2006

Five months later, another group of university students volunteered in Ghana with a local Ghanaian non-profit organization, the Center for Job Creation and Environmental Protection. While traveling to Mole National Park in northern Ghana, students passed through Larabanga, a small village of 4,000 people. While the students spent several days in Larabanga, community leaders Mr. Huisseni and Al-Hassian Salia expressed their pressing need for a more accessible medical facility. As discussions progressed the shared vision of Global Endeavors was born.

Upon return to the United States, eight students committed to providing sustainable healthcare in rural populations and thus formed Global Endeavors, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization.

2008
The newly founded Global Endeavors board traveled to Ghana for five weeks to immerse themselves in Ghanian culture. During their visit they met with the Larabangan community, preformed a health assessment of the area, and refined their shared goal for community centered healthcare development. The lack of sanitation facilities and programs in Ghana has become a tremendous problem for developing communities. Small villages are not set up to dispose of polyethylene and thus burn plastics where children play or merely leave trash in the streets and beaches where they facilitate the spread of disease.

Mindy Lipsitz is a first year M.D./M.P.H. student at the University of Alabama Birmingham. She graduated from the University of Georgia with B.S. degrees in Biology and Psychology and a Spanish minor. Mindy, previously having founded Argentina Endeavors, is familiar with the challenges of organizing people and working in developing countries. As the head of Global Endeavors, she led the recent Global Endeavors trip June of 2008, and continued to scout future Global Endeavors sites in Central America and Asia this past year.

Davis Moon is a second year M.D. student at the Mercer University School of Medicine. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in biology. He has traveled and volunteered in many underserved communities throughout Central America as well as in Argentina and Ghana. He truly believes that by combining the power of preventative medicine, enthusiasm of local and international volunteers, and the support of communities in need, we can make a big impact on the global society.

Anureet Cheema is a second year M.D. student at the University of Tennessee Memphis. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Cellular Biology and a B.S. in Psychology. Having traveled extensively as a college student, she has seen firsthand the need for better healthcare services around the world. She foresees a lifelong commitment to serving the health needs of the disadvantaged and vulnerable citizens of remote communities worldwide.

Kali Spurlock is a nursing student at Seattle University. She aspires to work in legislation, focused on bringing universal healthcare to the US and to work with at risk women in our communities. She is passionate about serving people in need worldwide by empowering communities with the skills, facility and materials to provide sustainable and culturally sensitive care for the public.

Steven Gay is a first year M.D. student at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Steven has extensive experience traveling and volunteering throughout South America as well as having volunteered in Ghana and Thailand. Steven believes that education and community-driven campaigns are key to finding sustainable healthcare solutions, and he is very passionate about recruiting volunteers dedicated to these beliefs.

Denise Ginsberg – Most Amazing Woman on the Planet

John Chiles– Lawyer

Where We Are

2009
Local chapters of Global Endeavors opened in four universities across the nation at: Seattle University, Mercer University, Emory University and the Medical College of Georgia.

Seattle University GE has teamed with Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) to fundraise, develop and carry out several other projects that will help sustain the clinic financially, combat malnutrition and aid the primary education effort.

1. Shea Nuts: grow naturally and plentifully in Larabanga. They are easily made into shea butter and are used in cosmetics, lotions and body butters in the United States. Shea butter will be primarily sold in Seattle, 100% profits returning to producers and to support the clinic.

2. Moringa Trees: also dubbed “miracle trees” flourish during drought season and provides all essential vitamins and nutrients needed for a complete diet. During the 2009 summer visit, GE board members witnessed school children fight for their first meal in three days which consisted of less than a handful of starch for those lucky enough to get any. They finished the day climbing trees and sharing nuts the size of large marbles between three. Most of the children experienced extreme malnutrition as did their families.

3. Lesson Plans: Due to the generosity of the village leaders, the Salia brothers established the only school in Larabaga. Children are crammed into small classrooms, zealous for more information but lacking proper professors. The school cannot afford to hire even a part time teacher and is currently run by an unsteady flow of compassionate volunteers passing through Larabanga. The school is in desperate need of lesson plans to aid the substitute teachers. Currently the children merely memorize the alphabet or multiplication table and have no comprehension of the concept. Hopefully over time this project will gain more funding so that books and materials may be supplied as well.

Contact Kali Spurlock with further questions: spurlock@seattleu.edu or (206) 271-6984.

University of Alabama Birmingham GE- The newest addition of Global Endeavors, in Birmingham Alabama has a variety of fundraising ideas for the clinic. Currently, one of our Exec. Board members teaches a donations-based yoga class at The Yoga Circle on Sundays, with all of the money going to Global Endeavors. Email Mindy at MindyL@uab.edu for more information on how to get involved with GE Birmingham.

Mercer University GE- Global Endeavors Mercer teamed up with students from Emory University’s entering medical school class to continue our visits to Argentina in the summer 2009.

Medical College of Georgia GE - Info coming soon.