by Joy Okafor

After completing my first module in Risk, Vulnerability and Resilience, I discovered that I had learnt a lot in a short amount of time. It was even more amazing to discover that most of the topics and scenarios were applicable to my local environment and there were several instances where I could personally relate to some topics and teachings. As a health care practitioner in a developing country, it was very easy to identify with various health issues taught in the first module because these issues threw more light on the current and emerging health challenges faced by developing countries like mine.

I learnt more about epidemiology and health risk factors, different epidemiological studies including their strengths and weaknesses as well as environments and situations best suited for each study. I also learnt about data gathering methods for each of these studies and practical examples were illustrated. I could find myself making study simulations in my head in a bid to tackling a particular health problem in my community. I understood the importance of identifying and reaching out to vulnerable populations as well as community ownership and participation.

The discussion forums were highly interactive and informative and I learnt about other students experiences in different countries which were peculiar to their individual environments, though completely different from mine and also their opinions concerning various issues. It felt so good to interact with people from all over the world with diverse cultural backgrounds, trainings and experiences.

Our instructor was always available to answer questions and guide us through whatever academic challenges we had. He contributed to several posts on the discussion forum and encouraged us to air our views and share experiences so that we could all learn from one another.

The learning environment is second to none! The blackboard is completely user friendly. Pages and links opened with ease and illustrations were clear. I am happy and proud to be a student of this prestigious institution and I look forward to future modules.

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