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Joanna Gonder
Country of Service
South Africa
Dates Served
2005 - 2007
Volunteer Position
HIV Coordinator, Capricorn District Municipality

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Description of main volunteer activities:

Coordinated home based care services for the district and worked to build capacity of small HIV non-profits in rural areas and the district capital. Worked on district HIV prevention activities and campaigns. Helped with a district wide HIV prevalence study and documented numbers of orphans and vulnerable children. Coordinated supplies, trainings and healthcare services between elected officials, local hospitals, municipal workers and rural health nurses.

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

I''m very interested in HIV care and also in community health nursing, especially the home based care model. During my time in South Africa I worked closely with a number of nurses. Many of these women inspired me to go into this field. I was really drawn to the role that they played in caring for their patients and their own communities, the hands-on nature of their work, and their unique ability to reach out to communities that were still dealing with enormous stigma around HIV.

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Joanna Gonder