GUMC Update : Getting to Know...Julie DeLoia

Getting to Know...Julie DeLoia

July 4, 2009

Julie DeLoia, associate dean of academic affairs at NHS, recently returned from a university-sponsored trip to Kenya. GUMC caught up with Julie after her travels to learn more about the experience.

Julie, welcome back from your trip to Kenya. Can you provide some background information about the trip?

The annual trip to Kenya is sponsored by the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service and the Office of Mission and Ministry. Each year, faculty, staff and administrators from a variety of campus offices, including GUMC, go on this enriching trip. This year, our group included 10 people.

Julie, what was the most powerful image that sticks out in your mind from the trip?

We visited the LeoToto AIDS Program, a social service program for kids who are HIV-positive in Kibera, which is one of the major slums in Nairobi. I won’t forget the look on the women’s faces, particularly the first one I met. She was HIV-positive and also had tuberculosis. One of her children was HIV-positive, and one wasn’t. You could tell that this woman has such a tremendously challenging life—day in and day out. Her eyes had a deepness about them that I still see. I can still see her face.

That is a very powerful image. What element of the trip was most surprising?

We had been prepped pretty well. We had seen videos, read articles, and heard a lecture before going. The university did a great job in preparing us for what we would experience, which I appreciated. However, what I was surprised about was the level of security at the places we went—all with gates and guards. That created a different feeling because the people we met were gentle and kind.

Thank you for sharing. What was it like interacting with the children there?

Wonderful. We were rushed by a bunch of school-aged kids. They all wanted to touch us and say, ‘How are you?’

How do you suppose we, as a school, could build bridges with communities in Africa?

All of us wanted to make things better and to be active—because at Georgetown we focus on communities. One of the ways to continue being positive is to create ongoing partnerships, which several past participants have done. For our own part at NHS, the Catholic University in Nairobi is trying to start a nursing school. One of their biggest challenges is finding qualified faculty. We could share our curriculum to train clinical nurses to be clinical preceptors to help educate new nurses. I must point out that we can learn a great deal from the people we met in Kenya, particularly the community health workers. They have great lessons about health literacy: How do you communicate public health messages to ‘lost boys’ and the kids in the slums? They’re very good at it. Learning is not just a one-way street.

What was the highlight of the trip?

The highlight has to be the people and the inspiration of their fortitude and creativity under really unfathomable conditions.

Julie, we appreciate your taking the time to sit down with us and sharing your memories with GUMC of such a meaningful trip.

Written by Bill Cessato