PARTNER SITE MANUAL OUR CHAPTER //
GlobeMed at Princeton Princeton, NJ OUR PARTNER //
Medical AIDS Outreach
GEO GRA PHY DEM OGR APH ICS PAR CUL TNE TUR RO E rga niz COM ati on MU N ITY Gen ASS era ETS lO BSE RVA ME DIA TIO AND NS RES OUR CES
Montgomery, Alabama
alabama United states
montgomery
ARE YOU LIVING IN THE SAME COMMUNITY AS THE BENEFICIARIES OF YOUR PROJECT?
Yes. WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE COUNTRY AND COMMUNITY?
The only means of transportation in this community is by car. Alabama generally does not have a very comprehensive public transportation system.
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GEOGRAPHY
PARTNER COUNTRY: united states
PARTNER COMMUNITY: montgomery, alabama
LANGUAGE:
English
POPULATION: 400,000
MAJOR INDUSTRY:
Auto
CLIMATE:
Hot and humid
RELIGION:
Christianity
RELIGION:
Christianity
POPULATION:
311 million
LANGUAGE:
English
TYPICAL HOUSEHOLD SIZE:
2-3
No typical jobs, but one of the largest employers is Hyundai. Rural jobs range from factory workers to farmers. TRADITIONAL DIET: Fried chicken, collard greens, okra, American food MAJOR CROPS GROWN: Cotton, soy beans, peanuts
TYPICAL JOBS:
WHAT IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE IN THE COMMUNITY?
Montgomery has a modern infrastructure. It is like any other city in the United States. Most of the area that have MAO serves is in rural Alabama, outside of Montgomery. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR EXPORTS FROM THE COMMUNITY?
Cotton, soybeans, peanuts, Hyundai cars
WHAT ARE THE GENDER DYNAMICS IN YOUR PARTNER COMMUNITY?
Generally the gender dynamics in the partner community are very traditional. The male still plays a dominant role in the house. DO MANY PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO CELL PHONES, COMPUTERS, AND OTHER FORMS OF TECHNOLOGY?
Most people have access to all forms of technology. The question lies more with whether they can aord it.
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DEMOGRAPHICS
Points of Interest ARE THERE ANY INTERESTING NATIONAL PARKS, ARBORETUMS, OR OTHER NATURAL SITES IN THE COMMUNITY OR COUNTRY?
This is not actually in Alabama, but about a 3 hour drive from Montgomery is the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida. It is one of the only naturally white sand beaches in the world. ARE THERE ANY MUSEUMS OR MEMORIALS IN THE COMMUNITY OR COUNTRY THAT YOU FOUND INTERESTING?
There are many museums in the Montgomery area. One that I found exceptionally interesting was the Rosa Parks Museum. Montgomery is known as one of the epicenters of the civil rights movement. The Rosa Parks Museum seeks to perpetuate the memory of all of those who dedicated their lives to civil rights. Another smaller museum that we visited was the F Scott Fitzgerald Museum. It was a quaint, little museum and the tour guide was very friendly to us. I found the Dexter Ave. Baptist Church, Martin Luther King's church, to be a very moving memorial. One memorial that I also think would be worth a visit is the Civil Rights Memorial in downtown Montgomery. We, unfortunately, did not get the chance to visit that memorial. IS IT SAFE FOR GROW TEAMS TO ATTEND AND TRAVEL TO THESE SITES WITHOUT A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE PARTNER ORGANIZATION?
It was fairly safe. However, don't plan on trying to get anywhere without a car. ARE THERE ANY CULTURAL EVENTS OR HOLIDAYS THAT ARE CELEBRATED DURING YOUR GROW INTERNSHIP?
It is almost a requirement to go to a fried chicken restaurant in Montgomery. The one I would highly recommend is Martin's Restaurant. Go there for a true taste of Southern hospitality and cuisine.
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CULTURE
Organizational Details
by the numbers
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES: FULL-TIME VOLUNTEERS: PEOPLE IMPACTED BY ORGANIZATION:
40 1 1.1 million
Important Questions
TARGET POPULATION: Minorities, disadvantaged rural communities ORGANIZATION’S OTHER PARTNERS: In+ Care Campaign, Ryan White Foundation, Polycom
Location: Montgomery, Alabama
ORGANIZATION’S POPULARITY: Not that well known, which is good to avoid stigma TRANSPORTATION TO PARTNER ORGANIZATION: 10 minute drive
WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE YOUR PARTNER ORGANIZATION CURRENTLY FACES?
MAO's greatest challenge lies in finding ways to bring patients to its clinics. It's patients are often poor and cannot afford to take the day off work. Other patients may not have the means of transportation to get to the clinics. In fact, one elderly lady has to take nearly 3 hours travel to MAO's main clinic. It only takes us about 15 minutes to drive to that lady's house by car. This is only one of the many illustrations of the dearth of public transportation in Alabama. HOW DO STAFF AT YOUR PARTNER ORGANIZATION PERCEIVE GLOBEMED?
The staff perceives GlobeMed and the partnership very positively. They see it as her a crucial way to further their education efforts. In addition, the goal of raising the awareness of MAO's efforts in the South is necessary for inspiring more action. The staff really believe that the partnership is going to grow and going to be extremely useful to the society. WHAT WOULD BE MISSING FROM THE COMMUNITY IF YOUR PARTNER ORGANIZATION DIDN’T EXIST?
If MAO did not exist, the community it serves would be lacking a comprehensive HIV/AIDS treatment center.
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PARTNER ORGANIZATION
Public Infrastructure SCHOOLS Southern and western Alabama has a plethora of schools. These include many famous universities such as Troy University. In Montgomery, there are many branches of universities. For instance, Auburn University and Troy University both have a branch in Montgomery. Montgomery is also the home of Alabama State University, a historically black college. There are also many secondary and primary schools. Perhaps the most famous one in Montgomery is the Montgomery Academy.
Important Constituents in the Community CULTURAL OR COMMUNITY GROUPS Perhaps the most important community group is the church. It is indeed not an exaggeration to say that there is a church on every block in Montgomery. Even in rural Alabama the church still remains a strong centerpoint of life for the community. Apart from the church, another very important cultural phenomenon in Alabama is college football. In Alabama, football is huge with famous rivalries such as the AlabamaAuburn feud.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
POST OFFICES
In Montgomery, the police are just as visible as in any community. Outside of Montgomery, however, there were hardly any police. It is important to note that Montgomery has had a history of police brutality. We, however, only encountered very courteous officers.
There are almost one post office for every town in southern and western Alabama. Post offices serve as the lifeline for many small towns. This, however, is about to change. The current budget cuts, many post offices are about to be closed. This could lead to further isolation for many Alabama towns which depend on post offices as the main line for medicine and communication to the outside world.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION There is a bus system in Montgomery. If, however, you leave Central Montgomery, there exists no public transportation. This, in fact, is one of the main impediments to care. Patient often cannot simply get to the hospital. Even in Central Montgomery, the public transportation system is so inefficient that it often takes patients long hours to see the doctor. Often, it is the poor community that cannot afford to spend long hours to get the treatment they need. NGOS
We did not observe any other NGOs doing work in the community. We know, however, that there are many NGOs working in southern and western Alabama. There are, though, not many NGOs working on HIV/AIDS. As far as we know, MAO may possibly be the only provider of affordable HIV/AIDS treatment to the rural population in Southern and Western Alabama.
BANKS In the cities, they are just as many banks is in a normal American city. However in more rural areas, there are relatively few resources. It should not be surprising, therefore, that there are not many banks in western or southern rural Alabama.
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COMMUNITY ASSETS
Reflection and Planning
WHAT HAS BEEN GLOBEMED’S MOST SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR PARTNER ORGANIZATION TO DATE?
I think GlobeMed's most significant contribution to our partner organization has been the publicity we have been able to garner on-campus regarding the HIV/AIDS issue in the south. WHAT IS YOUR PARTNER ORGANIZATION’S GREATEST PROGRAMMATIC NEED?
I think MAO's greatest organization or programmatic need is publicity of the problems in the south. Whenever I talk to my fellow peers at the University, they are ignorant of the problem surrounding HIV/AIDS in the south. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE POSSIBILITIES FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP?
I see a possibility for having different people from MAO actually come to Princeton and speak about HIV/AIDS in the south. I also see that possible future collaboration between the Princeton global health program and MAO. It is a very real possibility that we may be able to send interns to MAO every summer. DO YOU SEE ANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION WITH OTHER LOCAL OR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS OR INSTITUTIONS?
I see the opportunity for collaboration between MAO and the Princeton global health program. CAN THE GLOBEMED NATIONAL OFFICE SUPPORT MORE COLLABORATION BETWEEN YOUR PARTNER ORGANIZATION AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS?
That is a hard question to answer. Since this partnership is so new, I think GlobeMed's National Office's main responsibility is to advise the current leadership on how to further develop a trusting and mutually beneficial relationship.
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GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
MEDIA
CHAPTER RESOURCES
BLOG
GlobeMed at Princeton
PHOTOS
SmugMug
WEBSITES Razoo GlobeMed at Princeton -Facebook GlobeMed at Princeton Twitter CIA Factbook: United States WHO Info: United States
PARTNER RESOURCES PARTNER
Medical AIDS Outreach MAO Facebook
MOU
2011-2012
ANNUAL REPORT
2011-2012
Any final tips for future GROW teams? Make sure you take initiative in trying to make your own project. MAO allows for a lot of flexibility so take advantage of it and really try to learn something from being there! Also, try to think of a way to understand the community there either by perhaps going church or sitting in on a city council meeting. Montgomery is a large city but has very much of the small town feel. Alabama is not an expensive state. However, try to apply for funding early. The $450 a week that PEI allots for interns is more than enough. Also make sure that you have someone who is 20 years old or older on your team. Otherwise you may not be able to rent a car. Trying to get around Montgomery is nearly impossible without a car. In terms of restaurant recommendations, I would highly recommend Lek's Railroad Thai, Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet, Martin's Restaurant, Taste of India, and Chappy's Deli.
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MEDIA AND RESOURCES