In 1736, Benjamin Franklin founded America's first volunteer fire brigade after a ship fire tore through a wharf, warehouses, and neighboring houses in Philadelphia. Twenty-six neighbors signed up. More followed.

That instinct, to organize, to show up, to solve a problem together rather than wait ...

The first time Michael Leuchtenberger brought a group to FIMRC Costa Rica, it was 2024. A day of service. A group of young members from a religious organization in Concord, New Hampshire, showing up to help, learning what it means to work alongside a community that is not your own.

That kind of day...

In Uganda, youth smoking prevalence sits at 5.7%. In Peru, e-cigarette use among adolescents has shown a significant increase in recent years. In Costa Rica and Ecuador, flavored nicotine products are moving fast through markets that were not ready to regulate them.

Behind every one of those number...

Soap and water. That's it.

Of all the interventions in public health, handwashing consistently ranks among the most effective at preventing infectious disease — respiratory illness, diarrhea, healthcare-associated infections, even maternal sepsis. It costs almost nothing. It requires no prescriptio...

Every year on April 25, World Malaria Day highlights the global fight against one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases.

For those interested in global health volunteering, it also raises an important question:
how can individuals contribute to malaria prevention in real communities?

This y...

Every April 11, Costa Rica comes alive with national pride, honoring Juan Santamaría—a young hero whose bravery helped protect the country’s sovereignty in 1856.

For participants in FIMRC’s Global Health Volunteer Program (GHVP), this is more than a cultural moment—it’s a unique opportunity to expe...

Global health volunteering is rarely just about the time in the clinic.

It is about showing up, fully, in a community– learning its rhythms, its traditions, and the way people come together. Some of the most meaningful moments happen outside of structured programming.

Holy Week—or Semana Santa—is ...

Every March 22, the world observes World Water Day, a United Nations initiative to raise awareness about the global water crisis and accelerate action toward universal access to safe water and sanitation.

While often framed as an environmental issue, access to clean water is fundamentally a public ...

Every year in the Peruvian Andes, the city of Huancayo, Junín transforms into a vibrant center of music, dance, and tradition. During January and February, communities come together to celebrate the closing of the holiday season and the arrival of Andean Carnival season.

For volunteers in FIMRC’s G...

Understanding global health is not something you learn from a textbook,  it’s something you live.
FIMRC’s Summer International Health Fellowship (SIHF) is designed exactly for that: to immerse students, pre-meds, public health majors, and healthcare professionals in a month-long, intensive, hands-on ...