A visit to NC from GA by one of our members, Alison Brooks (’10), prompted a mini reunion for our Ghana class. On February 17, 2014 seven of us enjoyed dinner at Dan Thai restaurant on South Church Street in Burlington. Dan Thai was selected because for years our class held profit-sharing events there, often on Reading Day at the semester’s end. In addition to catching up and Founding Members from the 2010 graduating class current on campus members, the group discussed ongoing projects in Ghana (a Health Center complex in Kpoeta and a kindergarten in Sokode) and in the USA (scholarships for US college students with high need).

Alison is completing a Master’s in Public Health at Emory University for which she is conducting research on trachoma (an eye disease) in Tanzania using GIS computer mapping programs. While at Elon, in addition to being a Ghana Periclean Scholar, Alison was a Watson Scholar, studied in Ghana for a semester and spent a summer on an NIH Fellowship studying water quality issues in Tanzania. In addition to speaking with Ghana class adviser Dr. Frontani’s Africa seminar (GST 404) students about her research and the importance of not having a ‘single story’ when it comes to Africa, Alison gave a presentation on leadership to approximately a dozen Global Experience (GST 110) faculty.

The Ghana class hopes to host another mini reunion meal with current and alumni members in the coming months, before several class members graduate in May.

Follow

Share on Tumblr

A few weeks ago our class learned that the Government of Ghana will post a midwife to the Health Center the Ghana Pericleans built in partnership with the people of Kpoeta, Ghana between April 2007 and January 2009. The midwife’s addition, in December 2013, will bring the Health Center’s full-time government-paid staff to four (two nurses, one staff member, and a midwife).

Health Center on Opening Day, Jan. 9, 2009

Ghana Pericleans and Nurses at Health Center, Jan. 2010

At the time of our 29 Founding Ghana Periclean Member’s graduation in May 2010, a basic Health Center was in place which the class had funded and the community and hired specialists (electricians, roofers, and plumbers) had built. By September 2011, Ghana’s Ministry of Health officially brought the facility into its network of Health Centers, which led to several benefits including: regular deliveries of basic medical supplies to the Health Center’s small dispensary and the ability of patients to use their National Health Insurance cards at the Health Center.

Ceremony for the Health Center’s Entry into the National System, Sept. 2011

Today, the Health Center Complex serves as the primary care facility for basic care for more than 10,000 people living in several small remote hamlets and villages in the vicinity of Kpoeta, which is located near the Ghana-Togo border. Thanks to the ongoing support of our Founding Members, 14 younger Ghana Periclean Scholars from the classes of 2012-16, and other supporters in the USA and Ghana, the Health Center serves an average of 125 people each week and forms one end of an L-shaped Health Center Complex of three buildings that were all built via a Ghana Periclean—Community of Kpoeta partnership. The other two buildings include a nurses’ housing block with two 2-bedroom apartments completed in late 2011 and a second housing block with two 1-bedroom apartments that is nearing completion.

First Nurses Houses Block, Jan. 2012

Newest Housing Block Nearing Completion, Oct. 2013

Follow

Share on Tumblr

Kelly Parshall, Class of 2010, gives an update from Vanuatu in her role as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Hello! Here is my long-awaited update from Vanuatu:

I’m currently working as a Community Health Facilitator in Vanuatu, a
small island nation in the South Pacific (I’d never heard of it before
I was posted there either.) I live on Paama, a tiny 3×5 mile island in
central Vanuatu, in an isolated village of about 200 people called
Lulep. Paama Island has no electricity, water sources, roads, cars,
internet, or much of anything, really. I work at an aid post, which is
the lowest form of health care available in the country. PCVs aren’t
allowed to perform any clinical activities, so much of my work is
health education and prevention. My local counterpart is the village
health worker and midwife of the village, Lika.  Our initiatives so
far include: a new mama’s group, a water and sanitation workshop, soap
making demonstrations, adolescent reproductive health workshop and
HIV/STI awarenesses. As far as physical projects go, we are in the
midst of trying to attain funding for VIP (ventilated improved pit)
toilets. I also teach an English class at the school to grades 5-6
every morning. Coping with the isolation of living on an island with
no friends, internet or reliable cell phone service has been tough,
but this year has been one of immense personal growth. As strange as
it is, the island has become home to me and I look forward to a more
comfortable, productive second year of service.

I only get the (unbearably slow) internet every 2-3 months when I come
into the capital city, so I can be rather elusive. You can write me
at:

Kelly/Leitas (custom name)
Peace Corps Volunteer
Lulep Village
Paama Island
Vanuatu, South Pacific

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of a new year at Elon and look
forward to seeing what you and the Pericleans accomplish!

Best,

Kelly

Follow

Share on Tumblr

Class of 2010

A representative from your Class will be asked to make posts to the Periclean Scholars blog.

You are encouraged to make full use of the capabilities of the blog by adding hyperlinks, photos, and video.

Make sure to check Class of 2010 under Categories before you press Publish.

Follow

Share on Tumblr