Poverty and Promise: One Volunteer's Experience of Kenya

Now with a wellness program provider in Phoenix, Arizona, Brown recounts her experience as an American woman working with British development organization Voluntary Services Overseas at the Tropical Institute of Community Health (TICH) in Kisumu, Kenya, which co-published the book. Her story is personal, yet would nevertheless benefit from some externalities, such as dates. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Cindi Brown never dreamed of Africa. At the age of 40, she had a desire to make her life meaningful for others, but she did not yearn for Africa. In her exploration of ways to work in service to others, however, Ms. Brown found Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) in Canada and was given three marketing position choices: a biodiversity sphere in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; a farmer’s cooperative along the Zambezi River in Zambia; and the Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development (TICH) in Kenya. Ms. Brown chose TICH, and records her experiences in Poverty and Promise: One Volunteer’s Experience of Kenya. Ms. Brown received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in communications and taught as an adjunct professor. She also worked as Marketing Manager for Experian, managing North American communications for their Scorex division. For ten years, Ms. Brown wrote for a monthly entertainment newspaper before working at The Coca-Cola Company’s world headquarters in Atlanta. Her combined academic, journalistic and corporate experience provided a rich background for working in international development. Currently, Ms. Brown is Communications Director with Diversity Wellness, a Phoenix, AZ, firm providing corporate wellness programs to companies in varied industries across North America.