An annual award of $1,000 has being created for undergraduate or graduate students at UBC's Okanagan campus who are involved in international health or international community development initiatives.
The award is being established by the Henderson family of Salmon Arm through the Shuswap Community Foundation, and will go to UBC's Okanagan Senate for consideration this fall. It will be given each year to a student recommended by the Faculty of Health and Social Development, in consultation with UBC's Go Global program and the College of Graduate Studies. Preference will be given to an international student.
"The Faculty of Health and Social Development is extremely grateful to the Henderson family and the Shuswap Community Foundation for their generosity and support of UBC's continued efforts to lead the way in international health and community development education and research," says Dr. Edward Taylor, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Development. "This philanthropic award will provide invaluable support to the next generation of exemplary scholars at our university who are working to make a real-world international change."
The new award will encourage more students to pursue international health and community development projects, gaining a wider scope of formal and informal learning from these experiences and developing their skills as global citizens.
Dr. John and Joyce Henderson, RN; BSc Nursing; Masters of Public Health, brought their family to the small community of Salmon Arm in 1964. They wanted to give their children an opportunity to gain an understanding of the wider world, so in the mid-1970s they took the family to rural Kenya where they volunteered for a year. This experience was the genesis of their interest and involvement in international health and community development.
Since that time, they have made several more trips to Africa -- John four and Joyce six. By establishing this award they are perpetuating their vision of a safer, healthier life for disadvantaged people around the world.
With Senate approval, the first award will be available for the 2010/11 Winter Session.
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