I furthered my cultural competency skills and feel more confident in being in a vastly different culture. This also includes becoming more comfortable talking about preconceived biases with people from different cultures and nations in a respectful and open manner. Additionally, visiting the hospitals provided great insight on the efficacy of international aid and the challenges the global community still faces with providing relevant and timely material and non-material aid which can adapt to changing local needs.

The experience had a good variety of learning about animal and human health concepts in global health. It was unique to visit two human hospitals and hear perspectives from human health professionals. In one week, you learn a lot about the country’s landscapes and cultures. Visiting CTPH was very valuable. The opportunity to see critically endangered mountain gorillas was once-in-a-lifetime. Observing these animals and related issues in-person greatly enhances your understanding of these One Health issues.

This experience allowed me to dive deeper into “Global Health Challenges.” No longer was it just a topic I was learning in a classroom, or a disease that was a world away… it became a reality. True hunger and poverty along with limited to no access to clean water became very real and evident, while things such as Malaria became something we actually had to worry about. I know these all sound like negative things – but I find each of these things valuable not only as a veterinary student but as a human being. It’s easy to ignore what is happening when it’s a world away, but once you are thrown in the mix of it all it suddenly stops being a topic in a classroom and becomes a very harsh reality.

I would definitely recommend this experience to other students! It gave me an experience I would not have had otherwise. We were able to see and do so much, including meeting wonderful, empowering people such as Dr. Gladys, the founder of CTPH. If I were to try and do this on my own, I’m sure the trip would have cost a fortune and wouldn’t have included both educational and networking benefits.

This study abroad class was eye-opening and truly exposed me to multiple aspects of global health challenges. I was able to meet and talk with the local people in their villages, visit hospitals in different areas to truly grasp what medical facilities are like in a foreign country, and also gain a new perspective for the veterinary field via meeting and visiting the Ugandan Veterinary students at their own veterinary college. The program was well led, organized, and maintained a safe environment while enabling us to truly experience Africa.

This experience not only allowed me to learn more about a global health and one health initiative, but this program also allowed me to really experience the culture of Uganda. This is important because this allows me to keep an open mind and will help me in my future career. This experience showed me many different angles of the health field and gave me an informative broad understanding of the positives and negatives of the medical and veterinary fields.