Andrew Townsend leaves for Burkina Faso to work as a health extension volunteer
HEALTH & FITNESS; Peace Corps sending county native on mission to Africa
Jun 13, 2004
York Daily Record
by Jennifer Nejman
Andrew Townsend asked the Peace Corps to send him to Africa.
The 26-year-old Spring Garden Township native received his request. At the end of July, he'll leave for Burkina Faso to work as a health extension volunteer for at least two years.
When Townsend received his assignment, he pulled out a map because he wasn't sure exactly where he was going. "I thought that was even more exciting," he said.
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in western Africa, below Mali. It's roughly the size of Colorado.
According to the Embassy of Burkina Faso's Web site, French is the official language and the average life expectancy is 52 years.
The weather, by southcentral Pennsylvania standards, is extremely hot.
"It's 107 degrees there right now. Pack accordingly," Townsend said.
Once Townsend arrives, he will live with a host family in the city of Kaya for three months.
Although Townsend already is fluent in French, he will have to learn to speak at least one or two of the native languages as well as adjust to the culture before traveling to a rural village to start his work.
He's not worried about submerging himself in a new place with different traditions because he lived abroad in Belgium.
Townsend is one of the volunteers who will do a health assessment to determine what needs to be done in the community as well as evaluate community health promotional programs.
He received a bachelor's degree in business administration, marketing and human resources from York College in 2002. Last year, he graduated from Brooklyn Law School and worked with the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn, New York. He returned to York in September and has been working.
He had always volunteered and has given his time freely to people through other organizations, including Habitat for Humanity.
Through the legal aid society, Townsend met people who didn't have opportunities or higher level education. He wanted to help them.
The Peace Corps has been on his mind for a few years.
His training and work will deal with HIV/AIDS awareness, said Bart Kendrick, Peace Corps spokesman.
The Peace Corps returned to Burkina Faso in 1995, following an eight-year absence. The agency only goes to countries that request its services.
An update on AIDS in Burkina Faso from the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimated the effect of AIDS. Calculations were made based on 1997 and 1999 estimates and recent surveillance trends.
In 2001, about 440,000 adults and children in Burkina Faso between the ages of 15 and 49 were estimated to be living with HIV.
That same year in the United States, about 890,000 adults and children between the ages of 15 and 49 were estimated to be living with HIV.
Burkina Faso had a population of about 11.6 million in 2001, while the United States' population in 2000 was 281 million.
Last year, Congress allocated $15 million to the Peace Corps to use for HIV/AIDS awareness, Kendrick said.
The government agency has been training volunteers in HIV/AIDS awareness for years, he said.
Worldwide, 7,533 people are volunteering with the Peace Corps in 71 nations. Since 1961, 172,000 volunteers have served in 136 countries.
"The vast majority of our volunteers are recent college graduates," Kendrick said. The corps also recruits actively among people who are retired.
Townsend said he is thinking about pursuing a career in medicine once he completes his volunteer service.
"I definitely consider this a privilege to be able to do this, to serve in the Peace Corps and help other people in this way," he said.
