McGill is home to many student clubs focused on global issues like sustainability and public health. Among them, McGill Global Brigades stands out as a club that encourages students of all fields and interests to roll up their sleeves and collaborate for public health initiatives. Not only does it create new communities and build networking skills, but it also enacts tangible global change.
With 27 chapters across Canada and over 340 across the world, Global Brigades unites students in promoting sustainable international health initiatives. This non-profit organization works with various communities around the world to promote health and economic goals such as access to clean water and sanitation.
At McGill, numerous programs—including medical, dental, business, public health, and engineering—work to advance sustainability initiatives in their respective spheres. The medical subgroup, for example, focuses on health and wellness, while the business program hones in on financial development initiatives. The McGill chapter raises awareness about these global health issues through fundraisers and hygiene drives in support of the organization’s remote clinics in countries around the world.
While the club mainly holds fundraising events, they also promote academic and non-academic gatherings, such as game nights and a Spanish-language acquisition workshop in preparation for their most recent “brigade”—a trip to Honduras scheduled for May 2024.
Eva Weigle, U2 Arts, is a member of the events subcommittee for McGill’s chapter of Global Brigades. While she joined the club just this year, the chapter has helped her build on her fascination for global health and sustainability initiatives, as she explained in an interview with The Tribune.
“I’m an econ major and a bio minor, and I’m really passionate about public health. I like how Global Brigades is kind of like an intersection of all things I’m interested in,” Weigle said. “It’s really focused on helping communities, specifically with global health, but also they do a lot of other things, like micro-financing.”
Global Brigades not only harnesses multi-subject interests among its members, but it also cultivates a strong sense of fulfillment and achievement within the club.
“I’ve volunteered in vaccination events, and that’s where I feel like I’m actually informing people and helping people,” Weigle added.
As part of the Global Brigades events subcommittee, Weigle emphasizes the networking and outreach skills she practices in the club, which extend beyond McGill to other communities around Montreal.
“It’s actually really cool, because I get experience reaching out to local pubs and local bars. And it’s really good because it’s work experience, almost like I’m getting ready for the real world, and it’s fun,” she said.
While the club mainly conducts fundraising and awareness events at McGill itself, its hands-on practice of doing brigade trips allows its members to have real-world work experience in the medical field while seeing their fundraising efforts make an impact.
“I really am excited to see what we do in person,” Weigle said. “And I’m just kind of excited to help out [in] any way I can.”
The club also provides a great sense of community, as its members are ecstatic and passionate about global health and sustainability efforts.
“I really liked how I [had] never really heard of Global Brigades before, but everyone in the club is so excited about it that that really drew me in,” Weigle noted.
Weigle highlights the multidimensional aspect of the club and encourages other students to join as representatives or members of their events or design subcommittees.
“If you are passionate about global health, or even if not, you’re just passionate about helping people, we do so much,” Weigle said. “If you’re interested in medicine, global health, and economics, we kind of have a little bit of everything.”
To keep up with Global Brigades’ future events and activities, sign up for their Listserv, take a look at their Linktree and website, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
