(soft music)

(upbeat music)

- We're in Boston right now,
we'll be flying to Portugal.

That will be our next stop befor

(upbeat music)
(plane engine roaring)

We just got to Lisbon, Portugal,

we have about a four hour layove

(upbeat music)

(plane engine roaring)

We made it to Ghana!

(all cheering)

(soft music)

- On our bus ride in though,
I was a little bit shocked

at the living conditions
that we had passed.

- First I would say it was extre

which I expected and very humid.

The city was a lot bigger than I

I don't know why I expected
it to be a lot smaller,

but it was huge.

- I thought the only
surprises really were just

the amount of goats and chickens
that are running around.

- First impressions, very differ

than anything I've experienced.

- I did have some culture shock.

It was far from what I expected

and what I imagined in
my head and even though

I have prepared a little bit,

especially for the clinical aspe

I don't think you can really pre

(dramatic music)

- I'm excited honestly.

I was kind of tired last night.

Got a good sleep.

Woke up to some roosters
crowing this morning.

(rooster crowing)

I'm very excited for what
the week has to hold.

I think that we're gonna get a l

meet some cool people, I
think we have a lot to learn.

(soft music)

- [Shelby] We've definitely
turned the clinic around

it was a bare empty church.

And then I felt like before I kn

seats were filled with patients.

- I think that we're
getting along really well.

We got some PT students.

- Do you think it's
contributing to your back pain?

- [Owen] Pharmacy.

- Have you ever breastfed?

- [Owen] Public health.

- Do they treat you with respect

- Social work, as well as nursin

and it's really just been great

get everyone working together
and the gears are meshing.

- I guess, I just hope
to learn how people here

have become so resilient,
how they get through

some of the things that they're

and maybe bring that back to my

and some of the patients that I

to teach resilience.

- Ah.

(kids cheering)

- Today, we kind of saw it comin

in the clinical a bit
helping each other out.

[Indistinct chatter]

I do believe that throughout the

it's really just gonna become
like a well oiled machine.

(soft music)

(upbeat music)

- [Kids] Hello from Ghana.

- [Narrator] The Ghana Cross
Cultural Health Immersion

Program was born of a chance
meeting in an airport in 1993.

- I had opportunity to travel to

for the first time in my life.

(plane engine roaring)

It was quite an adventurous jour

God was with me.

- [Narrator] Lita McHenry,
a registered nurse

and longtime faculty at the
University of Massachusetts,

Amherst and the Reverend Robert
Andoh, a well known pastor

in Ghana's western region,
struck up a conversation

that led to a long lasting partn

Andoh and McHenry
envisioned an equal exchange

of knowledge and culture that
could benefit both sides.

They worked out a plan to bring
UMass faculty and students

to Ghana, in partnership
with the Ghana Health Service

and the local University of Cape

When McHenry retired in
2008, she looked to former

UMass doctoral student
and mentee Jennifer Morton

to take over administration
of the program.

Morton was born on the
nursing faculty at UNE,

and McHenry was intrigued by UNE

interprofessional approach
to health education

and collaborative care.

Perhaps more important was
the philosophical alignment

between the two women.

McHenry trusted Morton to
continue to lead the program

according to its original vision

- I knew when I became a faculty

that this was something
I wanted to continue

and I wanted to follow
Lita McHenry's legacy

and exposing students to
something so important.

(upbeat music)

- We're hoping to see at
least 50 people today.

We have some of the nurses over

Yesterday, unfortunately,
our blood pressure machines

weren't working but they got
them all up and running now.

They're very excited.

We have our pharmacy students ov

we got some more medication last

which is super exciting.

We have our physical therapists

getting ready to teach some exer

And we have an optometrist up th

And social work, we'll be
doing some exit surveys,

and we also have public health.

We're doing some research, which

really exciting to see the resul

So we're excited for today

and hope we can help a lot of pe

(upbeat music)

- I'm Katie, I'm at the nurse's

here in Ghana, I'm with Owen.

- Hey.

- And well, I'm at the lab stati

so we're testing for malaria,
we're drawing blood sugars,

we're doing urine
analysis, checking to see

how people's kidneys are doing.

Making sure they don't have diab

(speaking in foreign language)

People here, their blood
sugars, blood pressures

seem to run a little bit high.

So we're trying to get an idea o

and keep everything under contro

And if we see some numbers
that we don't like,

we'll send them over to pharmacy

- We're running into a lot of in

and

skin infections,

upper respiratory
infections, lots of anemia.

We're seeing a lot of pain and s

we're just trying to really like

and that way we can stay ahead
of the game a little bit.

We've labeled a lot of things,

prepackaged lots of pain medicat

like Ibuprofen and Tylenol.

- And did they ask you to
follow up at a hospital

or go get more medicine?

- What we do on day three,
once folks are comfortable

with the flow, is we start
interchanging students

in some of the different areas
so they get an experience

of what the different
disciplines have to offer.

For example, a nursing student

may cross train over in physioth

A physiotherapist may
cross train over in intake.

Nursing student may
spend time doing pharmacy

technician work in the pharmacy.

All of these things are
important, as students learn

to really understand what the
roles and responsibilities are

of other health professions, dis

(gentle music)

- I've done some traveling but n

with my nursing skills
that I've learned at UNE.

And Maine is really becoming div

so I think it's kind of importan

that cultural sensitivity
going into my profession.

We've been doing clinic
for about four days now.

And it's been a really
great experience so far.

At first, I was having
a little bit of, I guess

spiritual issues because
I kind of came here

and I wasn't, I didn't
really know what to expect

and from seeing all the
patients and what was going on,

especially little kids
that had some malnutrition.

(baby crying)

I felt like, why do I get
to live the life I live?

I hear you, I think I already di

Ready?

And it was really helpful
to have my teachers

and my colleagues here to
be able to debrief that

'cause it was really a bad
feeling that I was feeling

and then after talking about
it, I felt so much better.

- I think though, what
you really have to do

is come here and just look
at it through the context

of the community, and the
richness of their culture

and how much they know
one another and celebrate

and are just more or less
a very happy population.

And I think those are values
that you can't put a price on.

- Now, even at the halfway point

I already have a completely
different outlook on everything.

- I've definitely grown a
lot in the last four days

and it's crazy to think that
it's only been four days

'cause I feel like so much has h

And it's just really made me
grateful for where I come from

and also grateful for the experi

to be in a different
culture and to be living

amongst these people who are
so beautiful and welcoming.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Ghana, situated
on the Gulf of Guinea

in West Africa, was the first
Sub Saharan African nation

to achieve independence
from colonial rule.

Ghana's 28 million people
comprise several native groups,

and a rich and diverse cultural

Sekondi-Takoradi, a port
city and commercial center

in Ghana's western region is the

third largest metropolitan area.

(soft music)

While clinical work is the prior

the Ghana Immersion Program reco

that people's health is tied
to their culture and community.

Whenever there's free
time, students and faculty

embark on day trips, and
sightseeing excursions,

where they learn more about
Ghanaian history and culture.

(soft music)

- [Colleen] The Elmina castle, I

fostered a sense of self reflect

Also being there and all the his

that it holds is more or less ha

(soft music)

- [Shelby] Something I really en

was seeing the art just
beautiful paintings.

(soft music)

- What did your school day look

- We learn a lot and then there

after the learning, the break fo

and refresh your mind.

- [Monica] I'm so happy to
be here and to meet you all.

Thank you for having us.
- Thank you.

- [Shelby] It was beautiful,
we got to run in the ocean

and take pictures, amazing food.

-I just got soaked by that wave.

(soft music)

- Whoa!

- Yes!

(all celebrating)

- This is insane.

We don't have clinic today so
we're able to sleep in a bit.

We're going to our first
Ghanaian service this morning.

We're very excited and very grat

We all got a traditional Ghanaia

and we were very, very grateful
that we're all given these.

We're gonna be able to sing and

Sit side by side with all
the Ghanaians this morning.

(singing in foreign language)

- [Jennifer] Reverend
Andoh has been getting

dresses and shirts made for all
the female and male students

and faculty and so we attend the

It's a very heartwarming
experience for our students,

faculty, as well as the communit

(singing in foreign language)

(congregation applauding)

(soft music)

- [Narrator] After a week in
Reverend Andoh's home base

of Sekondi, the team headed
out to the rural towns

of Kansawarado and Diabene, to h

health care access to these
more remote communities.

- Welcome.

- Hi, I'm Efua, I'm a
community health worker

and physician assistant
and we're at Kansawarado.

And this is day five.

So we are here to attend to
the, those from the villages.

(men speaking in foreign languag

- [Narrator] The rural
sites are an important

aspect of the partnership.

They allow students to
assess the differences

between patient populations.

For example, patients
in the rural communities

tend to be sicker,
especially in Kansawarado.

And the urban patients in Sekond

tend to have higher
rates of being insured.

- Hey!

Ha!

- [Narrator] The Immersion
Program is built around

the equal exchange of
culture and knowledge.

As director, Jennifer Morton say

our purpose is not to
impose Western healthcare.

Students come to Ghana
to learn and to that end,

the relationships they form with

the Ghanaian partners are invalu

- Denise.

(man speaking in foreign languag

- [Narrator] Working with
members of Reverend Andoh's

congregation, as well
as medical professionals

from the Ghanaian National Healt

and the local Cape Coast Univers

students are guided across
cultural and language barriers.

(lady speaking in foreign langua

And introduced to new perspectiv
on health, medical care,

material wealth, as well
as many practical lessons

on providing care with limited r

- I think it's a win win
situation for both communities.

I'll say, for the students comin

I think I've seen lots of them.

The first time in Africa,
first time in Ghana,

they're meeting different cultur

and what have you and for
the community here in Ghana,

knowing our health system
and its challenges,

I think it's been positive
and it's impacted.

- For the students that
come here, I believe

it's an eye opener to some
of the tropical conditions

probably will never see in the U

And it's an experience that othe

who haven't been here may not ha

- But the edges are all undermin

so it's never going to heal.

- It looks like it's
healing but what he's saying

is the bacteria, like until
that bacteria gets treated

with certain antibiotics,
it continues to undermine

the surrounding tissue and
it won't actually get better.

- So they'll get to learn

a lot from the patients.

And also, it will give
them a different idea

about what health is, the
stories, they're touching storie

about the patient, why
they have that condition,

and what they are doing about it

And the fact that because of
their financial situation,

which has landed, some of
them in such condition.

And when they leave here,
give them a very different

experience, they begin to become

very

connected with their patient.

- This is for your cough.

- [Narrator] Along the way, many

lifelong friendships are made.

- We're staying in pretty close

me and some of the guys,
so we've been hanging out

quite a bit and now they've
showed me around Sekondi a bit

and really got to walk
around, try some local flavor.

Watch a couple football matches.

It's been great, we've really
been getting along well

and just meshing well.

- They've been very great especi

It's as if we've known each
other for a very long time

and it's just two weeks.

(soft music)

(car engine roaring)

- [Narrator] Konsowarado and Dia

were selected as locations
for the rural clinics

in part because of the
Reverend Andoh's long standing

relationships with the Paramount

of the two communities.

- [Nurse] This way.

(men beating drums)

- [Narrator] A highlight of the

is the annual performance
of the Ghanaian dance

and drum troupe Obrempong.

Working in the style of
what is called Gahu music

with six distinct percussion ins

the troupe performs dances assoc

with local tribes and festivals.

- Well, it confirmed my suspicio

that I'm a terrible dancer.

Their performance was awesome.

It was really something
that I've never seen before.

And so being able to experience

and see them in the traditional
garb and it's good music.

- [Narrator] The celebration is

and emotional climax to a
rich and eventful fortnight.

(epic dramatic music)

- Mina sing.

Sing, sing, sing.

(all laughing)

- [Ashley] It was so
beautiful, it was stuck

in my head for like three days.

- Okay, let me do the end part.

♪ And it's reaching

♪ To the highest mountain

♪ And it flows

♪ To the lowest valleys

♪ Oh

♪ The blood that gives me streng

♪ From day to day ♪

♪ It will never lose

♪ It's power

(all cheering)

- I feel like

the love and joy

and laughter that we
all share here together

is something that I
don't experience often,

it is such an amazing community

(soft music)

- Thank you for welcoming
us into your community

and treating us like family.

It's been the best two weeks eve

(all applauding)

- [Ladies] Cheers!

- Everybody here, we wanna say

a very big thank you to all of y

We want to see you back again.

So, that's all, God bless you.

(crowd cheering)

- What a great group, really, it

like we're all family right now.

And it's a great feeling.

And just thank you all
for opening your arms

and taking us in.

(gentle music)

- The last couple weeks have bee

I feel like I've grown
professionally, emotionally,

mentally.

It's been a really great experie

I'm kind of sad to leave but I'm

looking forward to going
home with a new outlook.

- I think the things I'll
remember most here are the

connections I've made between
the community health workers,

the students and the
professionals from Cape Coast.

We've just learned so much from

And honestly, I think we
built really good friendships.

- I have a new outlook on everyt

And I'm excited to make
some new changes in my life

that I've picked up from this ex

so, happy and sad at the same ti

- I've also really gained such
a respect for the healthcare

professions out here and
from what they've been able

to teach us has been immeasurabl

It's a completely different game

with what they have to work with

and I have nothing but gained re

for how they go about their day.

(soft music)

- And it really feels
good to have UNE around,

you know, to the students, teach

I'm also learning from
them, the America culture,

Ghanaian culture, the talk, it's

- We've fallen in love with them

and we wish they will
come back and learn more.

- We want to say we are
indebted to the school

for allowing us to work hand in

with these wonderful
people that come our way

under the leadership of Dr. Jenn

- Our last day in Ghana.

This has been an amazing, humbli

emotional experience for all of

I think we would all say that we

coming out of this changed.

- God bless you, I hope
to see all very soon.

(soft music)

(gentle music)