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800.257.7751
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802.258.3388
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802.258.3508
Mailing Address:
PO Box 676, 1 Kipling Road
Brattleboro, VT 05302 USA
SIT Study Abroad
Unlocking Potential:
Women's Health
"I wanted to provide the community with a tangible and useful resource that would facilitate the process of retaining cultural birthing practices."
--Michelle Eilers
SIT Study Abroad
- A pioneer in experiential, field-based study abroad providing academically engaging semester and summer programs with a focus on critical global issues.
- More than 2,000 undergraduates from 200-plus colleges and universities study in over 40 countries each year.
Michelle Eilers
When SIT Study Abroad student Michelle Eilers completed her independent study project on a newly-established birthing clinic in Chile, her work with the community was far from over.
As the first Alice Rowan Swanson Fellow, Eilers returned to the city of Arica to evaluate the clinic which provides women with traditional Aymaran birthing techniques within a modern medical facility.
Eilers, who participated in SIT Study Abroad's Chile: Culture, Development, and Social Justice Program, conducted interviews with doctors, midwives, and new mothers who used the clinic. She discovered that many Aymaran women are pleased with the clinic's services as well as a growing number of non-indigenous Chilean women who welcomed the opportunity to give birth through traditional means.
Eilers compiled her findings into a comprehensive report - with testimonials from community members and medical workers - that evaluates the success of the clinic's program. The clinic's sponsoring organization will use the report for evaluation and strategic planning - allowing Eilers' work to have a meaningful impact on the community long after her fellowship is over.
The family of Alice Rowan Swanson created the fellowship as a living tribute to their daughter, an Amherst College graduate, who died in a bicycle accident in 2008 in Washington. Rowan Swanson's SIT Study Abroad experience in Nicaragua inspired her to pursue a career in the international development field. The fellowship is available to any SIT Study Abroad alum who would like to return to the country of their program to pursue development projects that benefit human rights.
Watch the video above to learn more about Michelle Eilers and the Alice Rowan Swanson Fellowship.