7/12/01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Clementine Mukeshimana, director, Refugee and Immigrant Outreach Programs at UNI, (319) 273-6411

Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --The University of Northern Iowa Global Health Corps (GHC) has been awarded a two-year grant worth approximately $90,000 from the New Voices National Fellowship Program. New Voices helps small nonprofit organizations bring fresh talent and expertise to their staffs.

Through the grant, UNI's GHC will hire Clementine Mukeshimana as director of Refugee and Immigrant Outreach Projects. Mukeshimana will collaborate with other organizations across the state to conduct research, plan public health programs, and work to influence policy makers regarding issues affecting the health and well-being of refugees and immigrants. A refugee from Rwanda, Mukeshimana holds a master of arts in community health from UNI.

Administered by the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, D.C. and funded by the Ford Foundation, the New Voices fellowships support innovative work in racial justice, international human rights, women's rights, migrant and refugee rights, peace and security, foreign policy and international economic policy.

UNI's Global Health Corps was founded in 1996. Its mission is to educate university students on how to improve the well-being of at-risk populations through disease prevention and health promotion. The corps is a student-operated, locally headquartered, nonprofit organization, under the supervision of UNI faculty specializing in international health. It is housed within the School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services at the University of Northern Iowa.

To date, GHC has educated nearly 300 UNI students and provided services to more than 15,000 clients around the world, including sites in Black Hawk County, Appalachia, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, Israel, Ghana and Bangladesh.

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ghc new voices fellow G:E

VI/EP