Sarah Lyon-Hill, a Graduate Research Assistant in the Office of Economic Development, is enrolled in the Masters International Program here at Virginia Tech. She recently spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, where she helped to create and implement various development projects dealing with the concerns of her local community: micro-financing, women’s issues, community health and welfare, and education. The town she served in is called Zermou and is located in southern Niger. Of all the experiences she had, the most memorable involved painting a health mural on a wall of the local health clinic.
The mural was intended to assist health care workers with their training on certain healthcare issues. The mural illustrated three different health concerns: sleeping under mosquito nets, especially if you are pregnant or under five years old; family planning or "birth spacing"; and childhood vaccinations. The entire time she was working, the women waiting for their exams sat, watched, and murmured amongst themselves. The day she finished she sat and listened to these women. They were talking about what the pictures meant and were using the pictures to teach each other why it was important to wait several years to have another child or sleep under mosquito netting during rainy season. She recalls how truly inspiring it was to see how her work could create such conversation and learning. While being her most memorable accomplishment, it was definitely not here greatest feat.
When asked about her biggest accomplishment while working in the village, Sarah simply replies “I worked with local education officials and the traditional town chief in my village to found Zermou's first kindergarten”- an incredible accomplishment and an amazing experience to be involved with through her program. When asked about the wisdom she gained from completely her volunteer work with the Peace Corp, Sarah offered this sound advice: “Make sure to hold on tight when riding on the top of a pick-up truck.”
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