OUR HISTORY
The Melbourne University Global Health Society (MUGHS), formally known as Community Based Health Projects (CBHP) was at the centre of a thriving community of passionate people concerned with addressing health injustices both in Australia and India.
In September 2010, inspired by the success of the Jamkhed model for rural transformation in India, Dr Moses Kharat decided to return to his native town of Buldana to dedicate his energies to working with the rural poor. The project eventually became known as the CBHP and previously operated in eight project villages in Buldhana. Over the past decade, CBHP and Dr Moses made great strides in improving both awareness and health outcomes in rural India.
After much deliberation, CBHP became its own entity in India, and CBHP Australia’s University of Melbourne student team founded MUGHS, with the aim of fostering greater engagement and awareness of health issues globally. We strongly believe that our spirit should continue as a new and separate organisation that focuses on the strengths of what we, the students, traditionally have - that is: delivering workshops and running awareness events. MUGHS will continue its lasting relationship with CBHP by integrating our knowledge and expertise to deliver lasting impact in our domestic community and beyond.
OUR TEAMS
EDUCATION
The education team delivers fun interactive workshops to raise awareness of important global health issues. We hope that by providing a foundational knowledge of these problems and how they affect people locally we can empower participants to engage with them further and identify the potential for change in their own community.
Workshops take place at the University of Melbourne as well as Nossal High School and may cover topics such as maternal health, gender inequity and homelessness.
The University of Melbourne workshops are open to all students regardless of their field of study, and are a great opportunity to learn more about key health issues and discuss them with peers, while taking the time to unwind from classes and enjoy a catered meal.
The Nossal High School workshops are part of an annual program for year 9 and 10 students at the school which aims to provide an engaging means of learning about global health and to encourage dialogue in this area among the leaders of tomorrow.
OUTREACH
As the outreach team, we engage with local partner organisations related to the global health issue at focus and through this we undertake volunteering opportunities and fundraising initiatives. We aim to not only spread awareness for these issues, but to also connect with our community and integrate learning with hands-on experience for participants in promoting global health.
We organize workshops for our partner organizations where they can share their story and impact on the community through the work they do and, along with them, we partake in “one day volunteering excursions” so we can provide university students the chance to become involved in community volunteering projects.
Finally, we organize fundraising events at the university for our partner organizations and their work. This gives students the opportunity to support their local community through donations as well as to be able to exercise their knowledge and skills in raising awareness on these issues and advocate for global health within the university community.
