Alumni Impact: Another Update from Mariana & Mariana!
Alumni Impact is a social media campaign that recognizes the excellent work being done by FIUTS alumni all around the world. This week, we have an update on United Women in Health, an organization founded by SUSI 2021 Education and the Future of Work alumni, Mariana Lemes Diamanto and Mariana Manso from Brazil!
See more about their organization in our previous Alumni impact posts in May and last October!
During their virtual SUSI program last year, Mariana Lemes Diamanto and Mariana Manso created an organization called United Women in Health, with the goal of promoting female leadership and public education in the healthcare field. Between 2021 and 2022, they organized two online events, both of which are already featured on the FIUTS blog! One event focused on female leadership and the other about studying overseas. During the second semester of 2022, United Women in Health wanted to organize a 3rd event focusing on public health, as it is a very sensitive topic in Brazil.
On October 18th, they organized an event at a school, EEFM Félix de Azevedo, located in the Rodolfo Teófilo neighborhood, in Fortaleza/Ceara/Brazil. They had two activities planned for the event and were able to work with 15 students between the ages of 15 and 16.
They created a presentation about body hygiene, intimate hygiene, and mental health. Mariana Manso talked about the importance of taking care of your own body by taking showers and brushing your teeth. These are all everyday hygienic tasks that may seem self-explanatory, but were extremely important to their presentation. They chose to talk about these topics because public education in Brazil does not receive much government funding, resulting in the lack of education about hygiene for young people. After the presentation, they performed a demonstration on hygiene and distributed hygiene kits containing shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and dental floss to the students. They chose to distribute these kits because the students and their families may not have the financial resources to acquire these necessities themselves.
The second activity was focused around art. They distributed blank canvases, paint, marker pens, glitter glue, and paintbrushes so that the students could make art related to the theme "Mental Health and Leisure". In this activity, they could choose between painting something they like to do in their free time, or something that they dream of doing someday. After the activity, multiple students came up to the Marianas and expressed their excitement. Several of them had never had the experience of painting on a blank canvas and were excited about showing their artwork to their families at home.
In addition, United Women in Health printed pamphlets informing students about the important of personal hygiene and taking care of their mental health. These pamphlets were posted around the school where other students who did not attend the workshop would see them.
This event was organized by United Women in Health (UWH), with financial support from the U.S. Embassy in Brazil. Mariana Manso also received support from a biology teacher at EEFM Félix de Azevedo, Abrahão Neto.
We are so proud of our SUSI alumni and the impact they are having on students in their communities. Way to go, Mariana and Mariana! You can keep up with United Women in Health on social media, all linked below!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwhealth/
Website: https://unwh.com.br/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChkZJ3GzZYM8rVYPaLsXwMg
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unwh/
SUSI programs promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among international students, teachers, and scholars. Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSIs) are short-term academic programs for groups of undergraduate leaders, educators, and scholars from around the world. Hosted by academic institutions throughout the United States, these 5- to 6-week Institutes include an intensive academic residency and an integrated educational study tour. Extracurricular cultural and community activities help to broaden the participants’ understanding of U.S. society. Learn more about SUSI programs here.
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.