Author Margaret Galabe’s new book, “The First-ever Baligham Village Mobile Health Fair” (ISBN: 978-1320315005), is a story of mothers and their babies, families and the myriad of health concerns facing this underserved remote village in Cameroon. It is “an unforgettable story of the triumph of the human spirit over poverty, hopelessness and despair.”
It transcends boundaries: North Toledo, in the U.S.A., a diversified group of passionate student volunteers from Canada, the U.S., Ireland, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Galabe is an author, award-winning humanitarian, philanthropist, and founder of Student International Development Engagement (SIDE), a program in which students travel abroad to enrich their global experience, contribute to development issues, shares her experiences as a member of the team that brought this pilot project to fruition in this meaningful, heartfelt, and insightful, illustrated book.
“It grew out of an opportunity I saw to improve the health care and mortality rates of rural families, mothers and children in Baligham, a remote poor village in Cameroon,” says Galabe.
Using a mobile health fair model, and a team of local and international volunteers planned, executed and assessed the success of the first-ever Baligham Village health fair. The experience of the team is described in this book, including the lessons they learned and the extraordinary gift they shared with members of this underprivileged rural village.
The most valuable chapter in the book isn’t about the planning or execution (although they are certainly program priorities) but about the lessons learned. Every successful program must continue to evolve in order to sustain longevity despite the ever changing needs of the project. The goal of this book is to inspire and encourage others to take part in the important work being done via the Baligham Village Project.
“My experiences are shared in this book for those who will enjoy the encouragement and hope present in a story such as this, where strangers give and share of their time and talent in the service of others,” Galabe adds.
The book is available for purchase online at Amazon at: http://amzn.com/1320315003 .
About the Author:
Margaret Galabe is a humanitarian, philanthropist, advocate for women with disabilities. She has parlayed values instilled by her mother into global initiatives benefitting the economic empowerment of women and rural development. She is the founder of Student International Development Engagement, a program in which students travel abroad to enrich their global experience, contribute to development issues and find the experience rewarding in a way that they never imagined.Nominated in 2003 for the inaugural Perdita Huston Human Rights Award, 2011 recipient of the International Alliance for Women’s “World of Difference 100” award, 2009 recipient of the European Union Women Inventors and Innovators special recognition award, 2004 recipient of the Global Women Inventors and Innovators (GWIIN) award
About Student International Development Engagement:
Student International Development Engagement, or SIDE for short, invites international students to attend a six week, highly intensive summer volunteering, service learning and internship, where they are culturally immersed in remote, rural villages in Cameroon, Central Africa, so as to gain a greater understanding of the issues that engulf the people of these villages. Through SIDE’s mission, sustainable development initiatives and cross-cultural experiences are fostered.
SIDE is an agile, ambitious, collaborative and forward thinking non-profit organization that provides an unparalleled student service, ensuring it continues to foster stronger relationships with both its students and partners locally and internationally. SIDE was established in 2011 by award-winning philanthropist Margaret Galabe, who serves the organization as its executive director. SIDE is based in Palmdale, California, USA and Bamenda, Cameroon.
To see how SIDE can promote success through its student summer volunteering, service learning and internship programs, visit their website:
http://www.StudentInternationalDevelopmentEngagement.com .
VIDEOS:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvuxkKR6WPNDrb4KTLnfOZQ .
