News Release: UA Students Head to Mexico/Guatemala Border to Study Migration

UA Students Head to Mexico/Guatemala Border to Study Migration

Contact:  Gerri Kelly, 520-626-9669                                                             May 9, 2012

For nine days in May, a team of graduate students from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture School of Landscape Architecture and School of Planning will study the effects of migration on health in the border communities of Chiapas, Mexico and San Marcos, Guatemala.

TUCSON−On Saturday, six graduate students from the University of Arizona will depart for the Mexico/Guatemala border to study the effects of migration on health and explore the root causes of northern migration.

The students are participating in a unique nine-day Border Health Service Learning course through the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona.

“We will look at the health impact of migration on communities including the dangers of migration, the effects on families left behind, and examine successful and sustainable business models that reduce the need for migration,” said Andrew Gall, a master of public health (MPH) student with a concentration in Health Behavior and Health Promotion.

Gall served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 2006-2008.  He first proposed the idea of taking the college’s Border Health Service Learning course further south after participating in a similar course on the U.S.-Mexico border last fall.

Café Justo is one such model of a sustainable business. Based in Chiapas, Mexico, the fair trade coffee grower cooperative roasts and sells coffee out of its Agua Prieta, Mexico, facility. The students will visit farmers who grow the coffee in Chiapasand study the effects of the business model on the community’s physical, social and economic well-being, the culture of the farmers, and why or why not they would consider migrating.

“We believe that the major reason people migrate out of their communities is to find work to feed their families,” said Gall. “By paying farmers fair prices for their coffee, we believe a business like Café Justo is enabling people to remain working and living in their communities, keeping families together and decreasing the need for people to make the life-threatening journey north.”

The program is also designed to be an exchange of knowledge on border issues. As a service, the students will present information to the Institute of Migration (IOM) about policy issues and the risks and dangers associated with migration in the Arizona-Mexico border region. In turn, students will learn about migration issues unique to the Mexico-Guatemala border.

During their stay, students will visit migrant shelters, conduct health interviews, and homestays with coffee farmers while observing the border health and migration issues unique to this area. By the end of the trip, students hope to identify the relationships between economics, politics and health at each border; how various systems (health care, governmental and non-governmental organizations and agencies, and businesses) interplay to affect health; and how to advocate for a stronger focus on public health through partnerships.

“The Border Health Service Learning Program provides our students with  the real world opportunity to truly immerse themselves in the public health issues of our day and begin to understand the complex relationships of migration, economic development and health in our border communities,” said Jill Guernsey de Zapien, associate dean for Community Programs. “Today, these students are actively pursuing additional skills to participate in and reflect on the realities of these issues in another border context. It is these kinds of experiences and skills that are crucial to building public health leaders within a global context.”

Faculty members de Zapien and Dr. Cecilia Rosales, associate professor and director of Phoenix Programs, are the course instructors and have been advising the students on how to approach international migration through a mixture of health advocacy, political, economic, and cultural viewpoints

During the trip, the students will work with a variety of international and local organizations, including the Institute of Migration (IOM), the Peace Corps, Cafe Justo, The Regional Center for Public Health Research (CRISP), Grupo Beta Sur, and many others.

The students will discuss their findings in a public presentation at the Zuckerman College of Public Health during the Fall 2012 semester.

Follow the students online:

Blog:  http://guatemexicofronteras2012.blogspot.com/

Facebook: GuateMexicoServiceLearning

Our Group!

For those of you who want to know a little bit about who we are and why we've developed the Mexico/Guatemala Border Health Service Learning Course:

Zandra Alford

The week prior to my first semester in graduate school I participated in the Border Health Service Learning Institute on the US/Mexico border. This week-long, experiential learning course enabled me to collaborate with organizations and professionals involved in public health promotion in the border communities of Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, Sonora.  This course afforded me first-hand experience of public health initiatives on the border while highlighting systemic issues that influence migration and jeopardize public health objectives. After returning from the Border Health Service Learning Institute at the beginning of the Fall 2011 semester the possibility of a follow-up trip to the Mexico/Guatemala border started being discussed among members of my program. The trip’s purpose is to allow students to draw comparisons between the Guatemala/Mexico and the Mexico/US border regions by engaging students in experiential learning activities with communities on the Mexico/Guatemala border similar to the ones experienced during our time in the Douglas/Agua Prieta communities.  Participating in a trip comparing the two borders intrigued me because it would allow me to further explore the systematic issues that impact migration and health issues at the US/Mexico border and beyond.

Arthur Basset

Planning generally is believed to be an urban profession involving just land use but it actually involves foresight and the ability to meet people's needs in the city, rural areas, parks, in the wilderness and people in different countries.   Planning theory embraces sustainability, justice, equity, ethics, preservation and community when assessing issues of the environment, economics and the social system.   My interests in international borderland planning stem from my youth.  Growing up in Douglas, Arizona I saw many challenges and disparities along the border.  After college I went down to Chiapas, Mexico to learn about coffee, speak Spanish, and see how life went on a coffee plantation in Mexico. I later I served as a Peace Corps  Volunteer in Vanauatu  working with coffee farmers. The Mexico-Guatemala Service Learning Course is not only a chance to learn more about borders, but to establish connections with local organizations and resources involving international planning.  I intend to use these connections when I graduate and begin my professional career.

Christopher Blue

As a Master in Planning candidate at the University of Arizona I am working diligently to gain the knowledge, skills, and inspiration to accomplish my career objective of becoming a planning professional.  As a planner, I will be an active agent in the creation of just and sustainable cities that contribute positively to public health.  Of particular interest to me is the area of economic development, which is a key element of public policy formulation at all levels of government.  Economic development is increasingly promoted as a critical component of community, regional, national, and international planning processes.   Its main concerns in the planning process are to promote a higher standard of living, eliminate poverty, and create sustainable built environments that benefit the health of the community.  I see the planning profession and the field of international economic development as my vehicle for accomplishing these goals and doing some good in the world. 

Emily Coyle

With my public health, legislative and advocacy background, it is my intent to gain additional experience and understanding necessary to address and help alleviate the root causes of northern migration, and, because this is a long-term goal, to help create a more tolerant culture through awareness and understanding in the United States. The Mexico-Guatemala Service Learning Course will give me the expertise and experience necessary to communicate to our greater community, lawmakers, and decision-makers why we need to make rational, reasonable and compassionate decisions and policies around immigration. Because immigration reform is such a hot-button issue, I believe it is an issue that will remain a top concern for lawmakers well after the upcoming election. I feel that the experience I will gain participating in this project, together with my professional experience working with lawmakers, public health advocates and various coalitions and organizations, will make me uniquely suited to advocate for just, fair policies that resemble those upon which our nation was founded – of equal rights for all.

Sarah Davis

I have always been invested in work that surrounds development, specifically in Latin America, sustainable agricultural development, food systems, and sustainability research. In my current work in Hermosillo, Mexico I work directly with migrant farm workers and supervisors to implement health promotion interventions in a culturally sensitive manner that reflects perceived health concerns dictated through discussions with the farm workers within the camp.  The majority of the farm workers, or jornaleros, are from other states in Mexico, such as Chiapas, Veracruz, Puebla, and Oaxaca, and migrate north specifically to work in agricultural centers in northern Mexico.   This service-learning trip to the Guatemala/Mexico border will enable me to better understand the agricultural migration patterns within Mexico and help me draw comparisons with the United States/ Mexico border, which will be an asset to my future research and professional development.

Andrew J Gall

By going on the Mexico-Guatemala Service Learning Course I aim to connect my Peace Corps community health experience in Guatemala with my University studies regarding border health.  After I graduate I would like to work on health improvement projects in Central America in roles such as health trainer, health promoter, and technical advisor. I believe that visiting several organizations focused on migration, humanitarian aid, and public health in both Southern Mexico & Western Guatemala is essential for better understanding the complex interaction between economics, politics, migration, and public health in this region.  Better comprehending these interconnected issues will help me effectively plan and implement health programs in the future.

Aimee Snyder

I have 5 years of experience in middle school teaching which has allowed me to be proficient in the generating of objectives and activities that allow a group of diverse individuals to meet those objectives.  My intent with this trip is to translate those skills to the university level and master the establishment of graduate level Public Health curriculum, development of a Public Health-specific syllabus, and facilitates meaningful service-learning experiences while connecting to a culture outside of my own in efforts to learn better how to overcome barriers. Service-learning is an approach to connect academics to community service providing students with quality hands-on learning complete with gaining cultural understanding and professional competencies while serving the community.