Jambo!

Jambo from Kenya! It’s been over a week now that we have been at Egerton University and we can’t wait to share our stories and experiences with you! To begin with we’d like to introduce ourselves.

My name is Addie Price and I am from Westchester, New York. I will be a junior next year at Duke, and I’m majoring in psychology while taking pre-med classes. I am extremely excited to be in Kenya this summer because I feel that it is becoming increasingly important to get to know and appreciate different people, societies, cultures and ways of life. Also, coming from the U.S. and with the resources and opportunities that are available, I want to do what I can to give back to other who are less fortunate. This summer I am working on a Gender and Sexual Harassment Policy for the University with Angela Vo. Also, I hope to shadow a doctor at the Provincial Medical Hospital in nearby Nakuru. Finally, I am excited to work with others in my group to get to know the student body, sit in on student meetings (some of which we have already joined in on such as the Student Mothers group and the weekly Coffee Hour discussions) and work with children in both an orphanage and the local primary schools. Can’t wait to share my summer with you!!

Hello! I’m Caitlin Milligan, a rising junior from Lexington, Kentucky. At Duke, I am pursuing the Global Health Certificate in addition to majoring in Biology. On campus I am the incoming director of Know Your Status – the student-run organization which provides free HIV testing and counseling to students. This summer I will be applying the skills I have learned at Duke and will be working as an HIV tester/counselor at a VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) center. I hope to help address the stigma associated with HIV on campus and encourage students to get tested and know their status. Additionally, I hope to work with HIV-positive students to help them realize that they can lead normal and productive lives as members of the University community. I can’t wait to share all of my experiences with you!

Hey guys! My name is Angela Vo and I am a rising sophomore from Cary, North Carolina. I am primarily interested in remedying global health disparities through addressing flawed societal constructs that perpetuate human rights violations. I am currently undecided as to what I will major in but I hope that working at the Egerton Institute of Women, Gender Development and Studies will help me decide between English or Public Policy. I really love meeting new people and exploring the different intricacies of a new culture. We have already talked to a multitude of absolutely amazing people whose lives have truly inspired us. From talking to groups of empowered student mothers, the Alliance for Youth and AIDS, and to the girls at a local Njoro orphanage, I cannot believe that I am in Kenya in such great company. Just as the weather has been full of surprises (hail, of all things!), I look forward to each day’s challenges and surprises! As Addie, Caitlin, and Sherryl will tell you, I am a chatterbox! I can’t wait to tell you all about my experiences here and I hope that the people I’ve met so far will gain as much as I do from my time here.

For now it’s just us ladies in Njoro but in early July our friend Prashant Swaminathan will be joining us (for which we are really excited).