“Reflections From My Summer Field Experience in Rural North Carolina”
By Mohammed Fakhry (UNC MPH ’26)
Summer 2025 AFE Blog Post Series
This summer, my journey took me deep into the heart of rural North Carolina, working alongside Tick-Borne Conditions United (TBCU) — an organization dedicated to education, research, and advocacy to increase awareness about lesser-known tick-borne conditions — and participating in the Migrant Farmworker Health Service-Learning Summer Program with the UNC School of Medicine.
Coming from Yemen, where health inequities are woven into the fabric of daily life, I have long believed that health is more than just the absence of disease; it is a powerful force for peace and resilience. My work in rural North Carolina only deepened this conviction.
Tick-borne conditions, often overshadowed by more visible public health challenges, remain a silent crisis in many communities. These diseases frequently present with non-specific signs and symptoms, easily mistaken for the flu or other common ailments. The result? Countless cases go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, allowing preventable suffering to persist. Through my work with TBCU, our efforts are focused on shifting this narrative—raising awareness, enhancing education, and collaborating to support stronger policy responses.
One cornerstone of my work this summer was developing and implementing a survey targeting healthcare workers, designed to understand their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding tick-borne conditions. Our goal is to translate these insights into concrete policy recommendations and training programs, especially tailored for rural health systems where access to care is already a formidable challenge.
Meanwhile, my field visits to western North Carolina through the Migrant Farmworker Health Service-Learning Summer Program offered me a deeply humbling and eye-opening experience. I visited farms where the closest hospital is over three hours away, and in many places, we lost cell service completely. Standing there, I often found myself imagining the daunting reality of facing a medical emergency in such isolation: How would someone call for help? How would they reach care? These questions, though hypothetical for some, are daily life for many in these communities.
It struck me deeply that the same people who work tirelessly to keep our grocery stores stocked and our fridges full are often unable to access or afford the care they need. The cost of our food is not only measured in dollars but in the physical and emotional toll paid by those laboring behind the scenes.
Health, in this context, is not just about disease prevention — it’s about dignity, equity, and survival. The price paid by these communities is not measured only in medical bills but in chronic pain, missed opportunities, and lives forever altered by preventable illness.
Rural farming community in Western North Carolina — where Mohammed witnesses firsthand the challenges of healthcare access for farmworkers
Reflecting on my career journey — from conflict-affected hospitals in Yemen to public health classrooms in North Carolina — I see how deeply place and context shape health outcomes. Whether in a war zone or a remote farm, access to timely, equitable healthcare can be the difference between life and death, despair and hope.
This is why I believe so deeply in the power of positive peace. Peace is not merely the absence of conflict but the presence of systems that support dignity and justice. It is built when communities have what they need to thrive: healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.
Transforming rural health disparities is an act of peacebuilding. It means empowering farmworkers and farm owners to live without the fear of sickness they can’t afford to treat. It means ensuring that no one has to choose between their livelihood and their health. It means creating systems where the wellbeing of those who feed us is valued as much as the food on our plates.
As I continue my MPH journey at UNC, I carry with me the stories of the people I met this summer. Their strength fuels my determination to advocate for policies and practices that prioritize those too often left behind.
Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, one of the communities Mohammed engages with while exploring rural health equity in North Carolina