H1N1 Flu and InterVarsity

News Release

(Madison, WI) — Life in Mexico is returning to normal, with schools and businesses reopening; InterVarsity Christian Fellowship will be operating its 2009 Global Projects overseas as planned this summer, barring any other unforeseen circumstances. While new cases of H1N1 flu (also known as swine flu) are still being reported, the virus isn’t as powerful as originally feared. The World Health Organization has not recommended any travel restrictions in relation to the outbreak of the virus.

Approximately 700 participants from campuses all over the U.S. will be participating in 40 Global Projects through InterVarsity this year, and paying extra attention to good health practices. More than 100 students plan to participate in the six Global Urban Trek programs this summer. There are also eight Lingua-Cultural programs and ten Service Projects taking place in various parts of the globe.

One Global Urban Trek team will spend the summer as planned in Mexico City, working with InterVarsity’s ministry partners: World Vision, Amextra, Armonia, and Servant Partners. Reports from these four ministries indicate no cases of flu in their immediate communities of workers. Two other teams will attend orientation and debriefing in Mexico City before and after their summer program.

Participants in the Global Urban Trek spend the summer in slum communities around the world: Bangkok, Kolkata, Manila, Cairo, and Mexico City. While in these communities, they volunteer their time in service ministries, working alongside the poor of the communities, seeking to love them as Jesus does. Participants will be asked to seriously consider long-term service to the poor in the future.

Participants in the Service Projects have opportunities to help the sick, love the orphans, comfort the dying and preach the good news. Participants in Lingua-Cultural Projects have the opportunity to develop cross-cultural friendships with students from another country.

InterVarsity camps, which have a full schedule of events in the late spring and summer, are also monitoring local health conditions in their areas and taking extra health precautions. InterVarsity camps are located in New Hampshire, Upper Michigan, Colorado and Southern California.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is a Christian, inter-denominational, evangelical ministry active on U.S. college campuses since 1941.

For more information:
Gordon Govier
ggovier@intervarsity.org
608-443-3688