Jimmy Carter said his mother's service in the Peace Corps as a nurse when she was 70 years old "was one of the most glorious experiences of her life."



Jimmy Carter said his mother's service in the Peace Corps as a nurse when she was 70 years old "was one of the most glorious experiences of her life."

Carter praises mission of nurses

DANIEL YEE

Associated Press

ATLANTA - Former President Jimmy Carter on Thursday praised nurses as "the epitome of the highest level of moral values" for their dedication to others.

Carter spoke to about 100 Emory University nursing students, detailing the impact his mother, Lillian, made as a nurse and the impact the students could make in health care in Georgia and abroad.

Emory's Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing is named after her, and school officials said Carter toured the center for the first time on Thursday.

"There is no difference, in my opinion, to a person who has the highest possible commitment to human moral values than a nurse," Carter said. "I think they're the same."

He said his mother became a registered nurse in 1923 and always worked to serve those in need and that he grew up "totally surrounded by nurses."

"She and the doctors were the epitome of Plains society - they were admired and revered. They worked incredibly long hours," he said.

Nurses must have the same medical knowledge as doctors, the ability to learn new things and the willingness to work with people different from themselves, Carter said.

In addition, they must be willing to forego "an enormous income" in order to serve others, he added.

The former president pledged to help bring students' concerns about having Georgia do more to retain trained nurses in the state by discussing the issue with Gov. Sonny Perdue and top lawmakers.

Carter urged the 100 nursing students present at the session to consider possible service abroad, helping people in other countries. He said his mother's service in the Peace Corps as a nurse when she was 70 years old "was one of the most glorious experiences of her life."

The former president also encouraged students to learn more about Mali, which both the Carter Center and Emory University have pledged to assist. The 12 million people in the northwest Africa country live on less than $2 a day and have difficulties affording health care and education, Carter said.

When this story was posted in February 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Peace Corps Calendar:Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

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February 19, 2005: This Week's Top Stories NPCA Board positions are open for nomination 17 Feb Mike Tidwell on trial for climate action protest 17 Feb Katie Dyer is co-owner of Cadeaux du Monde 16 Feb Cyclone misses Tonga and Samoa PCVs 16 Feb Phil Hardberger in debate for Mayor of San Antonio 16 Feb Edmund Hull is Princeton Diplomat-In-Residence 16 Feb Bruce Greenlee is longtime friend of Latino community 15 Feb Mike Honda new vice chairman at DNC 15 Feb Jospeh Opala documents slave crossing from Sierra Leone 14 Feb Dear Dr. Brothers: Aren't PCVs Hippies? 14 Feb Joseph Lanning founded the World Education Fund 14 Feb Stanley Levine draws Marine and Peace Corps similarities 14 Feb Speaking Out: JFK envisioned millions of RPCVs 13 Feb Chris Aquino visits mother's homeland of Vietnam 12 Feb Is PCOL blocking users from posting messages? 12 Feb JFK Library opens Sargent Shriver Collection 1 Feb RPCV responds to Bulgaria Calendar concerns 28 Jan

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WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service RPCV Groups mobilize to support their Countries of Service. Over 200 RPCVS have already applied to the Crisis Corps to provide Tsunami Recovery aid, RPCVs have written a letter urging President Bush and Congress to aid Democracy in Ukraine, and RPCVs are writing NBC about a recent episode of the "West Wing" and asking them to get their facts right about Turkey.

RPCVs contend for Academy Awards Bolivia RPCV Taylor Hackford's film "Ray" is up for awards in six categories including best picture, best actor and best director. "Autism Is a World" co-produced by Sierra Leone RPCV Douglas Biklen and nominated for best Documentary Short Subject, seeks to increase awareness of developmental disabilities. Colombian film "El Rey," previously in the running for the foreign-language award, includes the urban legend that PCVs teamed up with El Rey to bring cocaine to U.S. soil.

Ask Not As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

Read the stories and leave your comments.

By Kathleen Bossolt Walls (wbar3.chi1-4-41-110-018.chi1.dsl-verizon.net - 4.41.110.18) on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 12:11 am: Edit Post

I AM SO PROUD TO HAVE BEEN PART, A VERY SMALL PART OF THE U.S.PEACE CORPS. I SERVED IN NIGERIA DURING THE BIAFRA WAR 1966-68, BUT WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE MY TOUR STATIONED IN WESTERN NIGERIA.

THE CONDITIONS OF THE WORLD TODAY WILL BENEFIT FROM THE VERY BRAVE VOLUNTEERS WE SEND OUT TO THE FIELD. I WISH THEM WELL AND I KNOW PRES.KENNEDY IS VERY PROUD OF US!