Carrie Knowlton |
| Country of Service |
| Senegal |
| Dates Served |
| 1999 - 2001 |
| Volunteer Position |
| Agroforestry |
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| Description of main volunteer activities: |
| I was assigned to be an agroforestry volunteer, and initially worked with farmers to start mango and cashew tree nurseries to improve the soil in their peanut fields and provide better nutrition to their families. I later became involved in health projects by helping to coordinate local language literacy and health education classes for adults, and by helping to organize a club for rural girls that focused on women’s health and education. I also worked with my host mother, the village midwife, to do trainings for women in the village on nutrition and childhood immunization schedules. |
| How Peace Corps service influenced decision to go into nursing and future plans: |
| I studied environmental science in undergrad, and was naturally assigned to do environmental work in the Peace Corps. In my village, I found that while people were interested in working with me to plant fruit trees, they frequently missed meetings or were unable to care for the nurseries they started because they or someone in their family was seriously ill. I found that health was the most urgent issue facing the people I knew in Senegal, and I was personally affected by seeing many good friends devastated with illnesses that should have been easily treatable if they had better access to health care. I started working on some health projects, and eventually health education became my main focus. Because of my experiences in Peace Corps, I decided to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health. After working on a community-based environmental health project for two years at the EPA, I realized that I was still missing the personal connections with people that I had in Peace Corps, and wanted to have the clinical skills that would enable me to more directly impact individuals and help them improve their health. So nursing was the perfect choice! |
| Impact of RPCV Fellows experience: |
| I’ve been lucky to work at the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, where I’m able to apply the new skills I am learning at nursing school as well as my previous experiences in environmental health and health education. I do some office work, and also do home visits to interview families enrolled in the Coalition’s asthma prevention program. Although I learned a lot about working with communities in Peace Corps, I find that I still have a lot of learning to do when working in Baltimore! My fellows experience so far has helped me to grow as a person, and has greatly enhanced my nursing education. |
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