Make your mark
on the world
The positive impact our programs have on Australian tertiary students and the communities we work with is the cornerstone of what we do and why we do it at Nineteen Degrees.
How we work
Here at Nineteen Degrees we work at the heart of the communities we operate in. Our strong partnerships with community organisations and stakeholders advocate the inclusion of marginalised groups and disadvantaged populations in decision making and participation in sustainable project assessment and planning. The project frameworks, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, are matched to the learning outcomes of university groups.
We ensure our project partners tackle real community needs and their links with wider development goals providing sustainable solutions for the community it serves.
Nineteen Degrees work with project partners who:
Support community and family-based care options
Strive to be sustainable (sociably, environmentally and economically)
Enrich, motivate and train staff
Ensure staff engaging with children have been trained to spot the signs of neglect or abuse
Have the staffing capabilities to provide training and emotional support to volunteers without putting a strain on people or resources
Are willing to put a long-term agreement in place
Regular monitoring and evaluation helps us to build and manage a continuous support stream, avoid placement repetition and allow each student group to build upon the work of previous student groups.
“We don't have the ability to solve world problems, but we are passionate about empowering others to achieve great things. By working alongside our project partners and listening to the experts at our university partners we work hard to facilitate student learning in culturally and linguistically diverse environments to meet our end goals. Here are some snippets of a few of the people and projects who have been supported along the way...”
— Fiona Reeves, Founder & Director, Nineteen Degrees
Ongoing projects
we support
01 - Mai Chau District, Vietnam
THE COMMUNITY
Mai Châu district, 135 km from Ha Noi in Nothern Vietnam is a mountainous area home to a culturally and linguistic diverse population of at least 7 ethnic groups.
CHALLENGES
Access to primary healthcare, health education, safe drinking water and appropriate sanitation are the main challenges of this region, especially in the most remote hill tribe communities.
THE PROJECT
Nineteen Degrees works with communities in four of the 22 communes and are strongly committed to facilitating engagement with the UN Sustainable Development Goals in particular Good Health and Well Being and Clean Water and Sanitation which seek to mobilise and strengthen health promotion and education activities at the local, national, regional and global levels.
In collaboration with Mai Chau General Hospital, health district and community stakeholders a primary health outreach program was developed in 2017. The Mai Chau Community Health Project provides annual free primary health care assessments, practical health education and resource support to these marginalized populations through daily mobile clinics and school health education workshops.
The goal is for Nineteen Degrees groups of health students in collaboration with local health care workers to build capacity and advocate for improved community health literacy, outcomes and school health programs.
THE IMPACT
Community Impact:
Since 2017, our students have raised more than AUD$25,000 to support the following projects:
Mai Chau Hospital playground
Mai Chau Hospital Patient breakfast once a week
District cow bank
Village Primary School student lunches
Clinic toilet refurbishment and hand washing stations
Clinic equipment and medications
Patient referrals and associated costs for hospital stay
Community library restock
Days For Girls kits
Students have conducted more than 7000 free health assessments and delivered over 1000 Days for Girls kits along with the prescribed education.
Student impact:
The impact the placement work and cultural immersion has on the Australian students (over 160 since 2017!) who commit and dedicate time to preparing for the experience and working tirelessly on the health outreach project is huge. Students return to Australia with improved clinical skills, greater cultural competence, leadership, project management and negotiation skills that they would struggle to gain in such an intense manner in Australia.
02 - Seuang Valley, Laos
THE COMMUNITY
The Pak Xeng district stretches north along the Seuang River encompassing approximately 50 villages with a population of 200-400 per village. The people of Seuang River are a mix of ethnic groups, each with their own distinct language and culture. Many have migrated down from high mountain villages for better health, education, communication and market access. But despite rapid progress in the past decade, up to 80% of the Valley population live in poverty, 30% of which in extreme poverty. The villages are some of the poorest in the country.
CHALLENGES
Most of the population does not have access to adequate primary health care, health education, housing, safe drinking water or appropriate sanitation.
THE PROJECT
Assisting Pak Xeng District Hospital is to provide adequate free healthcare and education in mobile clinics to 100 - 150 people daily on average in family groups from remote villages. This is one of their greatest challenges as these communities ordinarily do not have easy access to a service. Our groups work through interpreters with local healthcare staff to provide these services.
One of our University partners has been involved in fund raising for provision of improved water supply in several villages and continue to complement this with associated education related to the importance of clean water and sanitation.
THE IMPACT
Community Impact:
Since 2017 our students have raised more than AUD$15,000 to support the following projects:
Village water supply
Hospital water supply
Hospital ambulance
High school classrooms
Clinic equipment and medications
Health education supplies
Shoes
Patient referrals and associated costs for hospital stay
Lao Friends Hospital for Children staff training
Village sewing machines and training
Days For Girls kits
Masks for healthcare workers and community frontline workers
Students have conducted more than 8000 free health assessments and delivered over 1000 Days for Girls kits along with the prescribed education.
Student impact:
The impact the placement work and cultural immersion has on the Australian students (over 130 since 2017!) who commit and dedicate time to preparing for the experience and working tirelessly on the health outreach project is huge. Students return to Australia with improved clinical skills, greater cultural competence, leadership, project management and negotiation skills that they would struggle to gain in such an intense manner in Australia.
Incredible grass roots experiences are on offer for student nursing groups, working with the Pak Xeng health district to provide primary health care and education.
Resourcefulness and resilience as each day is spent at a different village setting up a mobile clinic in the community hall or school to administer basic healthcare and education using a family assessment model.
Further enhance student’s knowledge and ability to complete head to toe health assessments and develop a nursing diagnosis with their supervisors to plan and implement care.
Holistic healthcare skills as students will rotate through various roles at the clinic from registering patients to assessment, treatment and pharmacy.
Leadership experience as students may also work as Team Leader for a day, where they will manage the flow of patients through the clinic, prioritise care, ensure regular breaks for all team members and report back during evening debrief.
03 - Pokhara, Nepal
THE COMMUNITY
Pokhara is the second largest city in Nepal in terms of area and lies 200kms west of the capital Kathmandu, in the foothills of the Annapurna Mountain range. Pokhara is made up of more than 80 different ethnic and caste groups and serves as the main centre for the surrounding mountainous regions of remote communities.
CHALLENGES
Access to primary healthcare, health education and safe drinking water or appropriate sanitation is challenging.
THE PROJECT
Nineteen Degrees works with community groups in the city of Pokhara and are strongly committed to facilitating engagement with the UN Sustainable Development Goals in particular Good Health and Well Being and Clean Water and Sanitation which seek to mobilise and strengthen health promotion and education activities at the local, national, regional and global levels. Throughout the program, students are involved in:
Learning about the provision of healthcare at Fishtail Hospital
Operating a mobile health camp in a remote village in collaboration with Fishtail Hospital and the Lions Club, providing the student group the opportunity to compare health systems and be fully immersed in a varied culture whilst providing a much-needed service.
Exchange workshops with Pokhara University and community based organisations such as Naulo Ghumti, Community Mothers Club and Gandaki Maternity Hospital to help build capacity in these organisations.
School health education workshops
THE IMPACT
Community Impact:
Since 2017 our students have raised more than AUD$35,000 to support the following projects:
· Pokhara University student scholarships
· Fishtail Nursing College student scholarships
· Tibetan student scholarships
· Resources for Health Camps
· Distribution of donated hearing aids via The Lions Club of Nepal
· Maternal health education for Community Mothers Group
· Purchase of various equipment for the village school
· Donations and equipment to centres and institutions such as Tibetan Old Age Centre, Naulo Ghumti Nepal Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Centre, Community Mothers Club, Children Nepal and Seven Women
· Days For Girls kits
Students have conducted more than 4500 free health assessments and delivered over 600 Days for Girls kits along with the prescribed education.
Student impact:
The impact the placement work and cultural immersion has on the Australian students (over 103 since 2017!) who commit and dedicate time to preparing for the experience and working tirelessly on the health outreach project is huge. Students return to Australia with improved clinical skills, greater cultural competence, leadership, project management and negotiation skills that they would struggle to gain in such an intense manner in Australia.
