Elizabeth Rambo, the 2024 PLT Summer Intern, shared reflections about her work and findings from the summer in a talk on September 26. Rambo interned part-time with D.C. nonprofits Bread for the City in the food and social services department, and with Catholic Charities of D.C. in the clinical services department. Through the PLT Summer Experience, she worked with mentor Dr. Susan Holman, professor of religion, global health and human rights at Valparaiso and Harvard Universities. Rambo’s recap talk covered both practical lessons as well as personal and theological reflections from the summer. Her experiences showed her how social determinants of health feed off of and amplify each other, how service work is vital but requires long-lasting policy to support it, and how important public health work isn’t always glamorous and exciting. 

Rambo also reflected on some of the personal takeaways she has continued to think about after the conclusion of the summer. Connecting to the concept of public health as a gift exchange, from Dr. Holman’s book Beloved, she described how there is a bounty of resources available in global health – they just have to be given and received. Learning from one another is a way to share each other’s gifts. She concluded with a reflection on how our efforts, especially in such complex, broad arenas like global health, don’t always immediately bear fruit. But she reiterated the comfort that God is working all things together for good, and that seeds are being sown even if we don’t see them grow right away.

“We have so much to give, and there are lots of people who genuinely care, and all of that is really hopeful. It also reminds me of an idea that I talked about with Dr. Holman: the idea of public health initiatives as a gift exchange. Instead of viewing patients as solely opportunities for profit, and instead of patronizing to them as helpless creatures who have nothing to offer, we can think of global health initiatives – and really any service in any realm – as chances to both give a service without expectation of anything in return, and looking for opportunities to receive, to learn something yourself from those you’re serving. We model this after the idea of grace, that we can’t repay but we can be inspired and changed by. Public health gift-giving is a two-way exchange, different people and communities walking along together, on equal footing. And this is the approach that really healthy faith-inspired service should take.”

Listen to the event here.

The Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia is a research initiative, whose mission is to study the social consequences of theological ideas for the sake of a more just and compassionate world.

Today was the first Sunday in months where I woke up in my own bed, went to church with my parents, and spent most of the day doing nothing. After weeks of go-go-going, it was nice but a little odd to have such a quiet day at home. I left D.C. yesterday, having wrapped up my internships at Bread for the City on Tuesday, and at Catholic Charities on Thursday. And on Friday, I was able to conclude and reflect in a final meeting with Dr. Holman. 

At the beginning of the summer, I was worried about having a PLT internship focused on large-scale global health concepts while I worked for small-scale, local nonprofits. How was I supposed to connect readings about the WHO, low-income countries, or international movements to a DC-area food bank and clinic? 

My conversations with Dr. Holman were the helpful link between these two worlds. Or really, she helped me see how they were not really two separate worlds at all; rather, the same global health principles and the principles of our faith undergird all of public health around the globe. Seeing people as possessing innate dignity from God and having a right to good health and wellbeing doesn’t stop in D.C. or halfway across the world, it includes (and must include) everyone. 

Our conversations this summer ranged from the ways in which social determinants of health overlap, to the role of funding and finances in health, to what it means to give – selflessly, and in a way that invites a grace-full exchange of gifts and knowledge. These are concepts that do not just apply to the city in which I spent the summer. They apply to all of global health around the world, and they form a strong foundation as I enter back into my final year of school and plan for my time after graduation. 

In our meeting on Friday, Dr. Holman showed me some frameworks that are helpful when approaching or creating global health initiatives. One centers around a rights-based approach to health. All people have innate rights to dignity, wellbeing, and self-determination (among others), and health is a key part of that. 

This framework looks for four things in global health efforts: accountability, meaningful participation, non-discrimination and equity, and (international) assistance and cooperation. Having these four elements help ensure that the work being done emphasizes the dignity of all people and their right to good health. This rights-based framework is not mutually exclusive with religious faith; rather, they work together quite well. Concepts such as “participation” underline our capacity for free will, “equity” shows a commitment to being all made in the image of God, and cooperation and accountability emphasize being in community together. 

These are ideals that we can all be looking for and creating in our communities. They extend beyond more than just a narrow view of public health and include a more complete concept of flourishing. As I leave Washington and prepare for my return to Charlottesville, I will be taking these principles with me. “Global” includes us all, and a path to better global health can start with us, at home.

This is one in a series of post by Elizabeth Rambo, on her 2024 PLT summer internship experience.

The Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia is a research initiative, whose mission is to study the social consequences of theological ideas for the sake of a more just and compassionate world.