The ‘spiral metaphor’ took me all around the world all the way to Mongolia. In the past decade, that spiral journey has changed direction to a journey inward….into our Vermont community, as well as ever-deeper relationships with my kids, grandkids, friends and our community in Vermont. Recent activities have included: supporting the local Jacksonville General Store as part of a committee looking at options and preferences of our community as well as trying to support transitions as ownership of the store changes hands.
As Vermont’s Governor Scott has stated, ‘we are ready, willing and able to welcome Afghan refugees to Vermont.” Dear friend and colleague, Joe Wiah, has opened the new branch of ECDC (Ethiopian Community Development Council). Southern Vermont is preparing to welcome 100 Afghan refugees to our communities this year. I am preparing to house a family of refugees for the first phase of their new life in America.
As a member of Vermont’s Medical Reserve Corps, I have been volunteering at COVID-19 vaccine clinics initially for adults and BIPOC community, now extending to school age and young children ages 5-11 years. Vermont is currently reporting 90% of eligible population having had at least one dose of vaccine. Our Health Department, health care workers, hospitals and community-based organizations have rallied to help Vermonters stay healthy and accept evidenced-based approaches to prevention and early intervention despite the amount of false information and distorted and false hear-based rumors and push-back. Having been one of the kids in the 1950’s participating in the polio vaccine trials, and seeing the devastation caused by epidemics like measles in Africa, I am hoping to contribute and be a model for thinking about each other, getting vaccinated, and following the simple guidance of mask-wearing, social distancing and other guidance to save lives and enable our wealth of research knowledge and resources to improve the health of Vermonters, Americans and all peoples of the world.