Lessons from Assosa

Ashley Holloway, licensed practical nurse (LPN), graduated from the Calgary campus of Bow Valley College (BVC) in 2006. Her nursing career has taken her from acute care, back to BVC as an instructor in their Nursing Simulation Centre, and now to her latest position in the post-diploma Health and Human Services Management program in BVC’s School of Community Studies.

August 2018 saw Ashley embark on a new adventure. She travelled to western Ethiopia for 16 weeks as a volunteer with Cuso International, a Canadian not-for-profit organization that works to eradicate poverty. One of Cuso’s focus areas is maternal, newborn and child health, which aligned well with Ashley’s interests and experience.

Writing about what she saw there allowed Ashley to stay connected to home and family, and helped her process the differences in medicine, culture, food and daily life that she encountered. Ashley’s emails are filled with detail and compassion. These excerpts tell the story of her time in Ethiopia.

ARTICLE:  Lessons from Assosa: Practical Nursing in Ethiopia
Care Magazine, pages 8-13
Published: Spring 2019