Seth Borgstede, a junior in public health from Mandeville, Louisiana, plans to combat a major cause of death in children in the southern African nation of Mozambique: dehydration. His Mobile Development project will use existing local technology to disseminate a transcultural video that demonstrates how to make an electrolyte-filled drink using local resources.
“I was inspired by the three months I lived in Pemba, Mozambique, in the summer of 2015,” Borgstede said. “I was able to shadow doctors in the local clinics and see firsthand the challenges of medicine in the underdeveloped world.” The dehydration caused by diarrheal disease is a leading cause of death throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Borgstede learned. Basic sanitation techniques and a simple oral rehydration therapy to treat diarrheal disease can make a tremendous difference, but finding a way to spread these messages is a challenge. Borgstede noticed something that his Mozambican friends, “even those from very remote places,” had in common, however: Most of them had cellphones with wireless Bluetooth access. “I watched as so many of my friends exchanged music and videos with each other over Bluetooth,” he said. “Later in the summer, missionaries came and shared the great success they’ve had in using this technology in sharing audio Bibles to remote communities.”
Borgstede has combined these insights for his Mobile Development project. “Ultimately, this project seeks to spread the knowledge of health practices through media sharing over Bluetooth in hopes of improving sanitation, cleaning water sources and treating diarrheal disease.”