Program Overview
The summer program in Mwandi, Zambia offers students experiences in healthcare delivery and public health at the United Church of Zambia's (UCZ) mission hospital. UCZ's mission hospital is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Students learn about the cultural, political, and economic factors that influence the health of this Zambian community. Research projects allow students to examine specific health care issues in depth, while group service projects give students perspective on religious, educational, and traditional influences on community life and health.

Immediately following the summer experience, students return to Davidson to complete their course work, which includes discussions of the summer’s experience and additional readings, as well as completion of their research project and paper.

Academics
The Mwandi program begins in the spring semester with several meetings to prepare students for the month-long trip to Zambia. Students are assigned readings that introduce them to Zambia and infectious diseases of sub Saharan Africa. The Mwandi component of the Biology 368 course/experience will include hospital and clinic rotations, afternoon classes, reflections on the day during dinner, and individual research.

Students choose individual research projects that focus on one specific aspect of healthcare issues in Zambia.

Sample projects from past participants:

• Funding in Today's Political and Economic Environment: The effects of changing government policies and worldwide economic turbulence
• The Potential Benefits to the Introduction of Clean Birthing Kits in Mwandi, Zambia and Surrounding Areas
• Namibian and Zimbabweans' access to health care in Zambian hospitals
• Maximizing Efficiency of Health Care Delivery in Mwandi's Rural Health CentersCombating the HIV/AIDS Epidemic through Education: An Evaluation of the President's
• Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief (PEPFAR) Anti-HIV/AIDS Program in Mwandi, Zambia.
• Effective programs for educating and empowering African women to improve their own health and the health of their children
• Comparative Study of the Support for Africa's AIDS Orphans in Zambia and other Sub-Saharan Countries
• Increasing resistance of HIV to antiretroviral treatments in Mwandi, Zambia: implications and solutions
• Why is malaria still a problem in Mwandi given available preventative interventions?

Program Highlights
Mwandi is a community of about 8,000 located on the northern fringes of the Kalahari Desert along the Zambezi River. It is approximately 150 miles west of Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Participating students experience the culture of the Mwandi community and Zambian society.

Additionally, students will have an opportunity to travel to Chobe National Park in Botswana and to enjoy some of the attractions found in Livingstone, Zambia, site of the majestic Victoria Falls.

Housing and Meals
Students share a room in one of the hospital's guest houses. All meals are provided during their stay in Mwandi.

Admission Requirements
Open to all Davidson students who are in good standing in all areas. For academics, ‘good standing’ is defined in this case as having a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher (exceptions may be made in certain circumstances). The application process includes an interview.

Contact Information
Professor Verna Case
vecase@davidson.edu
Phone:  704-894-2327

Visa Warning: Passports often must be surrendered as part of the visa application process. Since it may take up to 90 days to receive a visa and have your passport returned to you, participating in consecutive study abroad programs in different countries, particularly between summer and fall, may be problematic or impossible.

Davidson College and consulate staffers cannot guarantee that a visa will be granted by a foreign government in any circumstance or in any time frame. International students should schedule a consultation with International Student Adviser, Bea Cornett, to discuss their visa status.                                                                                                                                        
Davidson College reserves the right to cancel or modify part or all of a study abroad program should changing circumstances make it necessary to do so. In cases where the college has security concerns, the program director and the Dean Rusk Program Director will gather information and make a recommendation to the Dean of Faculty. The dean will take a decision to the president, who retains ultimate authority to decide whether or not a particular Davidson-sponsored trip should proceed.

Davidson admits qualified students without discrimination of race, color, religion, national origin, age, handicap, gender, or sexual preference.