Youth at risk: obtaining the highest standard of health worldwide

Member states discuss youth and health risks during the sixty-fourth session of the World Health Assembly.

On May 24 the World Health Assembly paid particular attention to youth and the health risks that impair their well being. Each participating state saw the value of this dialogue and pledged to continue their efforts to address the needs of youth and the obstacles they encounter to leading a healthy and secure life.

“More than 1.8 million young people aged 15 to 24 die each year. A much greater number of young people suffer from illnesses which hinder their ability to grow and develop to their full potential,” (WHO).

Particularly vulnerable are the marginalized and often disregarded youth in developing countries who are all too often malnourished and susceptible to disease. Health education, access to nutritious foods, and outlets for physical exercise are essential to maintaining good health throughout life.

One often overlooked health factor is that of mental health. The WHO estimate that 20 percent of adolescents will experience a mental health problem such as depression or anxiety in any given year.

There are many international instruments in place that support the highest attainment of youth health. Each of the Millennium Development Goals lends to supporting this objective. Additionally, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women make further claims that support youth health.

For instance “About 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 years give birth every year - roughly 11 percent of all births worldwide. The risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes is much higher for adolescents than for older women,” (WHO).

The inadequate state of maternal healthcare worldwide is of great concern to the WHO. Monitoring mechanisms are being put in place to assess the progress being made in countries throughout the world regarding this issue. The WHO urged member states to make this one of their top priorities.

Young people need to be informed regarding the risks they face due to sex in order to effectively reduce unwanted pregnancies and diseases such as HIV/AIDS. This requirement is not being met, however, since youth made up an estimated 40 percent of all new HIV infections in 2008 according to the WHO.

Central issues of concern include harmful habits developed during youth that are continued through adulthood and often prove fatal.

“Nearly two-thirds of premature deaths and one-third of the total disease burden in adults are associated with conditions or behaviors that began in their youth, including: tobacco use, a lack of physical activity, unprotected sex or exposure to violence,” (WHO).

The WHO estimates that 150 million young people regularly use tobacco and half of those users will die prematurely as a result. In addition, the harmful use of alcohol increases the likelihood of traffic accidents (1,000 young people die every day), violence (especially domestic violence), and premature death.

In fact, the WHO estimates that 565 young people aged 10 to 29 years die every day due to interpersonal violence.

Member states called for more data regarding youth health risk and promotion. In addition, many saw the need to allocate more funding to the relates issues. Countries such as the United Kingdom committed themselves to focusing their efforts on the most vulnerable youth first and foremost.

For more information regarding the WHO or the WHA visit www.WHO.int/en/

Art is such a lovely thing

In the few spare moments I have between events at the UN, I often browse the secluded art galleries to be found randomly dispersed throughout the various buildings. Here are a few of my favorites for your viewing pleasure:

trA

MORE ART?!

No such thing as too much art

Report on the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health

On May 19, the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health met at the World Health Assembly to introduce their final report “Keeping Promises, Measuring Results.”

Due to the slow progress of both MDG 4 “Child Health” and MDG 5 “Maternal Health” the UN Secretary General developed the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health with the mission to spare 16 million lives by 2015 in the world’s 49 poorest countries. This initiative has already mobilized US $40 billion dollars and with it intends to accelerate progress towards the MDGs related to women’s and children’s health. The Secretary-General has thereby established this Commission to ensure that participating actors honor their commitments. Therefore, the Commission is responsible for determining “the most effective international institutional arrangements for global reporting, oversight, and accountability on women’s and children’s health.”

The Commission is being led by Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director of the World Health Organization.

The Commission is intrinsically rooted in the fundamental human right of every woman and child to live the healthiest lives possible with the particular priority of achieving health equity in relation to gender. In addition, it places major accountability at the national level with the supplementary involvement and necessary accountability of committed global actors.

Thus, the Commission has agreed upon 10 recommendations to achieve their goal of improved reporting, oversight, and accountability in the realm of women’s and children’s health.

With the goal of retrieving “better information for better results”, the commission has prioritized the national monitoring of:

1. Vital events: The goal being that by 2015, all countries will have taken significant steps to establish a system for the registration of births, deaths and causes of death, and also have well-functioning health information systems that combine data from facilities, administrative sources and surveys (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 2).

2. Health indicators: The goal being that by 2012, the same 11 indicators on reproductive, maternal and child health, disaggregated for gender and other equity considerations, are being used for the purpose of monitoring progress towards the goals of the Global Strategy (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 2).

3. Monitor Innovation: The goal being that by 2015, all countries have integrated the use of Information and Communication Technologies in their national health information systems and health infrastructure (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 2).

In order to “better track resources for women’s and children’s health” the commission has prioritized the national monitoring of:

4. Resource tracking: The goal being that by 2015, all 74 countries where 98% of maternal and child deaths take place are tracking and reporting, at a minimum, two aggregate resource indicators: First: total health expenditure by financing source, per capita; and second: total reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health expenditure by financing source, per capita (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 2).

5. Country compacts: The goal being that by 2012, in order to facilitate resource tracking, “compacts” between country governments and all major development partners are in place that require reporting, based on a format to be agreed in each country, on externally funded expenditures and predictable commitments (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 2).

By monitoring these components, national governments should be able to review their practices to discern whether or not they are:

6. Reaching women and children: The goal being that by 2015, all governments have the
capacity to regularly review health spending (including spending on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health) and to relate spending to commitments, human rights, gender and other equity goals and results (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 2).

In order to achieve “better oversight of results and resources on the national and global level, the Commission has prioritized:

7. National oversight: The goal being that by 2012, all countries have established national
accountability mechanisms that are transparent, that are inclusive of all stakeholders, and that recommend remedial action, as required (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 3).

8. Transparency: The goal being that by 2013, all stakeholders are publicly sharing information on commitments, resources provided and results achieved annually, at both national and international levels (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 3).

In order to ensure Global Accountability, the Commission has prioritized:

9. Reporting aid for women’s and children’s health: The goal being that by 2012, development partners will request the OECD-DAC to agree on how to improve the Creditor Reporting System so that it can capture, in a timely manner, monitor and evaluate the efficiency of all reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health spending by development partners. In the interim, development partners and the OECD should implement a simple method for reporting such expenditure (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 3).

10. Global oversight: entails an independent ‘‘Expert Review Group’’ reporting regularly to the United Nations Secretary-General on the results and resources related to the Global Strategy and on progress in implementing this Commission’s recommendations. This will take place between 2012 and 2015 (Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, 3).

For the full report visit the World Health Organization website.

Works Cited

Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health. (2011). Keeping Promises, Measuring Results. Every Woman, Every Child, 2-3.

For the girl child: the necessary elimination of FGM

Imagine a girl child, with little understanding of the world, herself, and her body, being forcibly mutilated in an irreparable way, by formerly trusted members of her community. The torture corresponding with female genital mutilation (FGM) will extend throughout her lifetime, continually violating her dignity, bodily integrity, and her human rights.

The practice of FGM unequivocally infringes upon “the right to non-discrimination on the grounds of sex; the right to life when the procedure results in death; the right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and the rights of the child. FGM is also a violation of a person’s right to the highest attainable standard of health, as it damages healthy genital tissue and can lead to severe consequences for girls’ and women's physical
and mental health,” (WHO).

Awareness is being raised and maintained worldwide concerning the realities of FGM, within the international forum of the United Nations and at the grassroots level. Thanks to the tireless dedication of girl child advocates and their organizations, this critical issue is beginning to receive the attention it requires to be effectively combatted.

Julia Lalla-Maharajh founded The Orchid Project in an effort to eliminate FGM. The President of WOW, Julie Rich, met Julia during the World Health Assembly (WHA) and asked her to speak to us on May 18 about her experiences fighting the practice of FGM.

She described a visit to Ethiopia, during which she viewed a man walking ahead of his unencumbered mule, while his wife trailed behind carrying a heavy load on her back. She said this was illustrative that, throughout the world, women are often treated as beasts of burden, without the right to self-determination. Without the ability to control their own bodies.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), FGM is typically inflicted on girls between infancy and age 15 and affects “An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide.”

Types of female genital mutilation

Type I: partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (clitoridectomy).
Subgroups: type Ia, removal of the clitoral hood or prepuce only; type Ib, removal of
the clitoris with the prepuce. (WHO)

Type II: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without
excision of the labia majora (excision). Subgroups: type IIa, removal of the labia
minora only; type IIb, partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora; type IIc,
partial or total removal of the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora. (WHO)

Type III: narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting
and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision
of the clitoris (infibulation). Subgroups: type IIIa, removal and apposition of the labia
minora; type IIIb, removal and apposition of the labia majora. Reinfibulation is covered
under this definition. This is a procedure to recreate an infibulation, for example after
childbirth when defibulation is necessary. (WHO)

Type IV: unclassified – all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for nonmedical
purposes, for example, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization. (WHO)

The practice is often done to insure virginity and fidelity. In fact, the procedure can determine the future marriageability of a woman in many communities.

Julia explained the social complexity of the issue. Even if a mother does not necessarily want to replicate the practice, there is a sense of obligation when a daughter’s future is culturally dependent on it. In communities where lack of education and opportunity prepare a woman for little more than dependency, a mother is placed in a difficult position.

“They further expect that if they do not respect the social rule, they will suffer social consequences such as derision, marginalization and loss of status,” (WHO).

Essentially, entire communities need to change their collective mindset and practice, in order to remove social pressure and stigma. Therefore, a top priority is human rights education within practicing communities.

According to Julia, progress has been made, with 5,300 communities having abandoned FGM.

An additional challenge to be combatted, however, is the medicalization of FGM.

“A recent analysis of existing data shows that more than 18 percent of all girls and women
who have been subjected to FGM in the countries from which data are available have
had the procedure performed on them by a health-care provider,” (WHO).

She pointed to countries such as Indonesia, whose health ministry recently released guidelines indicating how to appropriately practice FGM. Rather than being viewed as a step forward, advocates consider the medicalization of FGM an additional human rights violation of the girl child, contradictorily performed by those who are meant to ensure health and well being.

On May 23, I attended the WHA session that included the country progress reports on FGM within resolution WHA61.16, first adopted in 2008. In adherence to this resolution, all member states agreed to work towards eliminating FGM, including its practice by medical professionals.

Unfortunately the discussion, that lasted only a few minutes, was apparently not a priority many countries were willing to address.

Cape Verde spoke for the African countries. They claimed to have taken important measures and to have intervened at the community level. However, they explained that FGM remains a religious and social practice in some communities in Africa. This is greatly affected by migration within Africa. FGM must be combatted, they said, therefore long term investments must be made and progress must be accelerated. They also brought up the need to prepare more health staff to care for these victims. 

Malaysia claimed that, while FGM can be labeled sexual abuse and gender discrimination, there are no such reported cases in Malaysia. However, the practice of "female circumcision" is often performed as an obligatory religious ritual, that includes a small nick on the clitoris. There is no evidence of injury to the woman during such practices, they claimed. They did not view this as a medical issue, or apparently, a human rights issue. The gravity of this human rights violation was conveniently hidden through the dilution of the language surrounding FGM. Type IV is as much a violation of bodily integrity as type III, and undoubtedly, where one is practiced the other is also.

Iraq acknowledged FGM as an important issue, yet they voiced their opinion that it does not correspond to Millennium Development Goal 3, dealing with gender equality. Apparently the fact that this mutilation is inflicted upon girls and not boys, in order to control their sexuality, is not a matter of inequality.

It seems to be up to the NGOs to keep this issue on the priority list of every country, since it was so pathetically addressed at this meeting. Advocates need to increase their efforts and make their voices heard, for the sake of girl children who cannot speak for themselves and for FGM survivors.

In an effort to do just that, a panel on FGM titled “Progress-Realities-Challenges” was held on June 1 during the Human Rights Council. The event was sponsored by the Inter-African Committee, Women’s UN Report Network, NGO Committee on the Status of Women, No Peace Without Justice, World YWCA, and the Worldwide Organization for Women, with which I am affiliated.

“How can people just sit by? Governments who do not take action should be questioned every day at the UN, they need to be held accountable,” said panelist Berhane Ras-Work, the executive director of the Inter-African Committee. “There should be a declaration of war against FGM.”

One challenge is that women’s sexuality is taboo in many countries, therefore these issues have little chance of being discussed, said Hon. Fatoumata Sire Diakite, the ambassadeur of Mali in Germany. Women’s sexuality must be de-stigmatized in order to enter dialogue concerning related issues.

As was portrayed in a photograph shown by Ms. Lois a. Herman, coordinator of WUNRN, girls are often taken into separate rooms within their elementary schools to undergo FGM. Settings such as home, school, and hospitals should be safe havens for girl children rather than centers of traumatic abuse.

Participants pointed to African countries that were allowing FGM to occur en masse, with thousands of girls to be mutilated on the same occasion. Panelists called for prohibitions at every level of government.

One recurring topic was the dismissal of the belief that FGM is an African problem. It is in fact practiced around the world. In addition, every society accepts harmful practices within their cultural norms, be it FGM, foot binding, plastic surgery, or any number of customs. To ignore this fact is to discriminate against one culture while conveniently overlooking the flaws inherent in another.

In fact, the situation in Africa is readily apparent only because they have taken the leading role in combatting FGM. Hence, there is much expertise to be accessed within the country regarding this issue. This needs to be recognized, said many panelists.

Dr. Tobe Levin von Vleichen pointed out that FGM is rooted in emotion, and the fear of social repercussions. Her company, UnCUT Voices Press aims to bring the voices of FGM survivors to the forefront of the dialogue.

Ms. Khady Koita’s work, Blood Stains, was recently published and dispersed in English speaking countries by UnCUT Voices Press. Founder of the European Network FGM, Koita discussed the need to create non-judgmental forums for girls to express themselves regarding the issue.

She and others were adamant about using the term FGM rather than Female Genital Cutting (FGC) which they feel diminishes the severity of the issue. “This is mutilation!” Koita affirmed.

Although FGM is receiving broad attention, it is not enough. The exchange of high minded words without concrete changes in practice is unacceptable. We must do what it takes to effectively eliminate FGM, and provide a healthy and empowered future for all girl children.

Works Cited

World Health Organization. (2010). Female genital mutilation fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/

World Health Organization. (2010). Global Strategy to stop health-care providers from performing female genital mutilation. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/ reproductivehealth/publications/fgm/rhr_10_9/en/

Following our discussion with Julia Lalla-Maharajh, founder of The Orchid Project.

UVU press release introduces our internship

Two UVU Students Accepted for United Nations Internships
28 APRIL 2011
April 28, 2011
For Immediate Release

University Marketing & Communications: Mike Rigert (801) 863-6807
Written by: Jim Rayburn (801) 863-8504

Two Utah Valley University students will spend this summer working as interns for the Worldwide Organization for Women’s United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland.

As part of the organization’s Global Education Opportunity Program, UVU students Nicolle Johnson and Jessica Burnham will spend three months as interns attending sessions of the Human Rights Council, the Commission on the Status of Women and the World Health Assembly.

“It is an amazing honor for UVU to have two of our students interning with the Worldwide Organization for Women at the United Nations in Geneva this summer,” said Susan Madsen, UVU’s Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership and Ethics and the director of the Utah Women and Education Project. “I have worked with both of these women for the last few years, and they have what it takes to work with leaders they will meet from around the world. This opportunity will show people at the UN that UVU is preparing students who can help change the world.”

Johnson, a senior from Virginia Beach, Va., is pursuing degrees in speech communication and business management with plans to obtain additional degrees in international relations and educational leadership. She will also be doing a grassroots project with the World YWCA for its quadrennial Council and International Summit in Zurich. The summit will focus on “Women Leading Change” and includes more than 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries.

“From this experience, I hope to develop a better understanding of how to advocate on behalf of women and minorities,” Johnson said.

Burnham, a senior from Yorba Linda, Calif., is majoring in integrated studies with emphases in peace and justice studies, sociology and gender studies, and plans to pursue a law degree in human rights. She will spend the grassroots portion of her internship working with the Girl Child Network in the United Kingdom to empower girls throughout the world who are severely impoverished and living in crisis.

“I hope to expand my vision of the world as it is and the world as it could be,” Burnham said. “I will be working with extremely passionate, ethically-minded people from all over the world and I look forward to their mentorship and guidance.”

Johnson currently serves as the administrative assistant for the Utah Women and Education Project, and Burnham is an intern. The project encourages women to obtain college degrees. While in Switzerland the two women will be sharing their experience through blogs and other social media means with other UVU students.

Johnson and Burnham plan to use their UN experience to encourage other UVU students with a commitment to women, minority and justice issues to pursue similar intern opportunities.

“Being able to participate in this internship is one of the highlights of my UVU education. I’ve learned here that one person can make a difference in the lives of so many, and through this internship I will have the chance to expand this knowledge so I can help change the lives of millions of people who are in desperate need of help but do not have a voice,” Johnson said.

The cost associated with both internships is about $20,000, and fundraising efforts are on-going. Contributions to help with the remaining costs can be made online to the United Nations Internship Fund through the UVU Foundation at http://www.uvu.edu.woodbury/scholarship.html. Checks can also be made payable to Dr. Julie Greer, Worldwide Organization for Women, and mailed to Utah Valley University, MS 119, Attn: Nicolle Johnson, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem, UT 84058.

For more information contact Mike Rigert, UVU communications manager, at 801-863-6807.

Vaccines: a hope for the future

The inability of many individuals, particularly vulnerable children, to access adequate healthcare is a persistent global problem that has yet to be strategically addressed and solved.

On May 17 in Geneva’s United Nations assembly hall, however, Bill Gates addressed the existence of diseases such as polio, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, meningitis, rotavirus, and pneumonia and proposed the solution of increasing access to vaccines.

“I had built my life around the idea that innovation is for everyone. When I began to understand how billions of people are deprived of its benefits, it made me angry. That's when I decided that my personal wealth would be used to help confront that inequity,” Gates said of his determination to alleviate the global poor of preventable diseases.

He proceeded to discuss the important role vaccines have to play in disease eradication. “They can be inexpensive, they are easy to deliver, and they are proven to protect children lifelong from disease,” Gates said.

He confidently termed this the “Decade of Vaccines,” calling on world leaders to make improving access to vaccines a top priority. This calls for further investment he explained, but this investment will pay off. Through it, countless lives will be saved and economies will thrive.

“As we free billions of people from the relentless burden of sickness and death [we] will unleash more human potential than ever before” Gates said.

Gates called for at least 90 percent coverage at the country level and 80 percent coverage at the district level. Global actors must do what it takes, he said, to reach the most vulnerable children in order to effectively achieve zero cases.

Therein will the world realize that global health is essential to global prosperity.

“It might be the most difficult thing we’ve ever done, but it will also be the most important,” Gates said.

For more information or to read the full speech visit www.who.int/en/

The UN general assembly hall during the World Health Assembly.

Bill Gates giving his address regarding the need to reach every child with the necessary vaccines.

Thereafter...

We were the last ones on the plane, and we were the last ones off the plane. Partially because we had to cram our luggage haphazardly into random overhead bins throughout the plane once we finally boarded and it would have been difficult to retrieve all of our luggage without, once again, holding up other passengers. Furthermore, Nicolle didn't wake up until the plane was empty.

Upon disembarking, we retrieved our checked luggage from the baggage claim and entered the general area where we met Afton, WOW's (http://wowinfo.org/new/) VP of International Affairs and director of the Global Education Opportunity Program of which we are a part. It was good to see a familiar face at the end of our journey. Along with Afton were Julie, president of WOW, and the Bonnys, the couple I was set to live with during my stay in Geneva. This was our first meeting, and I found them to be extremely sweet, although we could not communicate thoroughly because they spoke only Spanish and French and my French speaking skills have become fairly non-existent after a few years of acquiring dust in the recesses of my brain.

Afton and her coordinator Mutua had originally arranged for Nicolle and I to live with the DeGuzmans, but that fell through once they realized they could not house us the entire summer. Nicolle and I proceeded to panic as we realized we were to arrive in Geneva within the month and had no definitive housing. Up until the day before we left we were planning to live in a hostel for a week or so while we scoured the town for an apartment. The day prior to our flight, however, is when Nicolle was able to contact an LDS bishop and line herself up with a local family. I decided to stay with the Bonnys as suggested by Afton.

We loaded our luggage into the Bonny's car and proceeded to the Balixer (a local mall near the airport) to get cash and a bus pass. Afterward we headed to the Bonnys to clean up and contact the family Nicolle would be staying with, hereafter referred to as the "Smiths". We phoned the Smiths a number of times to no avail, so we decided to search for food. Mrs. Bonny offered to show us around the area, so the three of us boarded the elevator with four or five others. On our descent, however, the elevator decided to develop a mind of its own, meaning it did the opposite of what we wanted it to do, and instead imprisoned us for a good 20 minutes in the company of numerous bellowing french speakers as they ineffectively pounded on the doors of the lift as if sending a sign to God. I sat on the floor laughing at the latest predicament we found ourselves in.

After a short visit to a local pizzeria, we returned home to find that the Smiths had still failed to call. The Bonnys offered to drive Nicolle to their home, just a few blocks away, to see if they were home. As I came out of the bathroom to find them already gone, I decided to unpack and organize my things in the rather tiny room that had been assigned to me.

To our communal dismay, however, there had been a mistake in the communication between Nicolle, the bishop, and the Smiths, and they were not prepared to house her. Therefore, the Bonnys kindly set up another single bed in the already too small space that was now to be our shared bedroom. Without enough hangers, Nicolle hung her clothes over mine and we divided the space as evenly as possible. We were both so tired that we fell to sleep without a problem.

The next day Afton introduced us to Mary Balikungeri, an incredible Rwandan woman who founded the Polyclinic of Hope (http://www.rwandawomennetwork.org/clinic.html)as a holistic healing mechanism for women who experienced gender-based violence during the genocide. Afton had previously told us that she had a room for rent, but it sounded too pricey to be worth sharing a room and a bed. We found out, however, that she would be leaving that saturday and would be in Rwanda until mid-July. To pay that price for an apartment to ourselves sounded like a great plan at this point, not to mention having a great mentor in Mary. We visited the apartment, in a central part of town, with its hardwood floors, its large windows, spacious balconies, scenic view, and pleasant furniture, and we fell in love. Afton placed another intern in our previous home with the Bonnys (really only appropriate for one person) and we moved in with Mary the following day.

Talking with Mary is thoroughly inspiring. Hearing her stories and watching films about her work with the amazingly resilient women of Rwanda has allowed me to empathize with them more than I ever have before. I asked her if there was any way we could help further her cause, and she invited us to help update the content of her website and to help her write a book about her experiences with recovering Rwandan women and the Polyclinic of Hope. This would be an incredible experience to say the least. I also hope to bring her to UVU in the fall, she would undoubtedly inspire many UVU students to take action in helping to heal the women of Rwanda.

Now that I have generally caught you up with our living circumstances, I will be getting into our UN experiences, which have involved Bill Gates, Margaret Chan (Director of WHO), Julia Lalla-Maharajh (founder of The Orchid Project, http://orchidproject.org/) and many other incredible people who have been present at the World Health Assembly.

http://www.who.int/en/

The room we were initially sharing at the Bonny home.

The room we are renting at Mary's apartment.

The sitting room in Mary's apartment.

The view from our front balcony.

The view from our back balcony, including Jet d'eau, the world's tallest water fountain, and Mont Blanc, their tallest mountain.

Upon Arrival

As we descended, I thought to myself that I had never seen beauty comparable to the view of Geneva from the sky. The towering Alps eclipsed the grandeur of the Rockies in my memory, and within the forested landscape, comprised of various shades of vivid green, was a scattering of houses that seemed to merge organically with their environment. Only when we flew into the heart of the city did it become clear that it is densely populated, with most residents living in massive apartment complexes, everyone living stacked upon one another like a round of human Jenga. I held my breath until we touched down, and then breathed a sigh of relief as four months anxiety left me. I had made it, and the opportunity that had been in question for so long was finally secured. I was in Geneva, ready to begin my internship with the Worldwide Organization for Women (WOW) at their United Nations offices in Geneva, Switzerland.

The experience leading up to this moment, however, was not without setbacks. A week into the spring 2011 semester it was suggested to me that I apply for this internship... within a few days. After an arduous application process mainly due to limited time, I was able to meet with the organization's Vice President of International Affairs, Afton Beutler, who accepted me into the Global Education Opportunity Program. From there on it was fundraising, fundraising, fundraising. How does a university student come up with thousands of dollars to fund a hands-on international policy and grassroots project experience? She works all semester, puts money aside, applies for grants and scholarships, and approaches potentially supportive departments on her university campus. Contributors included The College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Integrated Studies department, Peace and Justice Studies, Gender Studies, the Utah Women and Education Project, and Internship Services. I was overwhelmed to encounter so much support on the campus of Utah Valley University. Additional financial and emotional support has come from my family, friends and mentors, who have really made this possible.

Once the spring semester ended, I threw the essentials into two suitcases and headed for the airport on May 15. At the airport I met my good friend and fellow intern Nicolle Johnson (www.awowexperience.blogspot.com) who contrasted with my dress suit and heels in her sweatshirt, yoga pants, and tennis shoes. I was thinking we would be meeting Afton directly upon arriving in Geneva, but I didn't necessarily take into account that our travel time was set to be 36 hours. I proceeded to pull a T-shirt over my undershirt and slip on my Nikes, yet remained unwilling to change out of my dress pants in front of the American Airlines ticketing desk. I then weighed the large suitcase I intended to check, but because it weighed over 50 pounds (63 to be precise) I had to open up both suitcases, transfer some of the weight to my carry on and just get rid of some altogether. Our flight to Chicago was a relaxing one. I read and napped and listened to music in a way that I hadn't done all semester. Our flight from Chicago to London was much the same, except add 5 hours, some snoring passengers, and microwavable curry. In London's Heathrow Airport we had a four hour layover, most of which was spent in a large shopping court in terminal three keeping an eye on the digital list of upcoming flights. When it came down to an hour before take off, we approached the British Airways ticketing desk to inquire as to the status of our flight since we had not seen it displayed on the digital tracking board, and she informed us that we had in fact waited in the wrong terminal for three hours, pointed us in the direction of terminal five, and instructed us to hurry because time was short. Getting to terminal five included too much walking, too much luggage, and a 15 minute bus ride. Once there, Nicolle had her ticket scanned without problem, but when they scanned mine they informed me that I had been booted from the flight. Panic set in. Thankfully, the woman who had successfully scanned Nicolle's ticket took it upon herself to contact multiple people and create a small window of time for us to rush to the gate of departure. To get there we had to go through security once again, but we made it just in time. There was confusion at the boarding entrance, however, because they had removed Nicolle's checked luggage from the plane due to the existence of another Nicole Johnson on the flight. This debacle took about 20 minutes to work out (holding up the entire flight, mind you) but after all of this hassle the flight to Geneva was genuinely serene, yet we both anticipated our arrival in Geneva, wherein our housing situation was uncertain and we both didn't know quite what to expect.

The feeling I got while looking down upon Geneva put me at ease, however, because in such a setting, one can only have adventures. We have been here for three days and have already had many enlightening experiences and have many fascinating stories to tell. Yet, those will need to wait until tomorrow, because it is 5:08 a.m. in Geneva and I have a long day ahead of me.

Bon nuit!

Our first lunch in Switzerland!

The Bonny's apartment building.

Front entrance of the United Nations.

The assembly hall where we hard from various health ministers and Bill Gates.

The grounds at the UN.