In February, she was among 10 volunteers invited to an intimate lunch with Bush, his wife, Laura, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Palma sat next to the first lady, two seats away from the president. “They were just so nice and personable,” Palma said recently from Ghana. “You could see how much they appreciated our work, and it was a rare opportunity to let them know what our lives are like here.” The U.S. leaders were visiting Ghana to talk about malaria prevention, Palma said. Also at the lunch were Pamela Bridgewater, U.S. ambassador to Ghana, and Robert Golledge, director of the Peace Corps’ Ghana volunteers. At the lunch, Bush called the volunteers “some of our most notable citizens,” according to a press release. “These are folks who have left the comfort of America to join the Peace Corps to serve humanity,” he said. “One of the things I tell our country all the time is our great strength lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. And I don't think there’s any more giving people than in the Peace Corps.”
Peace Corps volunteer Melinda Palma lunches with Bush in Ghana
Peace Corps volunteer from Quincy lunches with Bush
She’s recognized for her work as a teacher with Peace Corps in Ghana
By Jennifer Mann
GateHouse News Service
Caption: Irish rocker and anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof, right, attends a lunch with President Bush and Peace Corps volunteers at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Accra, Ghana, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. Also pictured are Robert W. Golledge, Jr., Peace Corps Country Director Ghana, second left, first lady Laura Bush, third left, and Melinda Palma, a Peace Corps volunteer from Massachusetts who teaches science and math. Geldof was invited by Bush to join him on part of his tour through Africa. Photo: Charles Dharapak
Posted Mar 28, 2008 @ 01:55 PM
QUINCY —
Peace Corps volunteer Melinda Palma has been through two rounds of culture shock.
The first was leaving the modernities of the United States for the thatched-roof mud huts of Ghana.
The second was going from teaching a roomful of students to having lunch with President George W. Bush.
Palma, 25, of Quincy, is in her second year teaching at a high school in Ghana, which is in West Africa.
She described a whirlwind experience.
Last year she was recognized by Ghana’s Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, receiving a “national best teacher award for a foreign volunteer.” She was honored at a reception in October.
Then, in February, she was among 10 volunteers invited to an intimate lunch with Bush, his wife, Laura, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Palma sat next to the first lady, two seats away from the president.
“They were just so nice and personable,” Palma said recently from Ghana. “You could see how much they appreciated our work, and it was a rare opportunity to let them know what our lives are like here.”
The U.S. leaders were visiting Ghana to talk about malaria prevention, Palma said. Also at the lunch were Pamela Bridgewater, U.S. ambassador to Ghana, and Robert Golledge, director of the Peace Corps’ Ghana volunteers.
At the lunch, Bush called the volunteers “some of our most notable citizens,” according to a press release.
“These are folks who have left the comfort of America to join the Peace Corps to serve humanity,” he said. “One of the things I tell our country all the time is our great strength lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. And I don't think there’s any more giving people than in the Peace Corps.”
Palma, a 2000 graduate of the Woodward School for Girls in Quincy, said she always had thoughts of joining the Peace Corps.
After graduating in 2004 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she majored in biochemistry, and after working in the school’s lab for two years, she applied.
She got her assignment in June 2006.
“I think the biggest appeal of the Peace Corps is just the fact that you get to travel and you get to serve other people for two years,” she said. “They have a real shortage of math and science teachers in sub-Saharan Africa, so that’s where I said I would go if they needed someone.”
Palma lives in a village of 4,000 people, most of whom don’t have electricity and none of whom have running water. She praised the villagers for their hospitality, describing how they help her cook and how they showed her how to fetch water from a hand-dug well.
“They’ve just adopted me like a family member,” she said.
Palma taught chemistry last year and is teaching math this year. She helped write a $4,000 grant proposal for a permanent structure to house pigs, rabbit and poultry, which will be used to teach the students how to raise livestock. Palma also applied for grant money for HIV and AIDS education.
“The kids that I come in contact with are very enthusiastic about learning and they see education as a privilege,” she said.
Even though there are too few textbooks and too few fans, “they do the best they can and they are really hard-working,” Palma said
Jennifer Mann may be reached at jmann@ledger.com.
