Joelle Dent, a member of Elon’s Class of 2008, is serving with the Peace Corps in Mali, where she works on health-care issues.
Dent departed for Mali last summer. During her first three months of service, she took classes to learn the local language, Bambara, and the Malian culture. Recently, she moved to the village where she will live for the next two years.
Dent works in a doctor’s office weighing babies and teaching nutrition classes. She also works in a community garden helping the local women produce shea butter.
“Being here I have learned so much about international and sustainable development,” Dent says. “It has opened my eyes to what is being done abroad and how a little help can make a big difference. I am also learning patience and that projects take time to happen.”
Dent joins more than 65 Elon graduates who have served in the Peace Corps since its inception in 1961.