May 2014 – HOPE4HEALTH

Birthing Kits Assembly 2014

May 11, 2014/0 Comments/in Achievements, International Health /by HOPE4HEALTH Harry

What a successful night! We packed 600 safe birthing kits which will go a long way in improving the status and health of women in developing countries. A huge thank you to all those who came along and helped!

The students had the opportunity to hear from a wonderfully passionate guest speaker Georgina Kelly, an extensively experienced midwife who’s worked in developing countries such as PNG, where she has seen these types of birthing kits put into practice. It was inspiring to hear her stories, see her photos and put the work we were about to do into clear perspective.

Huge thanks to the International coordinators for carrying out all the behind the scenes work in making the night possible! The kits have been packaged and are ready to ship off when we are contacted by the Birthing Kits Foundation Australia, who help coordinate the kits to reach the areas most in need at the time.

More information on Birthing Kits can be found on the BKFA website, where you can find out how to run your own assembly! Check out the great photos from the evening below.

Jungle Party – Ubuntu and International Health

On Friday the 11^th of April Ubuntu through Health and the International Hope4Health Executive threw the inaugural “Jungle Party” at Swingin’ Safari in Surfer’s Paradise. This event attracted over two-hundred students from within Griffith Medicine and Allied Health as well as students from other Universities. Over $2000 in proceeds was raised, achieved by $10 ticket sales for Hope4Health members and a BBQ held in the week leading up the event. All proceeds have been given to the International Hope4Health Birthing Kit’s Evening (7^th May) to fund the making of birthing kits to be sent to Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has one of the highest neonatal mortality rates in the world, which can be effectively reduced by the provision of a simple birthing kit. We thoroughly enjoyed organizing this event, particularly in having Ubuntu through Health and International Hope4Health work together towards promoting positive international health outcomes. Hopefully it will be the first of many to come!

A photo competition was hotly contested on the night - here is the winning photo! The proud winner of a Percy's Coffee voucher, one of the most highly coveted hipster coffee hang outs in Southport. Congratulations! See Hope4Health Harry's Facebook page for even more great photos at

The winning photo of the Instagram photo competition on the night, by Melanie Johnston.

If you would like any more information or are interested in becoming involved in International Health please contact:

- Beth, Jess and Steph (Ubuntu through Health) ubuntu.rep@hope4health.org.au

- Flynn, Nimanthi and Sanj (International Hope4Health Reps) international@hope4health.org.au

SUP day! Stand up paddle boarding

May 11, 2014/0 Comments/in Local /by HOPE4HEALTH Harry

The brainchild of our fantastic allied health coordinators for this year, the SUP day was a great way to hone those watersport skills and get involved with H4H. This event was purely to encourage inter-health discipline mingling and bring students together. Everyone knows that building networks with like-minded people is the first step to creating amazing future opportunities for collaboration!

We had a fantastic turn out of allied health and medical students who gave their best go on the water. The weather was absolutely perfect and even the May-temperate water proved too tempting to resist and we had a few jump in! We finished the day with a sizzling BBQ and sunset on the beautiful Currumbin Creek. What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Check out the photos from the day! HUGE thanks to our allied health organisers, particularly our incredible Nutrition and Dietetics representatives Heidi and Ishtar who lead the day brilliantly. Looking forward to seeing this event become a regular on the H4H calendar.

See the Local page for even more great pics of the day!

Speech Pathology – Teddy Bear Hospital trip to Cherbourg

May 11, 2014/3 Comments/in Local /by HOPE4HEALTH Harry

On 7^th May, 5 final-year speech pathology students were fortunate enough to join a group of medical students delivering the Teddy Bear Hospital Programme to the children of Cherbourg State School.

We organised and ran the Otitis Media Station. This preventative health information is particularly crucial due to the high prevalence of otitis media in Indigenous communities, and, indeed, in Cherbourg. Otitis media has grave implications for children as fluctuating hearing loss results in difficulties for children in developing speech and language, and in turn, literacy.

Our station was very well received and the children were very responsive to our message. (Although I think they taught us a lot more than we taught them!)

After meeting with the Head of Special Education Services, we were invited to the pre-prep room where we had the delight of playing with the children. (They were shy for about 30 seconds and then we became human climbing frames!). By playing with the children, we were able to informally assess their speech and language. This knowledge and the relationships developed at Cherbourg State School will inform our future clinical skills trip to Cherbourg.

Overall, our trip to Cherbourg was positive and unforgettable, and it is my plan that Griffith University Speech Pathology, Hope4Health, and the community of Cherbourg will continue our partnership for years to come.

Louise Sadler

Hope4Health Speech Pathology Representative