Action Amplified: The ORICE Annual Symposium on Global Community Engagement

Session 1a: 6:45 - 7:30 pm (Choi 120)
Presented by Lucas Mehling, Kabir Fardin, Shyla Gheek, Vera Huang

Sub-Saharan Africa has reported slow but steady economic growth over the last number of decades. Despite this, there are concerns that rural areas are being left behind and are not seeing the benefits of modernization enjoyed in urban centres. Rural poverty is widespread, and many residents lack access to critical infrastructure such as electricity and running water. AFRIpads, a Ugandan social enterprise, seeks to change this by investing in rural employment through their reusable sanitary pads factory in the village of Kitengesa. Our study examined five-year trends in the surrounding village’s socio-economic conditions and found significant gains in overall wealth, access to financial resources, gender equality, and more. These improvements occurred despite immense challenges suffered from COVID-19 and lockdowns. We suggest that investment in rural development and employment has the potential to uplift entire communities. We will present a story of growth and resilience, our learnings around this, and what it means for our understanding of development.

Session 1b: 6:45 - 7:30 pm (Seminar Room 121 @ Liu Institute)
Presented by Andro Abaya, Emma DeSouza, Alicia Leong, Joshua James

Kenya is a wealthy country in terms of financial resources and human capital. However, socio-economic disparities are ever present in the country, and the average Kenyan does not benefit equally from the country’s resources. Additionally, the impacts of colonization, “international aid,” and capitalism have contributed to top-down power structures in social services/programming across the country – resulting in unequal access to important community services, many of which we take for granted here in Canada. During their time in Kenya, UBC ORICE Social Work students saw first-hand how organizations such as Basic Needs Basic Rights, Greenstring Network, and RefugePoint are working to reverse these trends to empower local communities. A recurrent theme for all of these organizations was the crucial need to empower individuals and communities from a grassroots level to establish and increase agency over their own mental health. Our presentation will highlight some of the innovative strategies being used in Kenya to leverage the resources and strengths of communities to support sustainable well-being. Many of these strategies can be applied in a Canadian context; although our countries are different, many of the challenges faced by people with mental illness are universal.

Session 1c: 6:45 - 7:30 pm (Choi 351)
Presented by Nippun Arora, Helena Baik, David Chen, Valarmathi Vishnu

In this presentation, we navigate the intricate web of Uganda's healthcare landscape, with a primary focus on Tekera Health Centre. We delve into the economic underpinnings of healthcare delivery, shedding light on the formidable challenges confronting private, not-for-profit (PNFP) entities like Tekera. These organizations operate in a socio-political climate where economic development and self-sustainability are paramount. One of our primary areas of exploration revolves around the arduous task of providing affordable healthcare services. Within a context where sustainable funding is not always guaranteed, non-profits, including Tekera, face unique difficulties. We also explore the intriguing genesis of social service organizations like Tekera, often born from the goodwill of international donors seeking to make a meaningful impact. Yet, we illuminate how this charitable model can be precarious, leading to significant disparities in the healthcare sector between non-profit/private and public service providers. Our journey unfolds by examining the realm of maternal health, an area of critical concern. We scrutinize the status of birthing facilities and the testing and treatment of HIV/AIDS, particularly among vulnerable groups like mothers and children. Throughout the presentation, we integrate our experiences from a close examination of Uganda's healthcare system, emphasizing Tekera's aspirations to enhance its existing healthcare center by expanding maternal and birthing services. We also evaluate how strategies grounded in asset-based community development empower PNFPs to engage their communities and secure the vital resources necessary for impactful outreach.

Session 1c: 6:45 - 7:30 pm (Liu Institute 316)
Presented by Gaylean Davies and Krystal Go

Housed under UBC ORICE, the Gender+ in Research Collective works to build a community for rich dialogue in which gender and other identity intersections, including race, class, sexuality, and ability, are considered when conducting community-engaged research. Join us for this discussion session about the Gender+ in Research Collective as we speak to what gender+, intersectionality, and positionality mean and their importance to research and everyday life. How do our identities shape our experiences? Do the intersections of our identities affect how research is conducted? If so, how? Why does this matter to our everyday lives?

Session 2a: 7:40 - 8:25 pm (Choi 120)
Presented by Adeline Chartol and Jesse DeCoste

Historically, international development strategies have been rooted in paternalistic, ‘top-down’ approaches to poverty reduction. These models highlight ‘deficits' in communities and ignore the myriad ways that they build and sustain wealth: through social connections, mutual aid, and deep-rooted knowledge systems. Asset-based development seeks to use these skills and this knowledge to build capacity within the community and create sustainable programs for change. Our summer was spent with Alternative Livelihoods for Pastoralist Communities, a home-grown community based organization composed of professionals from Wajir, Kenya. Most of the members involved in the organization come from livestock herder families in a small town called Bute near the Kenya/Ethiopia border. This presentation will outline the ownership and structure of the ALPC to demonstrate its asset-based community development approach. It will then provide an overview of the organization’s programming. Specifically, we will highlight a health insurance program that our project supported. Finally, we will outline the development of a program evaluation methodology that was co-created reciprocally with the ALPC, and how we hope to see the project continue in the future. During our placement, we learned a lot about sustained, mutually beneficial relationships in international development, which we will reflect on at the end of our presentation.

Session 2b: 7:40 - 8:25 pm (Seminar Room 121 @ Liu Institute)
Presented by Christie Bernados, Kristine Harrison (Kay), Sajedeh Zaki, Wande Abimbola

According to Babu Ayindo from Greenstrings network, “the hospital is a microcosm of society”. In a society that is still healing from the trauma of colonization, this quote demonstrates how its legacy can manifest in society in a myriad of ways. For example, in institutions such as hospitals, education, government, religion, family, etc. Canada and Kenya share a history of colonization, with forcible and violent suppression of traditional indigenous practices (e.g. Indian residential schools, potlatch ban, Kenyan anti-witchcraft legislation). Suppression of indigenous practices continues today with an emphasis on the Western biomedical model to treat mental health. While in Kenya, UBC ORICE Social Work students sought out different modes of approaching mental health care in a non-western context which we could apply here. We saw examples of both traditional and modern approaches to mental health. Both approaches have the potential to help and harm; therefore a hybrid to amplify the benefits of both are a promising way forward. This is demonstrated by the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing, "learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing and from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing and to using both of these eyes together” (Bartlett, Marshall, & Marshall, 2012, p. 335). In this presentation, we will use storytelling as a decolonized approach to sharing our insights in Kenya.

Session 2c: 7:40 - 8:25 pm (Choi 351)
Presented by Siena Serikawa, Tyler Stevenson, Julia Bricio

In Uganda, as in many other regions of the world, the HIV epidemic continues to pose significant challenges, particularly amongst adolescent girls and young women (AGYW).  AGYW face a disproportionate burden of HIV infection and experience the highest incidence rates of transmission, affecting them socially and economically. The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) Uganda, is taking action to address this critical issue, in part, through targeted sustainable livelihood programming (SLP).  This presentation will share some of our learning and experiences working alongside TASO on a report that highlights the multifaceted dimensions of this approach and assessment while they investigate if SLPs are an effective preventative measure. We will delve into topics of intersectionality, vulnerability factors, community engagement, policy, and advocacy.