Dumela! I am currently on my flight back to the states after spending 6 weeks for my GHAC summer research in Gaborone, Botswana! This was one of the most fun and educationally fulfilling summers I have had.
This summer I was a part of BSRHI (Botswana Sexual and Reproductive Health Initiative), which is one of the many teams within the Botswana-Harvard Partnership. I had the amazing opportunity to work directly under the guidance of Dr. Adriane Wynn and with many members of the BSRHI team. Until I reached Gaborone, I didn’t know how rich the research culture was and the breadth of teams present. This was a huge part in helping me make friends for the summer from a variety of programs globally.
In BSRHI, there are a variety of maternal and infant health related studies going on from randomized clinical trials to secondary quantitative analysis of studies to interventional studies. Dr. Wynn was wonderful and suggested a variety of different projects including systematic reviews and quantitative analyses for birth outcomes, in addition to my main project. The chance to work on so many different research skills on any given day really challenged me to grow as a researcher and understand how they apply in a global health context. I was also lucky enough to be able to join members of the team during clinic visits when they were deciding to add new clinic sites for one of the clinical trials.
For my main study, I was leading stakeholder interviews to understand the landscape of infant RSV in Botswana. This was such a fun experience since it was my first ever qualitative research experience, which also meant so much of the data collection was in person. Everyone on the team was so helpful as I was setting up the project and understanding how to make it fit within both UCSD IRB approval and Botswana ethics approval, something I have never had to consider before.
The interviews gave me a chance to speak to a variety of individuals involved in infant health and community outreach and learn from their perspectives. I realized the rich context that qualitative research can give and the chance to just listen to stories and experiences. This also gave me the unique perspective of understanding a different health system, something unique to global health, including how decisions are made regarding vaccination policy.
Outside of work, this summer was extraordinarily fun. Throughout the week with other summer research students from a variety of teams, we would explore all that Gaborone had to offer from discovering Burger Mondays at a local spot to sunsets on Wednesday’s to identifying what my favorite meal spot. Weekends I was able to get involved with local activities from a traditional pottery class in Gabane (my first time doing pottery!), to a game drive where we saw a Cheetah at Mokolodi Nature Reserve, and fresh sourdough pickups at the market. The chance to spend more than a few days in the city really allowed me to take time to get to know others and Gaborone.
Luckily, in my time in Botswana, there was a 4-day long weekend, where along with a couple of interns from other programs, I planned a trip up to Kasane in Northern Botswana (with an itinerary generously given to us by Anjana, a MS4 UCSD GHAC student that did her summer in Botswana a few years ago). We spent the weekend camping in Chobe National Park and got to see lions, elephants, zebras, and so many animals. This was my first ever Safari experience and the ability to camp and fully be immersed was such a lifechanging experience. At night, I saw more stars than I ever have in my life (something that has always been my dream).
After 2 days camping, we took advantage of the proximity to go to Zimbabwe for a day trip to Victoria Falls. There were rainbows everywhere and this was absolutely gorgeous. After our weekend getaway, we were back in work Wednesday morning excited to continue our research.
Reflecting from my flight home, I am very grateful to the entire team, UC San Diego School of Medicine, and GHAC for giving me the opportunity to Botswana. I am very hopeful for a possible chance to return to Botswana, and will forever cherish this summer.
