The college world is a uniquely preparatory environment that rarely affords students the opportunity to apply their work in the classroom to real world change. Of course, this is a principal divide that SHH is consistently working to bridge. This Fall, the University of Mary Washington and SHH have partnered to create an independent study course in Economics called Doing Development. The class, which includes seven students taught by Dr. Shawn Humphrey, is focusing upon the problem of indoor-air-pollution, which the World Health Organization identifies as the cause of premature death for nearly 2.5 million people annually. For those individuals at Siete de Abril who are reliant on wood-burning cooking mechanisms, indoor-air-pollution may be linked to lung cancer, emphysema, and asthma.
Dr. Humphrey’s class will first consult case studies to develop a questionnaire to assess the community’s concerns and needs. Thereafter, it will develop a series of hypothetical policy prescriptions. The course will culminate with a service-learning trip to Honduras from January 6-13, where students will research and/or implement an alternative cooking technology. SHH hopes to use the class’s research and advice to eventually promote wide-scale cooking and health reform in the village.
