4th Annual BSI International Remote Conference

BSI chapters at partner institutes will host local conferences that will be broadcast live internationally. The goal of this conference is to provide an accessible platform for high quality academic discourse. The conference will cover diverse topics in focus sessions chaired by renowned faculty in areas including immunology, maternal health, outreach, and technology entrepreneurship.

Street Community Outreach: Into the Cold, Canada

Students involved with BSI Toronto gather at least once monthly to put together care packages that include food and beverages as well as warm articles of clothing, which are handed out to individuals in need. This "Into the Cold" initiative is motivated by a desire to provide some relief and also to educate students about the fragility of security around food and shelter. Students are encouraged to engage in conversation as they hand out the care packages. Contact us to get involved! Next outing: late January, 2019.

IUIS/FAIS Immuno-Kenya 2018

Open to advanced graduate, MD students and postdoctoral fellows. Immuno-Kenya 2018 will provide an interactive forum with international faculty, focusing on how HIV, HCV, HTLV, HPV and EBV infections lead to cancers.

There is no registration fee for African students and travel and accommodation will be covered.

St. Clare Multifaith Community Dinner, Canada

The St. Clare Multifaith is a social housing project located in Toronto at Davenport and Avenue Rd. The residents in the housing complex include many young adults and families who have been subject to abuse and are presently on the road to recovery. By the end of each month, most have little to no money left from government assistance. With the past help of Sodexho and now Chartwells food services at Trinity College, BSI members have been assisting with the organization of a community dinner for the tenants at the end of each month. The generous food donations from Trinity College food services have ensured the continuation of this initiative and have provided us the opportunity to provide some support for food insecure families, while interacting socially with the residents as they build a stronger community.

Girl Child Initiative, Kenya

BSI is currently establishing a partnership with Windle Trust Kenya with the goal of offering mentorship to refugee girls with limited access to educational and academic resources. These girls have been affected by war in their respective countries and experience enormous challenges in accessing education in the refugee camp. In most cases these girls are denied access to education by virtue of their economic and social circumstances, as well as the community practices that do not acknowledge the importance of education for female children. The communication between our students and the female refugees will be based primarily on confidentially shared e-mailing. The intent is to partner with females undergraduate students at Trinity College who will strive to provide both educational and moral support via this remote mentorship program. In the future we plan to provide other forms of assistance through reading materials and school supplies such as solar lamps for these students.

Rongai Boys High School Initiative, Kenya

The BSI plans to offer online mentorship to grade 11 and 12 high school students in the Rongai Boys High School. Areas of support include, but are not limited to; life skills, career guidance, writing skills, science tutoring, among other areas.

The BSI lead for this initiative, James Madhier, is actively engaged in liaising with the Rongai Boys High School student heads to partner Trinity students through a confidential email system. The goal of this bi-directional interaction between Trinity students and the Kenyan students is to increase cross- cultural understanding.