Leadership Initiatives Students Creating Change

Dear Leadership Initiatives Donor,

This year, our Public Health work is centered in Dungal, Bayara-South, and Buli. Interns are working side by side with community leaders and local health professionals to listen first, understand daily realities, and identify the most urgent health priorities. Together they are examining ten focus areas raised by families and clinics: cholera, hepatitis B and C, Lassa fever, dengue fever, antenatal and postnatal care, the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, diabetes, malnutrition, menstrual hygiene, and WASH. The first phase is about relationships and learning, not lecturing, so that every step fits local routines, budgets, and beliefs.

Interns and community leaders work together to help highlight barriers that do not show up in statistics, such as transport costs for prenatal visits, fuel shortages that limit water boiling, or the lack of private disposal options for menstrual products at school. Health professionals add clinical context and help translate prevention messages into simple, doable actions for families.

Once this picture is clear, the next step is a detailed baseline survey in each community. Interns will co-design the instrument with leaders and health workers in Hausa and English, pilot it with a small group, and train local enumerators to collect data respectfully with informed consent. The survey will measure knowledge, attitudes, and practices tied to the chosen priority, along with access, seasonal patterns, and facility conditions. Items will align to the planned workshops so results can guide teaching and show real change over time.

With baseline data in hand, each community will receive a practical education plan that includes workshops, easy take-home actions, and a clear monitoring routine led by Project Coordinators and peer educators. Materials will match local channels and budgets, from flyers and WhatsApp audio messages to handwashing and safe water demonstrations, menstrual health sessions, or diabetes screening referral days organized with clinic partners.

Your support makes this possible. Donations fund survey printing and translation, training, basic demonstration supplies, small stipends for peer educators, and local transport to reach households that are far from clinics and schools. Your generosity also fuels the essential infrastructure that keeps families healthy over the long term, including clean water wells, support for health clinics, improvements to schools, and targeted microgrants that remove practical barriers for households adopting new health practices.