WHO Intern Day 2013

It's my last week at the WHO, and I was very lucky to be here for this year's WHO Intern Day celebration! 

Set up in the main forum/hall in the center of the WHO headquarters, some of the 250-300 interns at the WHO set up tables with food and drink tasting and music from around the world. Interns showcased steps to international beats, including Nigerian Etighi, Ghananian Azonto, various Latin, Greek, and Turkish dances, Indian Bollywood, American Hip Hop, and of course, my favorite, Punjabi Bhangra.

 

My fellow WHO Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Program interns, Jimmy, Akshay, and I even convinced our lovely program director, Dr. Cherian, to dance bhangra and bollywood-style with us. 

This year, Intern Day kicked off a major fundraising event for scholarships/stipends to help subsidize expenses specifically for WHO interns from developing countries and underprivileged backgrounds. This is particularly important because all UN/WHO internships remain unpaid, making it significantly unlikely and difficult for students from non-American/Canadian/European nations or students without access to school/family/self/other -sponsorship to participate in valuable WHO intern experiences. Their voices are missing, and particularly given the nature of WHO's work, it's incredibly important to have them here. This year's Intern Day festivities raised $(-will update soon-) for scholarships.