingness to have fun!

Project Leaders

• Andrew Plan: aplan 'at' stanford.edu
• Lorra de la Paz: ldelapaz 'at' stanford.edu