By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK
Albertina Thomas took time off this past summer from her busy studies to give back to her adopted community of New Orleans by volunteering to rebuild a school damaged in the 2005 hurricane, it was announced in a press statement.
Thomas, originally from Keetmanshoop, has been studying and working in the United States for the past 10 months as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow – one of the most prestigious educational exchange programmes in the world.
She expects to complete the final phase of her fellowship in HIV/AIDS Policy and Prevention, at Tulane University, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in July.
“My major area of interest is HIV/AIDS training and education. During my Humphrey year, I am focusing on HIV prevention through public health education and training, and monitoring and evaluation of education and training programmes as a concept that will help to evaluate training,” Albertina said enthusiastically.
The study areas Albertina is focusing on are Public Communication and AIDS; Community Health Education for Behavioral Change; and Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV/AIDS training programmes.
She is a qualified registered nurse in the employ of the Ministry of Health and Social Services and has become intensely involved in community work, as well. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, she volunteered to help rebuild a school, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.
She has also worked on other community projects with the church she attends.
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship programme brings accomplished professionals to the US at a mid-point in their careers for a year of non-degree study and related professional experience.
Fellowships are granted competitively to Namibian professionals with a commitment to public service in both the public and private sectors, specifically in the fields of planning and resource management, public administration, agriculture, and health and nutrition. The programme places the greatest emphasis on obtaining practical knowledge that will be useful in Namibia.