Johns Hopkins School of Nursing | Global

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Colleen Ralph
Country of Service
Togo
Dates Served
2003 - 2005
Volunteer Position
Girls Education and Empowerment Volunteer

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Description of main volunteer activities:

I was assigned to work in a small rural village in northern Togo as a girl’s education and empowerment volunteer. During my time in Togo I set up a girl’s soccer league for the primary schools in my prefecture and established a girl’s soccer team at the local middle school. I also met on a weekly basis with my girls club and taught life skills classes at the middle school. In addition I worked with a group of students who served as peer educators and volunteered to educate their communities about health related topics (HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy etc.) and gender equality. The main project I focused on throughout my service was establishing committees in each of the 10 cantons in my prefecture that worked to end the practice of forced child marriages. This was the largest obstacle facing girls and women in my village and a major road block preventing many girls from obtaining an education

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

I think I always had an interest in the health field. Health on every level, mental, emotional, and physical continues to fascinate me. My Peace Corps experience confirmed this interest for me. On a very personal level I was affected by seeing so many people and close friends devastated by illnesses that would have been treatable if they had better access to health care. Working as a GEE volunteer I realized how much education was intertwined with health. It seemed that lack of access to quality and adequate health care was at the root of so many problems in my village. Going to nursing school seemed to be a great way to obtain a set of skills that would be very valuable in tackling some of these problems.

Impact of RPCV Fellows experience:

My community outreach placement is with the WIC clinic in east Baltimore. It has been a wonderful experience so far and has provided me with the opportunity to get to know the east Baltimore community a bit more. I’ve also been able to build on skills I learned while working in Togo as a GEE volunteer and learn new skill that will be helpful in my career as a nurse.

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Colleen Ralph