In this honors seminar, students from across colleges and disciplines will combine research into humanitarianism, social responsibility and the principles of design thinking into the development of a project that will benefit a non-profit organization doing work in impoverished communities in rural Tanzania.

In spring 2013, we will explore how the fields such as engineering, nursing, medicine, education, business, liberal arts, design and more are all critical in the development of effective and inspiring humanitarian design projects. Together, we will explore the social, cultural and technological issues inherent in the field of humanitarian design and work collaboratively to create and implement projects that will have a positive impact on communities in need. The course culminates in a required trip to Tanzania immediately following spring semester 2013.

The projects will be designed and implemented in three villages in rural Tanzania through the Cincinnati-based non-profit organization Village Life Outreach (www.villagelifeoutreach.org). They have been working in rural Tanzania since 2004 bringing medical outreach, design and engineering solutions and educational initiatives to the region. Groups of 15-35 practitioners, educators and students have traveled to the region on brigades twice per year and several UC students have done 6-month co-ops in engineering and design.

This breath-taking region of Tanzania borders Lake Victoria and includes members of the Luo tribe, well known as a result of President Obama’s family lineage. The members of Village Life Outreach have a long-standing relationship with these communities. These communities have lived in this region for generations with extremely limited access to water and nutrition. There is no power, extremely limited resources as well as no health care available within a 4-hour walk of most members of the community.

The students enrolled in this course will develop proposals for design solutions that will benefit this community. We will work collaboratively with members of Village Life Outreach to define areas where your disciplinary knowledge can be put to work. Once proposals have been defined, we will create design solutions that will be implemented on-site in Tanzania during the June 2011 Brigade. We will travel with Village Life Outreach to northern Tanzania immediately following spring quarter. We will spend a week on-site and two days on safari en route to Nairobi, Kenya.

Class will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 - 12:20 PM (tentative, subject to change).

Study Tour
Dates of Village Life Outreach 2013 summer brigade are to be announced. Please note that the group will likely depart during finals week and return during the first week of summer quarter.  

Past Itinerary (as an example; travel in 2013 will be in late-April, early-May):
June 6:         Fly from Cincinnati to Nairobi, Kenya
June 7:         Arrive in Nairobi
June 8:         Drive to Shirati, Tanzania
June 9-15:   Implement projects in Tanzania
June 16-17:   Safari
June 18:        Nairobi
June 19:        Return travel to Cincinnati

Learn more about past brigades and what to expect by reading this 2011 brigade packet (MS Word).

Costs
Expected cost is $3900-$4000 per student. University Honors will provide each participant with a $1400 grant to offset these costs, making the actual expected cost $2500-$2600 (not including items listed below). Students must be in good standing with University Honors to receive the grant. Expected costs will be updated as final travel plans are made and are highly contingent upon airfare.

Costs do not include tips (est. $25.00) passport, some meals (at airports, in Nairobi), some snacks, vaccinations (Yellow Fever vaccination required), personal supplies (bug spray, sunscreen, etc.), souvenirs, or ISIC card (international student identity card, $22). It is recommended that students bring at least $100 USD with them.

Costs include airfare, accommodations, visa fee, some meals, ground transportation in Africa, guides and translators, some tips for guides/porters.

Students are required to purchase an ISIC (International Student Identity Card) from UC International for $22. This is not included in the total expected cost.

Participants can apply for grants from UC International. You must have a current FAFSA on file to be eligible for a grant from UC International. 

Vaccinations and Health Precautions
Contact your physician to discuss what vaccinations and heath precautions (like taking antibiotics with you or malaria prevention) are recommended.

Yellow Fever vaccination is required. All participants must be vaccinated and carry with them proof of yellow fever vaccination.

In addition, look at the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) webpages on Tanzania and Kenya (most of your time will be spent in Tanzania, but the group will fly into and out of Nairobi, Kenya) -
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/tanzania.aspx
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/kenya.aspx

Other Details
We expect 12 students to participate.

Class is expected to meet Tuesdays/Thursdays from 11:00am-12:20pm in spring quarter.

University Honors students will earn two honors experiences upon completion of the course and the travel component. This is due to the nature of the course and the two weeks of travel.

Application
Application and interview are required. The application for spring 2013 will be made available in summer 2012.

UC undergraduates who are not in University Honors are encouraged to apply to participate, provided the student has a cumulative university GPA of 3.4 or above. All participants will receive the honors grant mentioned under costs.

Questions?
Contact Debbie Brawn (debbie.brawn@uc.edu) or Michael Zaretsky (zaretsml@ucmail.uc.edu).