One Health
project

USA-Uganda

One Health Project: USA-Uganda

Kiboko Projects’ latest program is in the field of One Health, which is an approach to health that recognizes that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are interdependent.  An effect on any of those domains will also have an effect on the others.   As with all of our projects, learning about this topic was combined with the use of creative art and writing, leading to a deeper understanding of this important idea.

We began the project in 2022, collaborating with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.  A group of medical students mentored high school students from Lehman High School, in the Bronx, teaching them about One Health through a series of lessons.  The Lehman students then created a photo book, including text, documenting instances of One Health in their homes and communities.  This photo book was shared with their counterparts, secondary school students in Kisoro, Uganda, who responded with their own One Health community and family photo books. The exchange of these photos and writings not only documented how One Health can be manifest differently in various places, but provided all students an unfiltered look into another culture. In addition to the book exchange, the students from the Bronx and from Kisoro were able to zoom with each other to discuss many ideas.

The project continued in 2023, with students at Lehman HS, with medical students as mentors, created posters – again with photos and creative writing – viewing urban public health issues through a One Health lens. An exhibit was held in 2024 at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine which included the posters and contents of the photo books. The next stage will involve travel to Kisoro so that the students at Kisoro Vision Secondary School can respond once again with their own One Health project.

One Health project exhibition at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York April, 2024. Students from Lehman HS, Bronx, NY, were mentored by medical students to learn and produce books and posters, in an ongoing project since 2022, about how One Health is reflected in their community. Their counterparts from Kisoro Vision Secondary School, Uganda, responded with books showing their community through a One Health lens. The products from this project were shown at this exhibit.

Student photo gallery

Kisoro Vision Secondary School students with mentors from Albert Einstein College of Medicine survey the scene at Chuho River, looking for examples of sites where One Health practices would benefit the community. Students carried cameras to document the project.

Kisoro Vision Secondary School student Isaac looking at a book created by counterparts from Lehman HS, Bronx, NY, about One Health observations made by them in their community.

Kisoro Vision Secondary School student Collins and Einstein student Chris discussing the One Health community project in Kisoro.

The entire group of Kisoro Vision Secondary School students and mentors from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine who worked together on a One Health community project in Kisoro.

Publications in the works

As part of a One Health educational project, two secondary schools –in opposite parts of the world – created photo books to document instances of One Health in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities for exchange with each other. Students from the two schools, Lehman High School in the Bronx, New York, and Vision Secondary School in Kisoro, Uganda, also wrote text to accompany the photos and explain
their significance and relationship to One Health. This dialogue between students is the most recent phase in the Kiboko Projects cultural exchange program.