Hello. My name is Courtney and I’m a Certified-Nurse Midwife and Family Nurse Practitioner who arrived in Haiti on Monday (the 22nd). I’m working and living in a town called Les Cayes (or just Cayes for short), which is in the south of the county about a 4-hour drive from Port-au-Prince. I’m working at the Hospital of the Immaculate Conception (HIC), which is the main public hospital for Les Cayes (and for a significant portion of the surrounding areas).
With the assistance of VIGH staff and faculty, I was introduced to a VU School of Nursing alumna, Poppy Buchanan. Poppy among other pursuits and after extensive world travels established a 501(c) 3 called Burning Bush Inc. (BB). Since inception BB has supported local community efforts in the Kabaru area of central Kenya. The organization has supported establishment of a private maternity hospital in Ndathi and support of the WAKA Maternity Hospital and establishment of the WAKA Continuing Education Center in Nyeri. Additionally, BB has provided grants to establish micro-lending organization in the Kabaru location. Since my interest is rural family practice, the opportunities to work with BB grant recipients seemed to offer me a wonderful opportunity to begin to realize a long-held vision of working in Africa. More on Burning Bush later.
Greetings from rain-soaked Munsieville! Over the last two weeks, several storms have doused the Gauteng province, but the rain is necessary to turn the landscape green again and help usher in spring. While the intensity of the thunderstorms is unlike anything I have previously experienced, I am not letting the rain put a damper on my work in Munsieville.
These past two weeks have been absolutely amazing, in terms of experiences here and the work that Sarakay Johnson and I have been able to accomplish. We have been organizing many different projects since we have arrived. This past week we have been able to implement several of these projects. The majority have been focused on health education, which is an area that I particularly enjoy.
Class, Camp, and Compost. What do these three things have in common? They all relate to the work Courtney and I completed last week. We have been working hard on three different projects, and I am very excited about what we were able to accomplish.
This starts week number four of my internship here in Munsieville, and I cannot believe time is going by this fast! Last week Courtney and I began work on a big project that I hope will have a lasting positive impact on the people of Munsieville.
Courtney Stanley
My name is Courtney Stanley and I am a senior at East Tennessee State University College of Public Health. I am currently earning my B.S. degree in Public Health with a concentration in Community and Behavioral Health. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Munsieville, South Africa, and complete my internship with The Thoughtful Path, along with my colleague and fellow student Sarakay Johnson.FGHL Blog: Kelsey Tipton - TN Radon Reports
Aug 04 2012
Kelsey Tipton
During the time that has passed since my last report I have been focusing my attention on the Tennessee Radon project. As I mentioned before I really have become interested in this particular project. Through my contacts I have been able to acquire short term radon tests to distribute throughout the community. Thus far I have received scores on 15 of the 20 test kits I have sent out. A safe radon rating for your home under is 4 pCi/L, so far ever test I have gotten back has scored under “1” pCi/L which is great! It has been rewarding to be able to go into the community and pass out the short term radon test not only because I can get data to record, but also because I can talk with the participants and help them to understand the major affects radon can have on their health. I feel like I am truly making a difference in some of these peoples’ lives and helping them understand what could be happening in their home is an eye opening experience for most.FGHL Blog: Alyssa Small - First Week in Honduras
Aug 04 2012
This first week has been a lot of preparation. For the orgnization - preparing for the upcoming medical student brigade and the confrence, for me - learning Spanish and helping out where I can. I try to spend an hour in the morning in language school, which is me in front of the fan looking at my Spanish materials. I´m already more comfortable saying Spanish phrases and I can understand what people are saying to me every once in a while. So I guess I´m on the road to success.
FGHL Blog: Kelsey Tipton - Aspire
Aug 01 2012
Numerous projects and learning experiences have arisen during my time at Roan Mountain Medical Center. I've learned you always have to be flexible. Originally I planned on working more with the patients and the administrative side of health care here at the Medical Center, but after a few weeks I learned there are more areas that I can reach out into.