In 2015, African national Alex Gitungano arrived to Boston to chaperone a five-year-old child receiving life-saving treatment at Shriners Hospital. Four years later, the two held hands as they collected Alex’s SPH diploma.

Justice Health Initiative, JHI,

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One day, all people suffering severe and rare conditions will have access to life saving medical care. JHI's mission is to provide access to healthcare for underserved patients with severe and rare orphan diseases, especially children, who cannot be treated in their home countries due to limited resources and medical technology. We also help these communities build medical infrastructure and provide medical training, outreach and supplies. We believe that any patient with a rare condition has the right to maximum medical care and a second chance to live. https://www.jhiinc.org

Ten years ago, Alex Gitungano (SPH‘19) volunteered to accompany a badly burned toddler named Leo from their home country of Burundi to Boston for life-saving medical care. Alex’s leap of faith to leave everyone and everything he knew to care for child he had just met, and his devotion to raising Leo over the tumultuous decade to follow, dramatically changed both their lives. As the founder and executive director of the Justice Health Initiative (JHI), Alex connects patients with severe and rare medical conditions to healthcare they would otherwise be unable to access or afford in their home countries. Read more here: https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2024/caretaker-turned-changemaker-alums-global-health-nonprofit-answers-calls-for-healing/ Learn more about Justice Health Initiative: https://www.jhiinc.org/ Follow BU School of Public Health Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busph/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/boston-university-school-of-public-health TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bostonusph Facebook: https://facebook.com/BUSPH