I have enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful blog as an author.
I am leaving for Kenya where I will serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer for 2 years. I will serve as a Deaf Educator at a school for the deaf. I will also be a Behavior Communicator and will work with HIV/AIDS prevention within the deaf/hard-of-hearing community in Kenya.
I will also have a 3rd project which can be anything we want to do. Since genetic counseling is one of my passion I want to make my 3rd project something that has to do with genetic counseling. I would love to hear your input regarding genetic services in different countries and what we can learn from it.
While I am stepping down from this blog as an author, I do hope to continue to blog as a guest providing I have Internet access in Kenya.
The DNA Exchange 
What a wonderful opportunity! I can’t wait to hear more!
Thank you!
Kelly,
This is going to be a great and interesting experience. Being that I myself am international, the prospect of sharing any knowledge about Genetics with the people from my country Kosovo is something I have been trying to do more of. There is a very big discrepancy in the availability of technology and genetic testing. With Karyotype still being one of the only testing options that is offered you realize how big that gap is. Prenatal genetic options such as Amniocentesis was just starting to become available and there was no structure to suport genetic testing per say. However, (at least in Kosovo) there is a large number of private hospitals being built and they are bringing in medical professionals from other parts of Europe. Some places were interested to brinng in genetic services as this would make them special.
Another challenge I faced was to describe what genetic counselors do. There were instances where I would get introduced as a doctor from even my close relatives.
However, I did notice that the curiosity of people has nothing to do with the availability of technology. This is something you can capitalize from. I believe there is a good portion of individuals that are interested in knowing what genetic services can do for them. You can either try to get in touch with the hospitals and try to do educational activities for the healthcare providers, or do something for the general public.
I am sure you will find that there is a lot of interesting things you can get involved in. Good Luck and can’t wait to hear about this experience.
Aida
Aida,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and thoughts with me. It will help me brainstorm some ideas of how to explore genetic services in Kenya.