Johns Hopkins School of Nursing | Global

RPCV profile index

Rebecca Coppola
Country of Service
Guinea
Dates Served
2005 - 2007
Volunteer Position
Agroforestry, NGO Liason

view Image

Description of main volunteer activities:

As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I started out planting trees and drying mangoes in a rural village. As time went on, I became more and more interested in promoting girls education. I participated in the Peace Corps national Girls Conference and in my second year I was co-coordinator. I began working with an NGO, Tostan, that does non-formal adult education to try to expand their partnership with Peace Corps. In that role I worked alongside several women who had been traditional cutters as they helped prepare for a public declaration to abandon FGC and child marriage.

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

Meeting rural health care workers and midwives in Guinea opened my eyes to the huge challenges facing families in communities without access to high-quality health care or education. I had never considered nursing before Peace Corps, but that experience has shown me what a huge difference nurses can make in the lives of people around them, and I will always look back to my friends and co-workers in Guinea for inspiration. Guinea showed me that teaching people about their health empowers them to improve their lives.

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

Rebecca Coppola