Johns Hopkins School of Nursing | Global

RPCV profile index

Kristen Grenon
Country of Service
Chad
Dates Served
2005 - 2006
Volunteer Position
TEFL Instructor

view Image

Description of main volunteer activities:

My main activity as a Peace Corps volunteer entailed teaching English at the village school to boys and girls grades 7-10. Daily lessons incorporated health and environmental issues and other subjects relative to local life. At bi-weekly staff meetings worked with the other teachers and the director on ways to motivate the students and improve attendance. I also taught an afternoon English class for adults. Prior to my evacuation I was working on two health projects. The first was to travel to nearby villages with a small scale to weigh children and infants. The goal of the project was to teach mothers about nutrition for their children and babies as well as themselves, particularly during pregnancy and to teach about proper weight and growth. My second health project was translating a health/HIV/AIDS manual from English to French, and ultimately Chadian Arabic (phonetically).

How Peace Corps service influenced decision to go into nursing and future plans:

I decided to go into nursing during Peace Corps. While in Chad I saw many illnesses go untreated and too many unnecessary deaths due to a lack of proper health care. With each illness and death, my drive to become a nurse only increased. Upon returning to the U.S., I began working at a rehabilitation center for traumatic brain injuries and taking pre-requisites for nursing school. After becoming a nurse I plan to work in Baltimore for a couple of years and ultimately return to Africa as a nurse-midwife.

Impact of RPCV Fellows experience:

The PC Fellows program has already given me great insight to working with underserved communities in Baltimore. Working at WIC through community outreach has allowed me to integrate into the community and be part of a program aimed to aid mothers and children in need. I look forward to other volunteer projects within Baltimore as well as international experiences that will give me a view of working in the health field with limited resources.

	Topics People Advanced
About Us Apply Academics Research Alumni Information For…

Kristen Grenon