Global Health Action (GHA) is a private, non-profit organization head-quartered in Atlanta, Georgia that provides health management and leadership training around the world.  Since 1998, GHA has also been involved in local empowerment work within the Clarkston community in collaboration with the Dekalb Board of Health and the Clarkston Health Collaborative. Over the past 15 years, Clarkston has experienced dramatic growth and demographic changes due to a large influx of immigrants and refugees. Upon their arrival, newcomers face many challenges; they must learn a new language, navigate their way around an unfamiliar land, and establish self-sufficiency within a short period of time. The stress associated with acculturation can be overwhelming and may lead to feelings of frustration and helplessness. The vision for the Clarkston Project is to create a cohesive empowered community, seeking and implementing its own sustainable solutions.  

GHA’s role in moving toward this vision has been to develop community leadership for men, women and youth through training in Transformation for Health (TFH). Using a holistic definition of health that encompasses the physical, social, economic, mental, and spiritual dimensions of well-being, TFH seeks to engage participants in the process of facilitating action at the community level. Participants learn about the process by experiencing the necessary steps: listening, dialogue, critical awareness, and action.   

A TFH workshop for refugee women of Clarkston was conducted in 2000. Eighteen women from Iraq, Jordan, Mexico, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Liberia, and Vietnam attended. Critical themes that emerged from the training were domestic violence and the cultural constraints women face in adapting to U.S. culture. In the months following the workshop, participants listened to their communities to identify key issues and were mentored by GHA staff to develop their own proposals for positive change.  

Two examples of success are:

• Sumayyah Karimi from Afghanistan developed and implemented a program to teach women to drive and obtain driver’s licenses.

• Glory Kilanko from Nigeria created a cultural exchange program for refugee girls and their African American counterparts.

Currently, these projects are functioning independently. GHA continues to mentor women leaders and provide programmatic and technical support.  

Initial conversations with community leaders also identified youth as a priority target group for leadership development. In response, GHA set out to engage the young residents of Clarkston in the empowerment process. A TFH training was held in September/ October 2000. Fifteen youth participated, including nationals from Somalia, Iraq, Mexico, India, Vietnam, Liberia, and the US.

Each of the participants was interviewed beginning six months after the training to get a better understanding of the workshop’s impact. Interview analysis revealed common themes indicating a positive impact on participants’ lives, including improved confidence, development of leadership skills, and a new appreciation for diversity.  In describing her training experience, one participant said, “We really went to the root of the problem of teen pregnancy. It made me think more in my life or more about where my problems are coming from, and how would I, if I want to try and solve them, how should I go back and really try to do it - how to solve the root of the problem.”  

The Clarkston Project has motivated community leaders to identify the needs of their communities and develop and implement action solutions to address those needs based on the community’s priorities. Participants recognize their leadership potential and create positive change, improving the health and well-being of the communities they serve.  

GHA  is committed to continuing and strengthening its involvement in refugee health and leadership development. For more information, please call (404) 634-5748 or email gha@globalhealthaction.org.

Editor’s Note:  The United States resettles an average of 70,000 refugees every year. Groups of individuals and service agencies work together to make their transition to life in the U.S. easier. GHA is one of these partnering agencies in the Atlanta area.