Stories of Social Entrepreneurship in Healthcare:
Engaging Local Communities
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My name is Emmanuela Oppong. I also go by Ella. I spent half of early years in Ghana and the other half in the U.S. I am very passionate about healthcare and education everywhere, particularly in local communities, and in developing parts of the world. There are huge gaps that exist in people’s access to healthcare and education everywhere.
I am both worried and appalled (as a global citizen and aspiring international physician) by the fact that Africa is home to 15% of the world population, yet it carries 25% of the world’s disease burden and produces only 2% of the world’s research output (NEPAD, 2015). How are we to move forward as a people, as an interconnected world, if there are such glaring disparities in our health system? Something needs to be done. I am aware that people are using innovative approaches in different corners of the world to try to bridge these gaps. What if we can highlight, learn from and expand on what people on the ground, local organizations, are doing to make a broader impact? I recently graduated from Union College with a B.S in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Global Service and Education. And I have been awarded funding, through the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, to travel the world for one year exploring the intersection between social entrepreneurship and healthcare, and how organizations and projects empower locals to participate in healthcare outreach and research. Engaging with workers and local community members, I hope to learn about the similarities and differences, successes and challenges, and cultures and customs that influence these initiatives. |
As I travel throughout the world, I will be blogging, featuring and sharing the stories of the people I meet on the ground; the work, the unique perspectives, the struggles, the successes and impact they are having on their communities, through photography, poetry, music, and short narratives.
At the end of the year, I will gather my blogs into a book edition as part of the Generation Now: Call for Social Change book series. My hope is that these powerful stories and experiences will: educate, touch, empower, move you to take courage and push to change the unfairness and injustice that you see around you. It does not have to be in healthcare. It could be in anything from providing equitable access to education and educational resources, to wasting less water, to creating fair housing policies, to becoming an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, to taking leftover food after a big event to give to a homeless person you encountered on the street… I hope that the people I meet—who will share a part of themselves—will also live with you on this site, so that you and I, we, can all join hands to work on leveling our much tilted world. ~ Ella |
