Child Family Health International Reviews

My two weeks with CFHI in Puyo, Ecuador, reshaped how I think about public health — not as an abstract concept, but as something lived daily by the communities I visited. As a physician, I came in with clinical knowledge, but I left with something harder to teach: a felt understanding of how geography, infrastructure, and culture shape access to care.

Spending time in indigenous communities around Puyo, I saw firsthand the distances people travel and the barriers they navigate just to reach a health post. I learned about local approaches to disease surveillance and prevention — vector control, community-based epidemiological monitoring, education campaigns — and how much of effective public health work happens outside the clinic, in trust-building, listening, and adapting to local realities rather than imposing external models.

What stayed with me most were the everyday moments: conversations with community health workers, the warmth of families who welcomed us into their routines, and the quiet realization of how much resilience it takes to sustain health and wellbeing in under-resourced settings. This experience was a turning point for me — it's part of what drew me toward epidemiology, and I'm now pursuing a Master of Science in the field, carrying the questions Puyo raised in me into my research.

I'm profoundly grateful to CFHI, to my local mentors, and to the Puyo community for an experience that changed the direction of my career.

My experience in Dehradun and the Rural Himalayas was incredibly eye-opening and fulfilling, both personally and professionally. From public community hospitals in Mussoorie, to private hospitals and homeopathic clinics in Dehradun, to public health initiatives in Delhi that brought me directly into patients’ homes, I learned so much about the intersection of culture, public health, traditional practices, and Western medicine. Seeing firsthand how patients with cancer and other chronic illnesses navigate their conditions within the context of their families and communities was especially impactful. I left the experience inspired and grateful, and I hope to return one day as a physician to serve these communities!

If you're considering CFHI Córdoba, Argentina...DO IT! 🇦🇷 I had such a fun and meaningful experience, both inside and outside the hospital.

A few things I loved: living with a host family, exploring Córdoba, learning to make and drink mate, learning to dance tango, and getting creative during “ART-gentina.” Living with my host was especially special because I got to experience everyday Argentine life and watch local shows (Es Mi Sueño was my favorite).

Clinically, I rotated through dermatology, physical rehabilitation, psychiatry, and kinesiology at Hospital Pediátrico de Córdoba. I also completed a CPR certification course, which was such a cool hands-on experience! My biggest advice: come with an open mind and be ready to adapt. You may encounter differences in language, healthcare, schedules, and clinical roles, but that’s all part of the learning experience. Ask questions, talk to the local doctors and residents, explore outside of your rotations, and say YES to the cultural activities! I left Córdoba with new clinical experiences, new perspectives, and so many memories. I genuinely enjoyed my time with CFHI and would absolutely recommend it to other students!

I joined the CFHI Program, Global Health in the Philippines for 4 weeks, during the month of July, 2026 and I received the Friends of the Philippines scholarship. To be able to join a program such as this was an honor for me. It was a wonderful journey, with a great group of people to be with. CFHI has provided plenty for us during the course of the program and made sure that we were able to soak in the Philippines' beauty, culture, and healthcare. As a Filipino, I appreciate how we got to share our first-hand experiences to our companions from abroad. One of the students with us was also studying medicine, and we appreciated how we were using almost the same materials for our respective degrees. It did not matter whether she was studying in the US, or we were studying in the Philippines, although some information might be tweaked, for example, for diseases endemic to our countries. The girls we were with for the program were just the loveliest of people to be with, along with the local communities that we went to for the program. Our group went to the municipality of Torrijos in Marinduque. During our stay at the municipality, we were not only exposed to the RHU (Rural Health Unit), but because they had an ongoing Barangay Caravan, we also were able to explore different places in the municipality. As an aspiring physician here in the Philippines, it was a great experience to be able to shadow local doctors in the area, knowing that I would be doing the same thing in the future. We got tips on how to talk to patients, how to interact with the locals, and most importantly, how to handle medicine in areas far from the capital. It was a sad realization to hear that the municipality lacked equipment for crucial diagnosis, but we knew that the doctors there are doing their best of their capabilities to provide care for the people despite the disadvantage. Dr. Gellie Ocampo, our local preceptor made sure that we were well taken care of while we were staying there at the island. Ma'am Joan Azares, and her daughter Marnie Azares took us in as guests at their house, and they could not have been more hospitable. To them, we are most grateful for ensuring that we have a roof above our heads and meals to eat that they so lovingly prepared. Before we even got to the island, Ma'am Anabelle Rioflorido made sure that we were safe on the journey from Manila to the homestay in Marinduque. Finally, I would also like to share my gratitude to Dr. Paulo Medina, and Ms. Mae for making sure that the whole program would be smooth and there would not be any mishaps. I am just so immensely happy to be able to participate in such a program, and I hope CFHI is able to continue giving scholarships for deserving students to get in the program. All the best for Child Family Health International!

My month with CFHI in Puyo, Ecuador was one of the most valuable experiences of my medical education. As a fourth-year student at UTMB with a strong interest in global health, I came into the program hoping to see medicine practiced in a different context — and it exceeded my expectations in almost every way.

Shadowing physicians at Hospital Shell gave me a completely new appreciation for outpatient care in a resource-limited setting, and my time at the Vectores clinic taught me more about public health and mosquito-borne illness control than I ever could have learned in a lecture hall. Visiting the San Virgilio community and learning about traditional medicinal plants was humbling in the best way, and reminded me that healing takes many forms beyond what I've been taught in medical school.

Living with my host family, especially Viviana, made Puyo feel like a second home. Their warmth, patience, and home-cooked meals turned this from a clinical rotation into a genuinely immersive cultural experience. I also loved having the freedom to explore Puyo on my own time — running through the city, trying new foods, and visiting the nature walk and river were highlights I'll remember for a long time.

This program strengthened my clinical skills, broadened my understanding of global health, and reaffirmed why I want to work with underserved populations in my future career. I'm incredibly grateful to CFHI and to everyone in Puyo who welcomed me so generously, and I'd recommend this program to any student looking for a meaningful, well-supported global health experience.

I participated in CFHI’s 4-week Global Health in the Philippines program through the Friends of the Philippines scholarship, an opportunity I am incredibly grateful for. As a Filipino medical student, I thought I already knew my country fairly well. What I did not expect was that this program would allow me to see the Philippines and medicine itself from a completely different perspective. The program was divided into one week in Manila and three weeks in Torrijos, Marinduque. Our first week in Manila gave us the foundation to understand the country we would be learning in. We explored Philippine history and the evolution of medicine in the Philippines through visits to the National Museum and different historical and cultural areas, including Binondo, Escolta, and Quiapo. We also visited Philippine General Hospital and St. Luke’s Medical Center in BGC. Seeing the contrast between a public tertiary hospital and a private institution gave me a more tangible understanding of the different realities within our healthcare system.

But it was the three weeks in Torrijos, Marinduque that truly changed me. Before this program, I honestly did not expect much from Marinduque. Even though I am Filipino, I had not heard much about the province. I certainly did not expect this small island to become one of the places I would find hardest to leave.

Our rural immersion allowed us to experience healthcare through the Torrijos Rural Health Unit and the different communities it serves. We shadowed consultations, took vital signs, interviewed patients, spoke with Barangay Health Workers, and joined community activities. One of my favorite experiences was the PhilHealth YAKAP caravan, where we travelled to different barangays and met patients and BHWs. These visits allowed me to hear people's stories and see firsthand the realities that influence their health.

Torrijos has 25 barangays, and seeing the different communities made me realize that community medicine cannot simply be learned from a textbook. In medical school, we talk about social determinants of health, healthcare access, and health inequities. But being there made these concepts real. I saw how distance, resources, and circumstances can affect whether someone can access the care they need. It was difficult, and at times frustrating to realize that many Filipinos still struggle to receive the healthcare they deserve.

But more than anything, it taught me that medicine always goes back to the people. You have to know the community before you can truly understand its health needs. Know the people. Know the community. That became one of the biggest lessons I am taking home from this experience.

And then there were the people of Marinduque. They were, without a doubt, the heart of my experience. Marinduque is known as the "Heart of the Philippines", but after spending time there, I realized that its heart is not simply its geographic location. Its heart is its people. The warmth, kindness, and hospitality we received were unlike anything I expected. We were never made to feel like outsiders. Our homestay became more than just accommodation. They welcomed us into their home and treated us like family. Being away from my own family, having people who cared for us, listened to us, and looked after us made me feel like I had found another home.

I think that is why leaving was so difficult. I never expected to become so attached to a place I had only known for three weeks. Somewhere along the way, Torrijos stopped feeling like a place where I was assigned for my rotation and started feeling like a place I belonged.

Outside of our rotations, we also had the opportunity to experience Marinduque beyond healthcare. We visited beaches and different tourist spots, went to the Geodetic Center of the Philippines, tried pottery, joined a 5-kilometer color fun run, go to a farmstay, watched movie with a bonfire, and simply enjoyed the peaceful and humble charm of the island. These experiences reminded me that some of the most meaningful parts of an immersion happen outside the clinic, in conversations, shared experiences, laughter, and simply getting to know the people around you.

I came to this program hoping to gain clinical and public health experience. I left with something much bigger. I left with a deeper understanding of the kind of physician I want to become. The people I met in Marinduque became part of my story without even realizing it. They reminded me to be kinder, more patient, more present, and more intentional about the person I am becoming. They raised the standard for the kind of physician and the kind of human being I hope to be someday.

Marinduque was supposed to be only a few weeks of my life. I never expected it to become a little piece of home that I wasn't ready to leave.

I am deeply grateful to CFHI and the Friends of the Philippines scholarship for giving me this opportunity. This program allowed me to experience my own country in a way I never had before, learn from healthcare professionals and communities, and grow both personally and professionally.

I highly recommend CFHI's Global Health in the Philippines program to medical and healthcare students who want an experience that goes beyond clinical exposure. Come prepared to learn, but also come prepared to listen. Come with an open mind and an open heart. You will learn about healthcare, but you will also learn about culture, community, yourself, and the kind of healthcare professional you want to become. If I could do this experience all over again, I would say yes in a heartbeat. Sometimes, you go somewhere thinking you are there to learn from a community. And then you leave realizing the community has become part of you.

Choosing CFHI for a global health experience was the best decision I could have made for my personal and professional growth. The cultural exchange aspect of the program was profoundly impactful. Living and learning within the community allowed me to understand that healthcare is inseparable from culture. Interacting with the local population and learning from the incredible healthcare workers on the ground taught me the true meaning of cultural humility. From navigating daily routines to observing patient care, I learned how to connect with people holistically. As an aspiring clinician, I have found that this internship has provided me with an invaluable foundation for delivering compassionate, culturally competent care to diverse patient populations in the future.

Last month, I had the incredible opportunity to complete my master’s public health internship with CFHI at Princess Marie Louise Children's Hospital in Accra, and it was a truly life-changing experience.

The clinical rotations at PML are incredibly comprehensive and eye-opening. As an MPH student, getting to rotate through public health and nutrition, the HIV clinic, reproductive health and family planning, physiotherapy, the ER, and even observing pediatric surgeries on Wednesdays gave me an invaluable, well-rounded look at global pediatric care.

Thank you to the entire team at Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital and CFHI for an unforgettable and transformative internship. I highly recommend this program to any future global health professional at any of their international locations!

I attended the 4-week Global Health in the Philippines Program under CFHI from May 23, 2026 to June 20, 2026. This opportunity was also made possible through a scholarship from Friends of the Philippines, for which I am eternally grateful.

For a little context, I’m a Health Sciences graduate from the Philippines, so I’m already relatively familiar with our country’s political, social, economic, and public health landscape. Even so, my experience with CFHI proved that every space I step into is an opportunity for growth and learning – even if it’s in a country I’ve lived in my whole life.

The program was divided into two parts: an urban exposure (1 week) and a rural immersion (3 weeks).

During the urban exposure, we began by touring historical landmarks around Manila, the country’s capital, and took a deep dive into Philippine history. Afterwards, we traveled to the Municipality of Ternate in Cavite, where we visited the Rural Health Unit and all 10 barangay health stations in a single day. We also toured several tertiary hospitals, including Philippine General Hospital (the country's largest public hospital), St. Luke’s BGC (one of the country's leading private hospitals), and Quiapo Memorial Medical Center (a local community “hospital”).

This urban component was thoughtfully structured to provide students with a strong foundation before entering the island immersion. We first understood the country's historical context, then explored its primary healthcare system through the barangay health stations and Rural Health Unit, before progressing to the varying realities of tertiary healthcare. The entire experience was incredibly organized, and I considered it an essential foundation before beginning the rural portion of the program.

For the rural immersion, we were assigned to Carabao Island, an isolated municipality composed of five barangays with a population of around 12,000 residents. We shadowed the Municipal Health Officer, who also served as the island’s only primary care physician.

Our internship was both structured and spontaneous, making the experience feel authentic and reflective of real-world practice. It was structured because we had scheduled visits to different barangay health stations throughout the week, allowing us to complete clinical rotations across all five barangays. At the same time, it was spontaneous because our daily activities depended largely on the island's ongoing health programs and community needs.

During our rotation, we participated in cervical cancer screenings, ultrasound consultations, PhilHealth YAKAP registrations, anti-rabies vaccinations, family planning services, well-baby clinic immunizations, insertion and removal of contraceptive implants, planning for a Nanay-to-Nanay peer support program on nutrition, and many other community-based health initiatives. We were also entrusted with leading patient history-taking under the guidance of our preceptor, which allowed us to build meaningful conversations with residents while applying our understanding of the social determinants of health to better appreciate the context behind their health conditions.

Unlike the urban exposure, much of what we learned during the rural immersion depended on how deeply we allowed ourselves to become part of the community – how curious we were about the local health situation, and how observant we were of the island's environmental, social, and cultural context. Personally, that became both the greatest challenge and reward. The lessons were rarely spoon-fed to us. Rather, they had to be intentionally sought out.

Fortunately, the local health team was among the most welcoming and accommodating groups of people I have ever met. Because of them, I left the internship having learned and grown far beyond what I could have imagined.

I am incredibly grateful to the entire CFHI team for giving me the opportunity to experience my own country through a different lens and for helping shape me not only as an aspiring healthcare professional but also as a human. I entered this internship hoping to gain experience and exposure, but I left with a deeper passion for global and public health and a much clearer vision of the kind of physician I aspire to become.

If I could do it all over again, I absolutely would. But today, I know the best way to honor this life-changing experience is to carry its lessons with me as I move forward in my journey toward becoming a physician.🩺

[Additional] Outside of our internship, we also made the most of our weekends by exploring Carabao Island and its neighboring islands. We joined a 5 km fun run, went parasailing and cliff jumping, completed an 18 km bike ride, played pickleball, and experienced so much more. Those side-quests made the program even more memorable, reminding me that some of the best connections and lessons happen outside the workspace as well.

My name is Rosemary Dwoben, a medical student at the University of Cape Coast - Ghana. I joined the CFHI Durban program in April 2026, and it quickly became one of the most transformative parts of my medical training. As a 5th‑year medical student, I was eager to see how global health looks in practice, and CFHI’s philosophy of “letting the world change you” truly came alive during my time there.

One of the highlights was living with the Siwela family. Their warmth, indigenous meals, and openness to cultural exchange made me feel at home while also teaching me about Zulu traditions. I vividly remember evenings spent discussing health and family, which gave me a deeper appreciation of how culture shapes care. In the clinics, I was struck by the emphasis on doctors getting to know patients personally. They consistently showed empathy and a non‑discriminatory approach, which created a welcoming environment and reminded me that medicine is as much about relationships as it is about treatment.

Of course, the journey wasn’t without challenges. My university exam schedule shifted multiple times, forcing me to arrive late and miss nearly a week of the program. While disappointing, the CFHI team was understanding and supportive, which helped me settle in quickly.

Overall, CFHI Durban offered me both clinical exposure and cultural immersion. It wasn’t just about learning medicine—it was about seeing health through the lens of justice, equity, and community. I would wholeheartedly recommend this program to students seeking a meaningful global health experience.