2006.10.01: October 1, 2006: Headlines: COS - Kenya: COS - Belize: Healthcare Financial Management: Lisa Sorenson is a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya
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2006.10.01: October 1, 2006: Headlines: COS - Kenya: COS - Belize: Healthcare Financial Management: Lisa Sorenson is a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya
Lisa Sorenson is a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya
She says she knew she would need the support of an organization such as the Peace Corps to volunteer in Africa, but was afraid of the two-year commitment. "I wasn't sure if I could really work in a developing country," she says. Through an Internet search, she found a nongovernmental organization in Belize, located just a few hours' flight from her home in Nevada. English is the primary language in Belize. "It seemed like a safe and secure trial run," she says. Sorenson packed a couple of bags and headed out on a four-month assignment to bring health care to rural villages. "This experience really opened my eyes," she says. "I had never known anyone who lived without running water and electricity. I was appalled to find schools without facilities for the children to wash their hands. One of the biggest health-related problems in Africa is access to clean drinking water. It's hard to believe that more than 3o,ooo children under the age of five die every day from hunger or a preventable disease." In Belize, Sorenson found the inner strength to dedicate herself to life as a Peace Corps volunteer. She knew she had to apply.
Lisa Sorenson is a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya
Following Her Heart
Oct 1, 2006
Healthcare Financial Management
Member Spotlight
Lisa Sorenson dreamed of a life in Africa. Now, she's a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya.
In May, Lisa Sorenson did something extraordinary: She put aside her career, her home, and a comfortable lifestyle, packed a few bags, and moved to Africa, where she's educating people in Kenya about HIV/AIDS and safe sanitation.
For Sorenson, the move to Kenya fulfills a lifelong dream. A former executive assistant for a health system in Las Vegas and member of HFMA's Las Vegas Chapter, Sorenson had yearned to volunteer for the Peace Corps since high school, but other responsibilities kept her from doing so.
In 2003, she was captivated by a presentation by Mary Guinan, MD, who was a member of the first Centers for Disease Control AIDS Task Force. Guinan talked about working with the CDC to eradicate small pox in Africa.
"After her lecture, I thanked her for sharing her experience and told her, 'I want to ride an elephant to work.' She laid her hands on my shoulders and said, 'I empower you to go live your life,'" Sorenson remembers. "I went to the parking lot, sat in my car, and cried, realizing that I really did have the power to live my own life. I was single, with no children, no aging parents. The only thing stopping me was my own fear of the unknown."
Sorenson recently shared her experiences in Kenya with hfm via e- mail.
She says she knew she would need the support of an organization such as the Peace Corps to volunteer in Africa, but was afraid of the two-year commitment. "I wasn't sure if I could really work in a developing country," she says. Through an Internet search, she found a nongovernmental organization in Belize, located just a few hours' flight from her home in Nevada. English is the primary language in Belize. "It seemed like a safe and secure trial run," she says.
Sorenson packed a couple of bags and headed out on a four-month assignment to bring health care to rural villages. "This experience really opened my eyes," she says. "I had never known anyone who lived without running water and electricity. I was appalled to find schools without facilities for the children to wash their hands. One of the biggest health-related problems in Africa is access to clean drinking water. It's hard to believe that more than 3o,ooo children under the age of five die every day from hunger or a preventable disease."
In Belize, Sorenson found the inner strength to dedicate herself to life as a Peace Corps volunteer. She knew she had to apply.
"The application process takes about a year, partly due to government bureaucracy, and partly to give the applicant time to think through this enormous commitment," she says. "Applicants undergo an extensive legal, financial, background, medical, and dental review. It takes commitment just to get through the process."
After months of waiting, Sorenson received a fat envelope in the mail with her invitation to serve in the Peace Corps and information about her assignment. In late May 2006, she arrived in Kenya with 89 other volunteers. "I began a radical new life as a public health- HIV/AIDS and sanitation adviser, one of 200 Peace Corps volunteers in Kenya," she says.
Next month: Sorenson shares her experience in Kenya.
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Copyright Healthcare Financial Management Association Oct 2006
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Headlines: October, 2006; COS - Kenya; COS - Belize
When this story was posted in November 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
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Story Source: Healthcare Financial Management
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Kenya; COS - Belize
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