15 Years in 15 Days: Day 7

For Day 7 of OWC's 15 Years in 15 Days, we look at our work from 2017-2019, where we transitioned to a professional organization. For OWC's 2017 and 2019 trips to Kenya and Nepal (respectively), we were led by Professor Melissa Collum. Professor Collum brought us invaluable experience with her work with the U.N. and the National Council of the Social Studies. After surveying the teachers at the HIPAfrica and Tri Ka schools, we developed professional development sessions tailored to their requests. Here you see certified educators John Martin, Natalie Chabot, and Shelby Todd leading PD's on English Language Instruction and Integrating Technology in the Classroom. From the surveying, Professor Collum also brought nurses Brooke Anderson and Haley Swanson to our trips to Nepal and Kenya, who conducted health check-ups to the students and anyone who requested a check-up from the surrounding communities.

***Dental care was identified as a critical health need in both communities. Over 90% of the students at both HIP and Tri Ka were suspected to have cavities after their check-ups. OWC worked with a UCLA professor on a program that would have allowed dentists in the U.S. to work with these communities, but this program fell through at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. From these health findings, Professor Collum led a toothbrushing distribution day at the Tri Ka school in 2019.

We were honored to partner with these incredible communities to make these events happen.