International Craft Fair supports communities where students learn
Each summer, dozens of UMass Medical School students travel abroad through the UMMS Pathway on Serving Multicultural and Underserved Populations, a program that fosters international and domestic medical outreach to populations representative of recent immigrants to the United States. And each fall, those same students host the International Craft Fair to sell handcrafted goods they purchased during their travels as way to support programs in the communities in which they served.
The craft fair, which this year will be held in the old Medical School Lobby on Monday, Nov. 15, from 1 to 4 p.m., is a much-anticipated event that furthers the impact our students have on communities around the world, while also connecting the local UMMS community to global cultures through beautiful and unique items made by skilled artisans.
The craft fair was first held in 2006 as a way for students to support international projects they’ve established or participated in. While travelling, students are encouraged to spend about $50 of their stipends on items crafted by local artisans; those items are sold during the fair, and proceeds—which last year totaled nearly $3,000—are either sent to the host organizations with which students served, or pooled to support established projects through the International Medical Education program. This year, 23 students from the class of 2013 participated in the Pathways program, traveling to South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and elsewhere. [Read more here]
“A little bit of money goes a long way in some countries,” said Michael A. Godkin, PhD, director of International Medical Education and professor of family medicine & community health and medicine. “Last year, for example, we purchased a wheelchair for a patient in Leon, Nicaragua, for just $250 while also supporting a community development project in the village of El Porvenir in that country. And, for $750, we funded a nutrition program for Nicaraguan immigrants in Costa Rica.”
“We have such a variety of goods to sell,” said second-year student Mary Le, who led the organization of the craft fair this year. “We’ve got scarves and book bags, coasters, statues, and really interesting jewelry, including some made of paper woven into beads.” Le served in a rural clinic in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, where she gained confidence in the native language and learned clinical skills.
Prior craft fairs have featured intricately hand-woven fabrics and clothing, brilliant paintings, colorful jewelry, wooden bowls and more. Besides Vietnam, students this past summer traveled to Brazil, Ghana, Ethiopia, Peru, Senegal, Malawi, Guatemala, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Nicaragua and Cape Verde.
In addition to the craft fair, students are also selling a 2011 Children of the World calendar that features stunning color photographs taken by students during their travels. Each page includes photographs and brief information about the organizations with which the students worked. Proceeds from calendar sales will support a program through which up to two Nicaraguan medical students can come to UMMS for their fourth-year clinical electives. For more information, or to purchase the $20 calendar, please contact Mick Godkin, michael.godkin@umassmed.edu; calendars will be available at the craft fair.
Learn more about the International Medical Education program here or view a slideshow of the 2010 Pathways student poster presentations. (click on a country to view slides.)
