Prior to 1996, our notion of the deprivation and inequality that exists in rural developing countries was an opaque mixture of rumor and unfortunate stories.  It was not until serving as a volunteer in the medical field of a developing country that our eyes became opened to a world in such stark contrast to our own.  The stories and rumors began to form faces and names and we could never look at the world the same, our lives were transformed forever. 

A common thread existed in many of these stories, an overwhelming lack of access to both education and medical care.  After graduating from University, Keith returned to Africa working for a nonprofit organization called, Community Partnerships for Health and Development (CPHD), founded to promote community empowerment for sustainable health and development.  Realizing the extreme value of education, Meredith and Keith began working, in the fall of 2002, as public school teachers in Massachusetts, while Keith continued to work part-time as program coordinator for CPHD.  During this time, Keith began finding ways of molding the nonprofit work with his educational work.  As often found in education, nonprofit work can become departmentalized and sometimes overwhelmingly isolated in its efforts.  Although we understood some of the educational and health care needs of one area of a country in Africa, we were once again reminded of our clouded understanding of access to medicine and education on a global scale.  In an attempt to partnership efforts to address and understand more clearly the global inequalities that exist in gaining access to medical care and education, Meredith and Keith Azevedo founded Global Partnerships for Health and Education, GPHE.  GPHE strives to:  

• Encourage both local and global communities to address educational and medical concerns
• Improve awareness of educational and medical circumstances in different parts of the world
• Expand awareness of the need for improved global equality with respect to access to medicine and education
• Facilitate and support communities in addressing and resolving lack of access to education and medical care
• Promote sustainable, environmentally and socially conscious practices

Although we all may be living, studying or working in different places of the world, we remain part of a growing global community.  We hope you learn more about those in this community that do not share in the same opportunities that we often do.  If your learning leads you to act, as it did for us, then we encourage you to join our efforts in expanding global equality, because it is not what we need to learn, but what we need to remember we already know.   

GPHE Officers

  In 1996, Keith took a leave of absence from University to volunteer in the medical field of Ghana, working for a Carter Center initiative called Global 2000.  The mission of the Global 2000-Guinea Worm Eradication Program was to eradicate guinea worm, a water-borne disease found in developing parts of the world.  As Keith’s time in Ghana progressed, he soon realized the depth of his responsibilities as a volunteer, dealing with CSM outbreaks to guinea worm extractions.  Fascinated with the unique education cross-cultural learning provides, he traveled, worked and studied in different countries around the world.  Upon returning to the States, Keith completed University in the spring of 2001.  Soon after graduating, Keith returned to Ghana and began work on establishing Community Partnerships for Health and Development (CPHD), a non-government organization in Ghana, where he served as a program coordinator.  In the fall of 2002 while continuing to work for CPHD, Keith began teaching Biology and Environmental Studies at Mansfield High School in Mansfield, Massachusetts.  After five years of service at CPHD, together with Meredith, he founded Global Partnerships for Health and Education, GPHE, a nonprofit organization addressing global access to health care and education.  Currently Keith is working fulltime as President of GPHE.  While health and education are two of his main interests, he and Meredith enjoy rock, ice and alpine climbing whenever they get the chance.

While in college, Meredith took a leave of absence to study at a Folkehogskole (Folk High School) in northern Norway.  Appreciative of the unique perspective living and studying in a foreign country provides, Meredith has continued to travel, work and learn in different countries.  During her leave of absence, a growing interest in sustainable agriculture and education led Meredith to work as an experiential educator and farm technician for AmeriCorps at Wolfe’s Neck Farm in Freeport, Maine.  At the same time, her interest in health care was fulfilled through becoming certified as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), working for a local rescue crew.  Always interested and supportive of Keith’s work with CPHD, Meredith has also assisted him with research for several ongoing projects.  After returning to college in 2000, Meredith graduated from Brown University in the spring of 2002 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geological Sciences/Biology.  Shortly before graduating, she entered a math and science teacher certification course sponsored by the National Science Foundation. She has taught Earth Science and Biology, as well as Physical Science in Mansfield, Massachusetts, where she and Keith lead an annual environmental awareness/outdoor studies field trip to northern Norway.  As a result of a strong interest in improving awareness of educational and medical circumstances in different parts of the world, she and Keith founded a nonprofit organization addressing global access to health care and education, where she is currently serving fulltime as Vice President.