This is a photo I took during one of our many breakdowns while traveling in remote villages in Congo. This one happened to be in Loko, about two hours drive from Gbadolite in Nord Ubangi. I am always blown away by how strong Congolese women are. Here this woman is smiling shyly for the camera while …
There was a convent called Pangoma where we hosted all of our trainings for both malaria and communications activities. The convent was either a 20-minute drive from our field office in Gbadolite or a 30-minute walk through a quiet little village. More often than not I opted for the peaceful walks through the village. Most times I would bring my …
I am so grateful for my time in Congo because it taught me a lot about need. I think pregnancy can be an anxious time for new mothers, constantly wondering what we need to prepare and care for baby. Sellers know this and feed off of it. In fact, I am amazed by just how …
This is a photo I took in Nord Ubangi while working on a bed net campaign. I passed by one of the health centers we renovated to snap some photos and found these two lovely ladies recuperating from something. I have no idea what because they didn’t speak French and I still don’t speak Lingala, …
I am so honored to be a featured game changer this week on Leading Ladies 904 in my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Check out the interview below! This is a self-portrait with some of the survivors of gender-based violence that IMA has rehabilitated. I spent valentines day interviewing these powerful women on their experiences with …
This is a photo I took when I first moved to Congo. I didn’t know anything about taking photos and especially in low light, so this is blurry but I still love it. She is a new mother in one of the health centers our program had just begun assisting. It was still early in …
This is another early photo from my time in Congo. I was visiting Lumumba health center outside of Kananga, which could only be reached by moto. My then new friend, Antonio, who would later become the father of my children, drove me out there on his Yamaha dirt bike. He parked the moto at the …
This is a photo I took during a movie night campaign we did with Girl Rising to raise awareness of the importance of educating girls in male-dominated societies such as Congo. It amazes me that still to this day girls are not appreciated for the smart, caring, all-powerful beings that they are. During my pregnancy, I …
On our long drive from San Jose to Nosara we listened to the audio version of the book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson. Something I heard in the book has really been hitting home for me this week. The book was talking about …
No matter how small the village in Congo, there is always a church. This particular church was in Bosobolo, a small village in Nord Ubangi province. I was there to manage our Girl Rising campaign for which we showed the movie in villages across four provinces to promote girl’s education. People work very hard in …