“We talked about policies, hardships and political instability within a country, but I was struck by how we didn’t discuss the well-being of the people who were living there,” said Limbong. “How were communities doing during these times of war, natural disasters and other atrocities?,” she wondered.

It was this desire to understand the people and root causes of issues that led the Louisville native and to study public health. 

Limbong, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in public health in May 2026, explored the global interconnectivity of cultures when she embarked on a month-long project in the African country of Malawi this past summer. This opportunity was led by Rochelle Holm of the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute.

According to the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), Malawi’s economy is largely agricultural with more than 80 percent of the population dependent on farming. While this supports livelihoods for millions, Malawi is vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. Unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are concerns for much of the population.

In Malawi, Limbong assisted with nutrition research by surveying hundreds of Malawian university students and staff. The aim was to see if dietary indicators can be detected in wastewater and environmental surveillance, and how that compared to what people reported. She explored her interest in food insecurity by visiting a coffee planters’ co-op and participating in a grassroots feeding program for vulnerable community members.

The ‘warm heart of Africa’: Beyond the stereotypes

Malawi is often described through a narrow lens defined primarily by economic hardship. While poverty is a reality for many, Limbong said that is not the full story. Approaching Malawi with the intention of learning from local communities, Limbong focused on listening to resident voices. Through conversations with Malawians, she began to see how limiting the dominant narrative can be.

“Malawians are resilient, brilliant, and capable,” she reflected. “They are doing their best to provide for their families and are innovative in the ways that they can be.” For Limbong, it was essential not to reduce people to their struggles alone. “I want to make sure we don’t forget people’s humanity,” she said.

In the country known as “the warm heart of Africa,” Limbong was particularly struck by the communal nature of Malawian culture. Almost every evening, she heard large groups of people gathered together singing. These moments reflected more than music. “It speaks to the community-centric nature of the people,” she explained. “I think it’s important to be fully immersed, take time to hear people’s life experiences, and to share those stories from their perspective.”

Global citizenry

Upon graduation in May, Limbong plans to continue public health at UofL and pursue a master’s degree to better understand where her gifts align with the needs of the community.

Limbong said her Malawi experience deepened her understanding of global humanitarian work as both meaningful and demanding, “This is important work and hard work,” she said. “The experience helped me examine how my own contributions can fit into the broader picture of global health.”

For Limbong, what resonated from her experience was a sense of collective humanity. “While our realities might be different, they impact one another,” she said. “We are all connected on this shared earth, and that is something I will take with me wherever I go next and whatever I end up doing.”

Until recently, Friends Eye Center in Tamale, Ghana, lacked basic ophthalmic equipment and the center’s surgical microscope was outdated and cumbersome. The center, directed by Seth Wanye, MD, provides vision care for nearly 3 million residents of the West African nation and serves as a training site for future ophthalmologists.

Henry J. Kaplan, MD, chair of the UofL Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, visited Friends Eye Center during a medical mission trip several years ago.

“Most of the equipment they had was non-functional. The equipment we gave them we no longer use because of the acquisition of more technologically-advanced diagnostic devices,” Kaplan said. “Many of the people there have totally lost their eyesight and are dependent on their relatives and other support structures, which presents an enormous economic burden.”

Wanye, who regularly visits UofL to enhance his surgical skills, was visiting Louisville in 2015 when Kaplan offered to donate the equipment to his center in Ghana.

“It was like a dream come true,” Wanye said. “It helps me perform thorough examinations of the eye so I can identify other problems, not just the cataract that you can see. It also gives the patients comfort and they are fascinated.”

Shipping large items to Africa is not a simple process, however, and it was nearly a year before the equipment reached the center. Thanks to multiple organizations that shared the expense and worked to transport the instruments, the Friends Eye Center now has a slit lamp, which allows Wanye to examine his patients’ eyes more precisely, a better surgical microscope, chairs for both the surgeon and the patient, and an auto refractor for determining eyeglass prescriptions.

Wanye, who was the only ophthalmologist serving the Northern and Upper West regions of Ghana until a colleague joined him last year, also works with future physicians in the center to introduce them to the specialty of ophthalmology. Most Ghanaian medical students choose other specialties since ophthalmology is not a medical priority in Ghana.

“You have so many other diseases that are killing people. They say eye diseases don’t kill so they are overlooked,” Wanye said. But he has seen that restoring vision allows individuals to regain their independence and enables children to go back to school.

“When you go out into the villages, people are poor, they don’t have money but they are blind. So we will get the resources and do the surgery.”

Wanye receives funding from non-governmental organizations, such as and the , to provide eye screenings and perform between 2,000 and 4,000 cataract surgeries each year. In addition to screenings and surgeries on location, Wanye provides care for patients in the Friends Eye Center.

“To be one doctor that serves millions of people is not a trivial task. He does it because of a love and conviction for the good that he is doing. I really do admire what he’s doing and that’s why we are more than happy to assist him,” Kaplan said. This is the first time UofL’s ophthalmology department has donated equipment to a foreign health-care organization.

Wanye hopes to establish a regular exchange between UofL ophthalmologists and the center, similar to a program in which residents and faculty members from the UofL Department of Pediatrics travel to the Tamale Teaching Hospital several times each year. Tamale is an official sister city to Louisville.

“My dream is to have some continuous program, especially with the residents’ program here, so we would have residents coming to Friends Eye Center,” Wanye said. In the meantime, he is grateful to UofL for the donated equipment. “We know how valuable they are and how expensive they are. They will help us deliver more quality service to our people. Thank you to everyone at UofL,” Wanye said.

Equipment photos courtesy Friends Eye Center, Tamale, Ghana

: UofL is a top producer of students who receive Fulbright awards. Meet three UofL Fulbright Scholars and read about their time abroad.

: Led by strong mentors, students such as MeNore Lake are addressing global health challenges in Louisville and beyond.

: Because of advanced research being done at UofL, a boy born without fingers on his hand can throw a ball, and that’s just the beginning.

: Medical School Outreach Ambassador Ibrahim Noor and Kent School graduate student Jennifer Ballard-Kang have found success in helping refugees. 

The full issue of UofL Magazine is also available.