Deborah Rose (JE) reports that she is now a Visiting Scholar at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard.  “I am co-chairing an international conference on National Identity Systems which touches on many current issues, such as universal health insurance, citizenship, and voting rights, among others. These things are taken for granted in some countries, but are hot-button topics in others. Contact me if you would like to attend.”

As impressive as that may be, Deborah’s other news is arguably even more exciting: “On Saturday, May 31, 2014, I was enstooled as the Queen Mother for Development of Yamorasa, Ghana. The full name in Fante, ‘Nana Abena Nkosuo Hemaa’, translates literally as ‘Queen Tuesday born Development Mother.’ Rhonda Singer, Georgia Goldberg, and Carol Whitehead were also on this trip, sponsored by the Yale Alumni Service Corps (YASC). Georgia taught art and a dramatized version of ‘Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel’; Carol Whitehead taught math; and Rhonda pitched in wherever needed. I worked with a bi-national NGO to sell ceramic water filters to provide clean water in the homes; and with another teammate to plant gardens with local plants that will enhance nutrition and stem erosion. Rhonda, Georgia and I, all from JE, continue to work with the Yamoransa Community Development Committee to bring these, and other locally initiated projects, to fruition. Working with our esteemed ground partners from the University of Cape Coast, AFS Ghana and the Yale Medical School has brought Rhonda, Georgia and me closer together than we could have imagined when first we came to Yale.”