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Last day of vacation - getting ready for that post grad life! #grownupstuff #endofsummer (at Oakland, California)

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Proud alum! #mountholyokeforevershallbe #mohomonday #mohoinhaiti #uncommonwoman #summer

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Break time! Working with at- risk youth on sustainable agriculture gives me so much hope but I gotta say that it takes a lot of energy. I can't complain because they love it and surprise me every single day! #haitianyouth #sustainableagriculture #tiredface #selfietime #youthsummercamp #cgiu2015 (at Les Cayes, Haiti)

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Happy Sunday! From my sunny island to your wherever you are on earth 🌈

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If there is a word that expresses more gratitude than "thank you" I want to learn it to say it this woman for all she has done for me. You always wanted to see your baby graduate from college so mom this year this was the biggest gift I could afford 💜💜 Happy mothers' day to all my Haitian and Dominican moms!!

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#Repost @mhcalums with @repostapp. When you and your mom take a picture with your alma matter's mascot #mountholyokeforevershallbe ・・・ Say cheese! #MHCReunion #mountholyoke15 #picnic #yum

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Cum Laude in International Relations with a Nexus minor in Development Studies! Mount Holyoke, you have turned me into a better version of myself and I am beyond grateful for the experience. Now it's time to go home. #mhc2015 #mhcgraduate #bachelorsdegree #uncommonwomen #haitianpride #mohopride #irmajor #womenwithdegrees

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The day I have been waiting for for the past 4 years!! #mhc2015 #mhcgraduate #uncommonwomen #firstgenerationcollegestudent #womenwithdegrees (at Mount Holyoke College)

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I didn't even know that MHC had this award 🙈🙈 I was in tears while reading this... I am so grateful to the friends and mentors who not only support me in my ventures but also push me way beyond my comfort zone. #mhcglobal #countyourblessings #globalcitizen #proudmoment (at Mount Holyoke College)

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Very grateful for the generous support of an alumna of the class of 1982 and @mhc_cdc. During my #LEAP presentation about my internship in Liberia. "Discovering New Career Interests from Experience" #LEAPMHC #moho #mhc2015 #TheLynk #gpfa #mhc LEAP is Mount Holyoke College's premier showcase of student summer research projects and internship experiences.

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     “I’m trying to decide how to spend my Fall Break: either put more time into my studies or go to Haiti to work on a project I’ve been working on for a year now. The project is about helping kids who are living in poverty.”      “What was your inspiration for that project?”      “I lived in Haiti during the earthquake. My parents weren’t extremely rich, but I had everything I needed and everything I wanted. I compared the life I had just a few hours before the earthquake to the life I was living after, and I thought, ‘If that’s going to be the day-to-day reality for these kids from now on, then I have to do something.”

South Hadley, MA

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Starting the day right at Le Meridien in Les Cayes! Next stop meetings for www.ourgardenhaiti.net with the local authorities. #cgiu2014 #childprotection #fightagainstabsolutepoverty #ogh #lescayes (at Le Meridien Hotel Les Cayes, Haiti)

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Exposed or not Ebola is a real global threat

The first time I lived through an epidemic as alarming as the Ebola was 4 years ago, after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. I saw first hand what living in a state of health emergency is with the cholera outbreak. Yet one month ago if anyone had told me that Ebola would make me leave Liberia earlier than expected I would not believe it. Now, it is real - I am leaving. Not because I am personally afraid of getting infected, although I highly recommend that people act carefully, I am leaving because everyone around me is worried that the international community will soon back out and travel restrictions will be placed on the country. This means that all four of us will be stuck here. As of now 11 African countries have agreed to help tackle the epidemic but experts around the world are calling for immediate intervention from the international community. 

I am not only worried about what will come next but I am very concerned about the possibility of international relief organizations pulling their staff out of the country thus abandoning the infected people in Guinee, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone to their ineffective health system. I feel very sad for the families who lost their loved ones because they did not understand what was going on. Early symptoms of the Ebola virus include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat. These symptoms can appear two to 21 days after infection. 

This morning when my friends told me that because of Ebola we would be going to Ghana very soon I thought they were joking. I have been thinking of visiting Ghana before heading  back to the US so I did not take them seriously until I heard it from my supervisor. Many radio advertisements in Liberia say "Ebola is real and it kills" but how health authorities handled it is a totally different story. Unfortunately not many people know that early intervention can save lives. According to a CNN article "There is no cure or vaccine to treat Ebola, but the aid agency MSF has shown it doesn't have to be a death sentence if treated early. Ebola typically kills 90% of patients but the death rate in this outbreak has dropped to roughly 60%." Again how many people in the country have access to such critical information? During my trip to Kpatawee in Gbarnga, a community located approximately 4 hours away from Monrovia, I saw villages that were totally cut off from the rest of the nation. So how can these people possibly know how to identify the Ebola symptoms or better how do they seek help early enough when the closest health facility is within hours of walk? Nevertheless, when I read that a man from Guinea had been treated from ebola, I regain hope that with extensive outreach and sensitization people will be more aware of this deadly virus. Airline companies are feeling the pressure and are taking extreme measures to ensure that the virus does not spread to more countries. Arik Air cancelled all flights leaving from Liberia. Luckily Mount Holyoke booked us on a non-stop flight to Europe with another carrier. From there we will be heading back to the US.

Yes, sadly (because I enjoyed being in this country so much) I am going back home. My heart will not be at peace knowing that people with whom I have shared a journey will stay exposed to the virus.

I can't stop asking this question: how can the Ebola virus be stopped from reaching other continents with so much global movements? 

#ebola #liberia #ebolaepidemic #internationaltravel #guinea #sierraleone #nigeria #africa #westafrica

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One of the best experiences I have had in #Liberia with my #mohos we visited the #kpataweefalls in Bong County #lifeinliberia #myMHCsummer #nyny (at Gbarnga, Liberia, West Africa)

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Relaxing night at the beach in beautiful company #lifeinliberia #blissfulmoments #myMHCsummer #mohos #friendship (at Golden Beach)

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Generosity defined

If I had to use one word to relate my experience in Liberia over the past two weeks, I would say generosity. My interactions with the people here never cease to humble me and to renew my faith in humanity. I have learnt a lot about myself and identified the things that truly matter to me. As simple as this can be, I realized that I mostly enjoy working on everything that involves human interaction. My favorite so far have been interviewing and listening to the stories of ambitious young women, developing new concepts and ideas to bring people together, and planning events with staff (the most enjoyable part of what I do).

During my second week, my fellow interns and I attended a small hand-over ceremony to present an EKG machine on behalf of Madam Gbowee at the Saint Joseph Hospital in Monrovia. It was a private ceremony without all the usual official protocol, and what I saw at this hospital stayed with me the whole week. I am not foreign to extreme poverty or the lack of access to basic needs such as health care, potable water, and adequate food for malnourished children. These were not the first things that struck me. During our tour of the hospital we visited the maternity section. I saw a woman in labor laying on the floor in the hallway waiting for a new bed to be available so she could be cared for. Not too far from her was another woman who had just given birth but she was on a bed. I heard her say to the gentleman next to her: “take my towel and give it to her”. While, she did not look like she had much herself, she understood that the other sister was worst off and could use all the help she could get.  

The EKG machine came as a blessing to the hospital. The hospital’s only cardiologist told us that they had to work for almost 5 months without one. During a visit in Liberia of some women of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, one of the women saw how essential it was that she and her family donated the machine to the hospital. Their generosity went beyond the simple act of providing the equipment. The machine was customized to cater to the hospital’s needs. The laptop has a 16 hours battery life and the results can be printed from a long distance. I don’t know much about the medical world but I am sure that is something quite impressive. I also noted that they had more women doctors in leadership position than men. I thought that was definitely a positive thing.

Later in the week one of my friends met a Chinese restaurant owner who offered to treat us to some authentic Chinese cuisine. On Friday night, under a pouring rain, she picked us up for a charming diner. We were in a private room with a table full of food ranging from sliced fruits and nuts to duck meat and spicy noodles. Unfortunately by the time they brought the food to us our phones were already dead, so we have no picture of our delicious diner. Later the owner joined us and talked about her life and experience in Liberia. She is a single mother raising an eight year-old girl who seems to be the center of her world. She wants to take her to so many places to see the world like she did not have the chance to see it. When we asked her why she treated us to like she did, her answer could not be more genuine. She said: “If I was living in China you all could have been my own daughters. I would like my daughter to be safe and people to treat her well when she is abroad too… You are young and you may not have the chance to come back to this country so I want you to have good memories of your time here. This is what I would want that for my daughter”. She almost got me in tears as she reminded of my own mother – she would have done and said the same. I have also seen acts of kindness coming from my peers. My friend Wenna, our “official” photographer, took some beautiful pictures of a few children in a disadvantaged neighborhood. She later paid to get them printed to send them to these children so they can have them as a souvenir. What a wonderful way to remind children of their beautiful smiles? Love, has various meanings in Liberia but unlike some places that I have been to, people here are not afraid to show it anywhere and at any time. Like the little girl who ran from her playground towards us on the sidewalk then hold our hands to say “hi”.  

The past 2 weeks have been very busy in the office because we have so many events coming up. However I can’t complain because I enjoyed every task I have been given. When we have meetings with Madam. Gbowee it is always a pleasant moment - she is such a cool lady! She even invited us to her home during the weekend and offered to treat us to a weekend out of town. Oh yes my summer is awesome! The excitement does not only come from doing cool stuff like planning special events or making plans with my flat mates. It also comes from learning about daily life in Liberia, sexuality as it is perceived in the country, faith, and the political arena like most people don’t see or hear about in the media. I met a few more people last week among which a lady from Peru who works at the Palm Spring Hotel. When she asked me where I was from I told her but she couldn’t figure it out so I told her it’s next to the Dominican Republic. Happy, she asked if we speak Spanish too. I said we don’t but I do. We continued in Spanish and then she said “it so good to finally find someone who is able to speak your language when you are so far from home”. She offered to take my friends and I to other parts of the country on her day off. More trips to come – I am so happy!

Quote of the week: “you can’t separate your community from your success or failure” - Leymah Gbowee.

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Dreaming of Africa - Again!

Dreaming of Africa - Again

It’s a little ridiculous to dream about going back to Africa especially when I just got back from the continent a little over a week ago. I understand that. But, as ludicrous as this sounds I am already thinking about traveling to Africa again. I think it’s because Africa is so expansive and there is still so much for me to see. Plus, I’m not getting any younger. I want to be able to climb…