New Canaan’s own Meg Domino, Ph.D, MCHES, travels next week to Africa to conduct a series of community health workshops and trainings with a primary and secondary schools as well as women’s groups across Northern Tanzania.
Meg is most prominently known locally for her role as Executive Director of New Canaan CARES (Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Education, Services), an independent, non-profit community organization advancing the health and well-being of youth and families.
Since 2010, Meg has also worked as the Community Health Director for the U.S., Darien-based social organization Unite The World With Africa, whose mission is to advance women’s health, education and microfinance programs across East Africa.
In June 2010 Meg traveled to Tanzania with Unite to lead a series of on-the-ground trainings with Unite partner non-profit-organizations across the country, and she has since provided ongoing support via Skype & email communications.
This trip, in an area close to the Ngorongoro Crater (the 8th Wonder of the World), Meg will teach students ages ~10-20 about the topics of Human Growth and Development (straight talk on pubescent and adolescent development) and How to Keep Our Bodies Healthy, Safe and Clean (a mix of nutrition, growth and development, acne, disease prevention). She will instruct faculty in such First Aid topics as eye flushing, burn care, identifying and treating basic ailments, and more.
In the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Meg will conduct maternal and infant/child care workshops (healthy pregnancy, infant care, when to seek medical assistance, etc); and conduct trainings on such topics as healthy and unhealthy choices, building leadership skills, fostering emotional fortitude, and more.
At the acclaimed International School of Moshi (ISM) in Arusha, Meg will be work with students on such topics as managing stress and anxiety, time management and “poise, presence and posture” in leadership; and with the faculty she will discuss the biology of the teenage brain, what is “normal” behavior, and how to best support and optimize students’ performance.
Meg’s work in Africa began in the 1980s when she led a rural health care delivery unit, targeting maternal and child health, water sanitation, HIV/STD prevention, and leadership training. She has since co-authored the nationally accredited interactive preK-12 curriculum, still widely used today in schools throughout the country; developed health promotion workshops for youth and adults, including the award-winning Leadership Challenge©, Take the LEAD©, and Mentoring Through Drama©; and she has had extensive experience with youth, parent, and community health planning and programming and speaks on a myriad of health topics locally and nationally.
Meg lives in New Canaan with her husband and four children, ranging from elementary school to college. Her oldest daughter Alyssa is currently working in Tanzania with Unite’s partner Uzima Africa International, protecting and preserving maternail health.
GET INVOLVED!
Unite The World With Africa is a portal of service for everyone who has a heart for service in Africa and wants to be part of the solution. Contact Anne Wells at anne@unitetnz.org.
Some ideas:
- Join Unite’s youth group Global Girls & Guys Unite, which educates, connects and empowers students in America tp be change agents with and for their peers in Africa.
- Travel with Unite on service-safari tour.
- Volunteer.. At home or abroad for short- or long-term placements.
- Shop Unite’s Ashe Collection (www.ashecollection.com), an online store featuring unique and elegant lines of African artistry. 100% of sales supports Unite’s work to advance health, education and microfinance programs in Africa
ABOUT TANZANIA
- Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world with 60% of the population living on less than $2 per day and 20% living on less than $1 per day. It ranked 164th out of 177 countries in the U.N. Human Development Index. (Imperial College London)
- There are only two doctors for every 100,000 people. (Imperial College London)
- In 2004, only 64% of the population survived past the age of 40. (Imperial College London)
- One in five Tanzanian girls has no education at all. (UN)
- Pregnancy is the world’s leading cause of death for girls 15 to 19 years old. In Sub-Saharan Africa
- a woman has a 1 in 3 chance of dying in child birth compared to a risk of 1 in 4,085 in industrialized countries. (Girls Foundation of Tanzania)
- Only about half of the population has access to clean water or improved sanitation. (World Vision)
- More than 1.4 million Tanzanians live with HIV/AIDS, and almost 1 million children have lost one or both parents to the disease. (World Vision)
