Reflecting on the semester...

When I first got accepted into the program, I felt a bit scared. I was out of school for almost 4 years, and I was afraid that it would take me a long time to get back into the habit of being a student again.
I also felt very homesick (you really never get used to being so far away from family).
Fast forward 5 months later, I can say that this program has taught me a lot so far: not only has my knowledge in drugs, the diseases they treat and their interactions with bodily systems, expanded tremendously,  it has also introduced me to wonderful people within the program, and I have gained new friendships.

Total volunteer hours for the semester: 32hrs

KIPP: 8hrs in November and December

Gardening: 8hrs (in November and December)

Habitat for humanity: 16 hrs (in September)

Gardening to a healthier life (November)

If there is one thing the month of November made me grateful for is the weather in New Orleans. Although there have been chilly days, it doesn’t even start to compare with the weather in Boston, and for that I'm very happy. No snow storms, no sub-zero temperatures… Ah, the simple pleasures of life!

With that said, this month, I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Green Light New Orleans organization in their backyard vegetable garden program.  The organization install free energy efficient light bulbs and backyard vegetable gardens in New Orleans; helping then to create an environmental friendly city.

Residents who are interested in having a vegetable garden contact the organization and then set up a date to have volunteers come in and install the gardens, all free of charge! This explains the long waiting list: about 200 people!  Residents are asked to maintain the garden for up to 5 years at least. And if they ever have issues with their garden, or can’t afford to get seeds, they can always contact the organization.

We work with residents to build 4ft x 4 vegetable beds in their backyards. I was surprised to see how easy it is to install a vegetable garden: I learned how to in about 30 minutes, and along with Miss Debra, the other volunteer we were on our way to install our first raised garden bed by ourselves. All the materials are provided by the organization: the tools and the seeds. When we got to the house, the resident and her son were eagerly waiting for us, ready to help build their vegetable garden. Her 5-year-old son was the cutest: with his spiderman gloves and little wheelbarrow.

We started by digging a hole that was about 6 feet deep, and 4x4 in size. Lucky for us, the grass was damp (because it has rained earlier in the week) and the resident had already started digging up the grass before we got there. We lined the whole with landscape fabric, and filled it with soil. Then, we were ready to put in our seeds. We planted kale, aragula, basil, and tomatoes.

I really enjoyed myself, and was happy to contribute to making New Orleans a greener place. Also I learned a lot about planting and it made me think about the benefits and importance of having a garden:

-You have to take care of it (which requires patience and effort), therefore you learn to have greater appreciation and respect for your food

-You are then encouraged to eat healthier food, plus you know the source of your vegetables (in your backyard) and it helps save money too!

-Taking care of it requires a bit of physical exercise AND it is relaxing too, so not only do you get to eat healthier, you get to exercise and de-stress too. Keys to healthy and happy life, and a significantly decrease in your risks of getting lifestyle diseases.

I’m happy and confident to say that by helping install vegetable gardens, I am performing preventive medicine: acting upstream to alleviate downstream health crisis!

I look forward to installing more backyard gardens, J

What we started with

What we made of it!

Happy Residents!

Volunteering at KIPP!

Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the local KIPP school in Bywater. KIPP (which stands for Knowledge Is Power Program) are a network of charter schools all over the US. Charter schools are schools that receive public funding but function independently, meaning they basically have their own rules and regulations. They are usually founded by teachers or parents who seek to create higher quality education and better prepare children for college . New Orleans is the only city in the country where all public schools are charter schools, and this has become the case following Hurricane Katrina. Before the hurricane, the majority of New Orleans’ public schools didn’t meet the national standards and Louisiana placed 46th out of 50 states in terms of education1. In the aftermath of Katrina, the city decided to start over and replace all schools with charter schools, and hire a new staff. Since then, academic performances have been improving (higher test scores, and higher graduation rates).

My first impression walking into the KIPP school  was that I have come into a big family. Teachers are not merely teachers. They reminded me more of parents, older brothers and sisters to the kids. One can easily tell that they really care about the children and invest all their time and energy into their education. For instance, when I first met Ms Hong,  a couple of the children walked to her and gave her big hugs. They look up to her as a mentor but also as a big sister. I was impressed, and right there I knew I wanted to volunteer more with this program. Another interesting aspect of the school is that each classroom is named after an american college or university. This introduces children at a very early age to the concept of higher education, and motivates them to think and want more beyond high school. Our task was to help with preparing games for the Fall festival they were having the next day. We helped cut papers for origami, and also made paper ‘jack-o’-lanterns’. Classes already ended, so a lot of kids had already left. They were a couple of kids though who were waiting for their parents to pick them up and so they were put in a room to watch the show “Dinosaur Train”, while waiting.

I look forward to dedicating more of my time to the KIPP school and also to learning more about the impact that charter schools are having on the New Orleans’ educational system. Nelson Mandela once said that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the  world”. For now, KIPP seems to embody this principle.

1(http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/4/new-orleans-charterschoolseducationreformracesegregation.html)

Volunteer hours: 3 hours

I knew I was going to love living in New Orleans, ever since my first visit in January 2008 (on a two-week trip to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity). It has that je-ne-sais-quoi, a certain 'swag' that a lot of other US cities lack: surely due to its rich and colorful culture, the warmth of its people (southern hospitality that is reminiscent of our own version of hospitality back home in Senegal, “Teranga”), its distinct type of music and architecture that remind me of Dakar and Saint-Louis (after all, both New Orleans and Senegal were French colonies at some point in time)…Whatever it is, this city has a lot to offer. However, I do not want to romanticize New Orleans. Biking through the city everyday to class, I see glimpses of a grimmer reality: high rates of poverty and unemployment.

Thus, I am so glad that the masters program offers volunteering opportunities in order to get involved in the community and gain better knowledge of local resources.

So far, I have had the opportunity to volunteer twice during the month of September for Habitat for Humanity along with some of my classmates, at two different locations: Hollygrove and New Orleans East. I must admit that I was not prepared (physically and mentally) for the hard work we had to do: digging under a house to level the ground in order to avoid water from pooling, caulking, painting and even installing insulation in the attic, all in the sweltering heat.

Still, it was a rewarding experience. I now have a better understanding of and appreciation for the crucial role Habitat for Humanity continues to play in rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina. I also had the opportunity to meet and chat with the owner of one of the houses we helped build (she was also there to help build her own house). Listening to her talk with such joy about her future home (decoration ideas and housewarming party plans) and about the safety of the neighborhood for her young daughter, made the volunteering experience even more meaningful!

Volunteer hours

9/6/14 - 8 hours

9/13/14 - 8 hours