Programs

Belize

For over a decade, Mercer University scientists and engineers have been working to make artisanal and small-scale gold mining safer and lessen its harmful environmental impacts. The laboratory of Dr. Adam Kiefer, Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry at Mercer, is one of few in the world dedicated to developing solutions to this global health crisis. He has led teams to Mozambique, Ecuador, Peru and Guyana to study the issue and work with in-country partners on solutions. This is the first time the program will go to Belize.

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Palm trees between mountains in Columbia

Colombia

Students participating in the Mercer On Mission program in Colombia will have a meaningful service experience with a dual focus: operating an English language summer camp for K-12 students and conducting technology workshops, including robotics and coding, for Colombian students and their teachers.

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Dominican Republic

The Mercer On Mission program in the Dominican Republic focuses on finding sustainable solutions for providing clean and accessible water to underserved communities. It is a continuation of programs in Kenya, Madagascar and Uganda, where faculty and students have installed water systems in rural areas dating back to 2010. This program emphasizes community development, capacity building and the use of appropriate technologies to bring water to people who need it.

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Ecuador

This Mercer On Mission program is in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest. Students will collaborate with an Indigenous community to preserve local environmental knowledge by building an ethnobotanical garden.

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France

Students participating in the Mercer On Mission program in France will learn about meeting the needs of asylum seekers and children from various backgrounds by working with humanitarian organizations in Paris and Le Chambon-sur-Lignon.

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A group of people in front of greek ruins

Greece

The Mercer On Mission program in Greece is part of an ongoing service-learning project to assist the Roma people with basic health care and nutrition guidance. Students, faculty and staff work with Romani Hope, a local nonprofit promoting awareness and understanding of Romani culture.

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A group of women raising their hands in a classroom

India: Health Care

Mercer On Mission has provided much-needed health screenings and health education to thousands of people in India since this program started in 2018. The program, which has a special focus on women and children, splits Mercerians’ time between inner city Delhi and rural northeastern India, near Darjeeling.

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India: International and Global Studies • English

This Mercer On Mission program will take place in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state in India. It will focus on helping an Indian nongovernmental development organization in the foothills of the Himalayas design new projects to address the rise of tourism in their region.

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Jordan

The Mercer On Mission program in Jordan looks to implement water conversation projects at the community level to help with the country’s growing water crisis. Students in this program will work with community members, such as farmers, to develop and manage projects that will help them use water more efficiently.

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A group of students posing inside a "frame" for a photo.

Mexico

The Mercer On Mission program in Mexico provides English language workshops for college students and middle school instructors in Izúcar de Matamoros, located in the Puebla region. In addition, Mercer students and faculty work with elementary and middle school students’ English language skills in the context of a STEAM-based summer camp. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

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Jvari Monastery overlooking town in Georgia

Republic of Georgia: Building Skills

Mercer students and faculty help build cultural bridges during the Mercer On Mission program to the Republic of Georgia. Each summer, they work with the Beteli Refugee Center on the outskirts of Tbilisi on specific needs that are requested.

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Republic of Georgia: Internships

Mercer students and faculty help build cultural bridges during the Mercer On Mission program to the Republic of Georgia. Each summer, they work with the Beteli Refugee Center on the outskirts of Tbilisi on specific needs that are requested.

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Republic of Georgia: The Peace Pilgrimage

Mercer students and faculty help build cultural bridges during the Mercer On Mission program to the Republic of Georgia. Each summer, they work with the Beteli Refugee Center on the outskirts of Tbilisi on specific needs that are requested.

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Republic of Georgia: Ukrainian Children

Mercer students and faculty help build cultural bridges during the Mercer On Mission program to the Republic of Georgia. Each summer, they work with the Beteli Refugee Center on the outskirts of Tbilisi on specific needs that are requested.

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Rwanda

Mercerians travel to Kigali, Rwanda, each summer to work with widows and orphans of the 1994 genocide. In partnership with nongovernmental organization Groupe des Anciens Etudiants Rescapees du Genocide, they teach business skills to Rwandan entrepreneurs and provide training in a group treatment model of trauma therapy.

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South Africa: Business

Through Mercer On Mission, students and faculty play a part in combating homelessness in Cape Town, South Africa. Each summer, they spend three weeks working with nonprofit organization Streetscapes to make its services for the homeless population more sustainable.

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South Africa: Computer Science

During the Mercer On Mission computer science program in South Africa, Mercer students and faculty teach innovative STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) lessons to middle and high school students in Cape Town, South Africa.

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South Korea

Mercer students and faculty in the Mercer On Mission program in South Korea spend time with children in first through 12th grades at Drim School and Woorideol School, alternative schools founded for North Korean refugees and their children. The Mercer team leads activities to help improve the refugees’ English language skills and teach them engineering concepts.

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Tanzania

The Mercer On Mission program in Mexico provides English language workshops for college students and middle school instructors in Izúcar de Matamoros, located in the Puebla region. In addition, Mercer students and faculty work with elementary and middle school students’ English language skills in the context of a STEAM-based summer camp. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

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Uganda

This Mercer On Mission program will deliver critical health information to high school students and the community in Papoli, Uganda. Students will work with a local nongovernmental organization, Papoli Community Development Foundation, to address topics identified by the NGO, including sexual health, malaria prevention and nutrition.

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Dr. McMahan attending to man with prosthetic leg

Vietnam

Each summer, a Mercer On Mission team travels to Vietnam or Cambodia to fit amputees with prosthetic legs and hands. Developed by professor Dr. Ha Van Vo, the devices use a universal socket technology that is low cost, lightweight and durable. This Mercer On Mission program has changed the lives of more than 13,000 amputees since it began in 2009.

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