When in Ghana/what was your project: In the Summer of 2007, I coordinated three Serve and Learn Volunteer Sessions.  The first session was the Girls' Empowerment Camp, where the volunteers led discussions and activities with girls who had recently graduated from Junior Secondary School (middle school) and were awaiting their BECE (admission test for high school) results.  The second session was Malaria Prevention. We had a very intensive two weeks of creating and implementing a pilot survey, which was used to assess the health risks in the village. We also held a Net Retreatment Program in the village.  The last session was Deworming and Hygiene. We went to the nursery and primary schools in the village and distributed deworming tablets and sandals.  The volunteers created a successful educational program, which benefited both the parents and their at-risk children. 

Current schooling/career: New York University, 2010. Africana Studies, Social and Public Policy

Future career goals: Ideally, I see myself doing a combination of development and socio-linguistic research work in Africa, Asia, and South America. I am interested in grassroots NGOs like GHEI that are community led.

How has your work with GHEI influenced you?
My work in GHEI has influenced me indefinitely. I cannot express how fortunate I feel to have had the experience of working so closely with GHEI because it has molded my perspective on how development work should be (and what my role should and can be in it). I always knew that I wanted to help people, but before I became involved with GHEI, I think I had a very naïve notion of what I wanted to do to achieve that goal. In the 5 years that I’ve been involved with GHEI, my involvement in its projects has intensified, and with that, I feel as though I’ve matured and grown as a person. Indeed, my career goals have changed considerably over the years; and on various occasions where I find myself mulling over my future, Humjibre comes to mind and fine-tunes my prospects.

What is your most memorable moment in Humjibre? There are so many memorable moments in Humjibre that it is hard to pick one. I remember the “last dinner” we had when I was (Jasmine, continued)