Child Family Health International (CFHI)

v kalu _{on Google}

Feb 17th, 2022

The CFHI organization is fantastic! I was drawn to them during a Conference when I visited their booth and met the Director. I enjoyed my experience in the Global Health Comparative Virtual Internship in Ecuador! From the virtual tours to the cooking session to Spanish classes, it felt like I was indeed there. The coordinators organized it well, and the teachers were genuinely interested in the students. There was another aspect with interactive modules focused on developing Cross-Cultural Effectiveness & Adaptability, which helped me self-reflect and build on my cultural competency skills. Then there were the discussions with CFHI leaders from different countries, which was very informative. For each public health challenge, we would learn about the obstacles in each country, how they impact the people, and reflect on our roles as future leaders. We also had interactive seminars with our peers and experts, which challenged our thought process and preconceived notions about Global Health, culture, and health. This program was beneficial and aligned with my goals!

Jeremiah _{on Google}

Apr 17th, 2021

I have to be honest, I had a 'less than stellar experience' with CFHI. I am only writing this review to help others like me who are diligently researching programs like this and who want to get a firsthand review from someone who recently attended. 1) The program houses you in an area of Cape Town - 20-30 minutes from city center - in a neighborhood called Athlone. Ask anyone in Cape Town and they will tell you that, even for Cape Town, this is not a safe neighborhood. Feel free to look up crime statistics maps and you will see for yourself. 2) The driver that picks you up and drops you off is this older man who is unprofessional and grumpy. He gripes at you if you are even a minute late. Trust me, ask anyone who went about this. 3) Your home stay is a toss up. Unfortunately for me, my home stay left me to fend for myself for breakfast and lunch, while my other colleagues had their breakfast and lunch prepared each day for them. 4) I asked to be placed in a particular area of interest: HIV. This was never addressed, nor was I ever placed in an HIV clinic. I was put in an internal medicine inpatient ward of a hospital with about 10-15 other students, so there was next-to-no one-on-one teaching. You mainly walk around and observe. 5) When I addressed my concerns with the program administration in both Cape Town and their office in San Francisco, I was made to feel that my concerns were not valid. I found the staff to be unprofessional, apathetic, and unhelpful. The two ladies representing the program in Cape Town are nice and friendly, but they did little to address my concerns and feedback. 6) If you do not heed my advice and end up going on this, then at least spend the $400-$600 USD on renting a car. There is NOTHING to do in Athlone. No coffee shops or wifi, and your home stays generally do not have wifi. Do yourself the favor of renting a car. So, to say I had a bad experience, is only the half of it. When you spend close to $3,000 on a program like CFHI, you expect a little more out of the experience. I was severely let down by the experience and the program's response to my experience. Choose another program. Or, if you have the contacts, set up your own international rotation.

Gary K. _{on Yelp}

May 5th, 2017

This service-immersion organization geared to Health-Care students (doctors, nurse etc) is second to none in terms of countries you can go to (Central/South America, Africa, Asia etc) area of interest (HIV/AIDS in Africa, Women's Health in Mexico etc) logistics (they arrange home-stays and medical language school), sustainability and minimal negative impact on host communities.    They have a strong alumni following so alumni can reconnect and network after they return.   Their website is easy to navigate to help you choose the global health experience that's best for you.   As an organization as a whole they are deeply committed to Global Health Education. They regularly host and partner with web based lectures and talks.Overall: If you're looking to go overseas for a global health experience CFHI is probably the best choice you could make!