The International Public Health Internship

To ensure equitable health for all, Leadership Initiatives works with local leaders to spread health-oriented education in communities in Northern Nigeria. As part of the International Public Health Program, Leadership Initiatives identifies the major threats to public health and the stakeholders most impacted.

Once public health issues are identified, Leadership Initiatives pairs International Public Health Interns with local health specialists and project coordinators. Interns are given the opportunity to help tackle major issues at the grassroots level by working directly with community leaders to develop and implement public health awareness campaigns. Interns will work with Leadership Initiatives staff over the course of nine months to understand the health care system in Nigeria. Leadership Initiatives partners with local health care institutions to hold educational programs that target major health concerns relevant to Nigeria, such as immunization, reproductive health, diabetes, food and nutrition, child health, drug dependencies, food, hygiene, and malaria.

The International Public Health Internship strives to empower young leaders to improve health worldwide by equipping students with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully save lives, develop ethical considerations, and enrich communities all while making a meaningful difference in the world. Through working with interns, Leadership Initiatives enables communities to invest in the necessary infrastructure to address public health concerns that burden developing regions.

Our Internship Team

CLICK EACH MEMBER TO LEARN MORE.

Kiet Le

Bishop Moore Catholic High School

Class of 2024

Kiet Le is currently a junior at Bishop Moore High School. Kiet is a dedicated individual who strives in his advanced placement and honor courses. Working to continue to excel in his studies, he has spent time participating in extracurriculars and volunteering in his free time.

Currently, Kiet has been involved in numerous clubs for over two years now. He has currently been selected to be an intern for the position of Vice President at his school’s multicultural club. Noticing that his teachers were mistreated by students due to racism, Kiet stepped up to notify about the issue that kept occuring. Feeling the urge to advocate for asian hate, he is in the process of starting the asian student associate club to allow individuals who are interested in asian culture to come together without the judgement from others. Being in the multicultural club and starting his own club will allow him to help those who are facing racism to feel that they are not alone and that they have support from a diverse community. Additionally, Kiet is part of the Leadership Team at his school and is on the path to becoming a student ambassador. During his free time, he enjoys listening to music and watching shows

Kiet is excited to be participating in the International Public Health Program this year. Having the opportunity to attend the Public Health Internship this summer, the work inspired him to continue working with Leadership Initiatives to assist out the people in Bauchi, Nigeria. In the future, Kiet plans on taking the skills he learned to implement them in the dentistry field to help out low-income families who do not have enough money to pay for the treatment and medications.

Kelli Le

Kelli Le first heard about Leadership Initiatives (LI) through her school, Bishop Moore Catholic located in Orlando, Florida. She participated in the Advanced Medical & Public Health Internship in July of 2022, where she was able to interact with medical pioneers, diagnose a patient through telemedicine, and create a public health campaign with her fellow peers. During her internship, she was very excited to learn about the International Internship Program (IIP) offered by LI, as well.

As a student in Honors and Advanced Placement courses at Bishop Moore, Kelli is involved in multiple extracurriculars. She dedicates her time to several clubs in her junior year and plans to continue doing so during her senior year. She actively participates in volunteer work with the Junior Civitan Club. She is interested in different cultures and educates herself about various heritages as a member of the Las Avispas (Spanish) Club and East Asian Cultures Club. She is even the intern for the Secretary position of her school’s Multicultural Club. Kelli is also the Secretary of Hippocratic Society, a club that gives Bishop Moore students early experience in medicine through presentations with healthcare professionals, lab activities, hospital tours, and service projects. She especially takes pride in her role on Bishop Moore’s Leadership Team and partakes in multiple volunteer activities for her school and local community. She is also in the National Honor Society and other honor societies for English, Social Studies, Math, Science, and Spanish. In her free time, Kelli loves to spend time with her family or listen to music.

After graduating from Bishop Moore, Kelli would like to continue her studies in Florida. She aspires to focus on medicine during college and wishes to pursue a career as a pediatrician in the future. She believes that the years as a child should be spent healthy and to the fullest. She would like to be able to impact the lives of children through medicine. Kelli is aware of the dedication that it takes to work in the medical field, but she is prepared to take on any challenges ahead.

Bishop Moore Catholic High School

Class of 2024

Julissa Paul is a senior at Cypress Creek High School. She is a motivated student who is enrolled in her school’s International Baccalaureate program.

Julissa Paul enjoys being involved at her school and in her community. She is the co-president of her school’s Christian Organization Relating to Everyone (CORE), as well as a member of ECO Club, National Honor Society, and Orchestra Leadership program. She also has taken on the CareerSource Summer Youth Program and the Orange County Public Schools Social Media Internship, working with a nonprofit organization to develop an online marketing plan. In her free time, loves to listen to music and cook.

Julissa Paul is delighted to be participating in the Public Health Internship. She finds herself engaged in science and hopes to work in the field of dentistry. Julissa is excited to work with medical teams internationally and use this knowledge in her future studies.

Julissa Paul

Cypress Creek High School

Class of 2023

Jaime Leizan

Bishop Moore Catholic High School

Class of 2024

Jaime Leizan is a rising Junior at BMCHS. He is a very dedicated and organized honor student taking AP, Dual Enrollment and Honors courses. Jaime Leizan volunteers frequently at a hospital, school events through Leadership, just joined Speech and Debate and overall loves to learn. In addition, Jaime Leizan works at a Gelato store, weekly.

During his free time, Jaime Leizan loves to play volleyball and read daily. At school, he will be opening up a Medicine club called, HS/MD, plans on joining NHS as well as the National Honor Society for science, history, spanish and english.

Jaime Leizan is highly excited to participate in the IIP for Public Health this school year. He loves learning about Public Health, and medicine overall. In the future, he plans on becoming a surgeon. One day, he hopes to help people become healthier versions of themselves, as well as aid the field he goes into astronomically.

Nidhiya Rose Joseph, is a senior at Cypress Creek Highschool. She is a student in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program as well as Advanced Placement courses and a member of various clubs.

Nidhiya in her free time appreciates caring for pets, even the pets in her neighborhood as well as reading. Her interests primarily lie with cultural origin such as being the treasurer of South Asian Student Association and the secretary of the People of Color Alliance. She is also a member of various educationally motivating clubs such as Quiz Bowl, Mu Alpha Theta, and Science Olympiad. In order to gain a position regarding the rest of the students at her high school, Nidhiya is an officer of the International Baccalaureate Student Organization.

Nidhiya is extremely thrilled to be apart of the Public Health International Internship because it would allow her to understand different aspects of Health Organizations around the world. In the future she wants to study Biomedical Engineering and this program will help her identify different causes of the need of biomedical engineers. It would allow her to properly witness the needs of the public and how that would correlate with engineering devices and materials for the medical branch of knowledge.

Nidhiya Joseph

Cypress Creek Highschool Miguel

Class of 2023

Miguel Torres is an International Baccalaureate (IB) Senior at Cypress Creek High School. He is pursuing the IB diploma while taking Advanced Placement class simultaneously.

Miguel enjoys listening to music and reading in his free time. After school, he runs the school's German Club while also being the Vice-President of POC Alliance. Despite his leadership positions in these two after school activities, he is part of Quiz Bowl, Model United Nations, South Asian Student Association, Asian Student Association, and Psych Club. Outside of school, he is part of an internship program at a non-profit company called Character Lab.

Miguel is excited to be part of the International Public Health Internship during this school year. He is highly interested in pursuing a degree in Pre-Medical Sciences and this opportunity will give him the skills he needs to become a great doctor one day.

Miguel Torres

Cypress Creek High School

Class of 2023

Sam Molina is a rising senior at Cypress Creek High School. Sam is a dedicated and focused student who is currently enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Sam enjoys crocheting, reading, baking, and gardening. At school, she is President of National Honor Society. She is also Vice-President of the Psychology Club and Co-Captain of the Quiz Bowl Team at her school. She is a member of the school's Model U.N. Club, as well as Science Olympiad and POC Alliance.

Sam is excited to be participating in the International Public Health Internship this year. She loves psychology and medical science and hope to someday be a psychiatrist.

Sam Molina Arrias

Cypress Creek High School

Class of 2023

Our Public Health Issue

Immunizations

Our Public Health Issue

Immunization is the process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination. In Nigeria, there is an evident lack of immunization, which correlates to reasons such as lack of knowledge and access and socioeconomic, cultural, and religious factors.

It is important to address the significance of immunizations for children under the age of five. Vaccines reduce the risk for serious illness or even death from diseases such as measles and polio. Immunizations are one of many elements that keep children healthy as they grow up.

Fast Facts

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria is ranked as one of the top countries with a large number of children who did not obtain vaccinations.

The National Demographic states that only 25% of children received all recommended vaccines in Nigeria.

In April of 2021, the morality of infants to toddlers remained constant, with 2,300 deaths a day from childhood diseases that could have been prevented.

As of now, Nigerian children between the ages of 0 to 5 contribute 30% of the global number of unimmunized children.

In addition to these statistics, only 20% of mothers in Nigeria are educated on the benefits of immunization for their children, the age at which vaccination begins, and when/how appointments are scheduled.

Health In Nigeria

Due to the underdeveloped healthcare system in Nigeria, there is a significant lack of routine immunization, especially in children. This may lead to children missing specific vaccines or never receiving vaccines at all.

Immunization is especially important, as it helps to decrease, control, and eradicate diseases. Hence, the lack of immunization in children under five years old poses a threat to public health in Nigeria.

There are several factors as to why this trend is rising in the country, but some of the most prominent reasons are the lack of access to vaccines, misconceptions regarding vaccines, and the influence of religion and culture on decisions regarding one’s health.

Our Impact

The International Public Health Internship has given us the opportunity to bring awareness to the importance of public health in Nigeria. We have created several researched documents throughout the year to explain the significance of immunizations, especially for children under the age of five.

Additionally, we were able to raise over $1,000 in just a week and received donations from over 25 different people. The donations will directly help implement our public health campaign in the Inkil Community.

Through our Community Survey and Workshop, we have developed a better understanding of public health in Nigeria and the necessary strategies to help the community overcome various issues. We cannot wait to carry these skills with us into the future.

Our Approach

SURVEY

Our team is designing a community survey to identify major priorities and key metrics for immunization and compiling a report on the prevalence, stakeholders, situation, and current initiatives to fight lack of immunization in Bauchi.

OUR PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN

To raise awareness for immunization in Bauchi, our team is designing a comprehensive public health campaign for the local community to encourage those most at risk to take the steps necessary to prevent further health complications.

OUR COMMUNITY WORKSHOP

To help improve prevention methods for lack of immunization, our team is developing a community workshop that equips and educates community members most at risk of lack of immunization.

Our Fundraising

$0

STILL NEEDED

$1075

RAISED

$1000

GOAL

Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced some of the highest growth rates globally over the past 10 years. While this means that people in these nations have become more optimistic about their social and economic future, the region continues to face a myriad of historical problems. In order to continue steady growth and achieve a future of equitable conditions in the region, our International Internship Program team seeks to build stronger communities from the grassroots level through fundraising for community development.

Funds raised are used to implement community-based education programs, pay staff to run the operations on-site, and invest in training for local leaders. Leadership Initiatives uses fundraised money to develop a network of support for actionable change and accountability between our team, the Leadership Initiatives staff, and the community stakeholders we work with.

CLICK BELOW TO VIEW OUR GLOBALGIVING PAGE