Maternal Health "Ah ha!" Moment - Peace Corps Service Leads to Career as a Midwife

Peace Corps Volunteer Caitlin Givens talks about her "Ah ha!" moment in the Sahel desert that led her to shift career paths and become a midwife. During nursing and midwifery school, she serves as a doula and helps women plan for labor and birth. She draws from her Peace Corps experience to connect with and care for women from diverse backgrounds in the US From: peacecorps Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 02:53 More in Nonprofits & Activism

Today was a pretty standard day in what a working day would consist of since I moved to NYC and have been working at the Foundation Center. My alarm went off at around 7am, but I was up just slightly before because I don’t have blinds so that beaming morning sun hits down through my [...]

The travel guide books (Lonely Planet, Rough Guide & The Idiot’s Guide) that I used did not provide information on how to use the pass. I guess they assumed that it would be a breeze to use. I would like to think that I am a savvy traveler (c’mon I traveled to China and lived [...]

Jay Davidson

Saturday afternoon: arrival at the ranch. Before we got on the train we got to leave our fingerprints, like leaves, on a tree as a keepsake for Ari and Keith.

Jay Davidson

Saturday afternoon: arrival at the ranch. Before we got on the train we got to leave our fingerprints, like leaves, on a tree as a keepsake for Ari and Keith.

Jay Davidson

Saturday afternoon: one of the first sights we saw once we got onto the grounds of the Santa Margarita Ranch

Jay Davidson

Saturday afternoon: arrival at the ranch. Before we got on the train we got to leave our fingerprints, like leaves, on a tree as a keepsake for Ari and Keith.

Jay Davidson

Saturday afternoon: one of the first sights we saw once we got onto the grounds of the Santa Margarita Ranch

I bought my EuRail pass from STA Travel before I left for Europe. It was touted as the best option for people who wanted to travel in Europe, because you didn’t have to reserve seats except for express trains such as the TGV. My sister had bought one when she was in Europe, and suggested [...]

Jay Davidson

I saw this in a shop window and thought it was curious: looks like an evening bag with a handle of brass knuckles.

Jay Davidson

monument to Jose Monge Cruz - not sure who he was, but this monument is not very well cared for

Jay Davidson

monument to Jose Monge Cruz - not sure who he was, but this monument is not very well cared for (Maybe water is drained in the winter?)

Jay Davidson

monument to Jose Monge Cruz - not sure who he was, but this monument is not very well cared for

Hello again Cameroon. But this time it is a bit different. I am still struggling to figure out what it is that I am supposed to be doing. I started a new job with UNICEF working on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). It seems that my direct boss is out until February, so I am left hanging a bit until she comes back. In the mean time I am reading a lot of documents in French from UNICEF to try and figure out the current situation of my program in Cameroon. It has been informative, but it gives me a headache after a few hours.

On other fronts, I have moved into my new apartment. It is a bit big for me, but hopefully soon I will have some new wicker furniture to fill it. I bought a bed and a fridge and now I am broke. Living in a big city has a much higher cost of living than a village. I could walk everywhere, but I am under more time constraints so I am forced to take cabs. The taxis are not expensive, but it adds up. Also food is much more expensive because all of it is trucked or trained in from villages. To add, there are more opportunities to spend money, like going out to a Chinese restaurant for Chinese New Year. I am trying to get into a habit of buying food on the weekends for the whole week, but I am not there yet.

Recreation and relaxation options are much greater in the city. Peace Corps Volunteers are always in and out and ready to hang out. My fellow UNICEF workers are a very interesting and experienced group of people that I hope to get to know more. My officemate is a French volunteer working on a malaria initiative. There is also an expatriate community here that organizes activities like: ultimate Frisbee and yoga! So for now, until work picks up, I am enjoying discovering the city and all of its surprises.

Jay Davidson

Hercules: Ceuta was referred to as Abyla. On the other side, Gibraltar was referred to as Calpe. These are the two Pillars of Hercules that span the Mediterranean at this point.