A Humbling Experience

This weekend was the intern retreat. It started Friday at 1pm and ended Saturday at 1pm. All activities took place in a hotel about 20 minutes away, The Carter Center covered all of our expenses and we stayed the night in the hotel. We started out with some ice breakers and then had a couple of speakers. One speaker works in the Health Programs division, and has spent a long time working to eradicate Guinea Worm. The Carter Center began the initiative in 1986 and there were 3.5 million reported cases of Guinea Worm, as of this year there are about 3,000 and by the end of the year there should be zero. It is an amazing feat. I learned a lot about other tropical diseases that The Carter Center is working on. We (those who live in the developed world) don't have to worry about these diseases (e.g., River Blindness, Trachoma, Schistosomiasis). Seeing pictures and videos of what these diseases do was horrifying, but the fact that The Carter Center Health Programs are so committed to controling/eliminating/eradicating these diseases is wonderful. If you are interested in learning more about any of these diseases just let me know :)

The next speaker is the one that inspired me the most and led me to reflect a little on life. His name is Dr. Stremlau and he is the Vice President of the Peace Programs. His background is amazing to me and his commitment to social justice is inspiring. He commented that he was reading our biographies and that we are the most cosmopolitan intern class he can remember. An intern asked him a question that I found really interesting. He asked Dr. Stremlau whether we need to keep re-potting ourselves to be able to help the "bottom billion" of the world or do we need to do what President Carter did and find our Plains, GA where we are rooted and work from there? Can we work on social justice issues from here or do we need to go across the world? I found this very interesting because it is widely known that the Carters are deeply rooted in Plains and is where their home is, but they have worked so hard and have successfully worked towards peace and fighting disease. Dr. Stremlau responded by saying he doesn't have a Plains and went on to talk about the difficutly in answering the question. I guess it really depends on the person, but it is something that I am still thinking about.
Dr. Stremlau addressed an issue that I and other interns had been thinking about. How will The Carter Center fare when President Carter is no longer alive? I was talking with someone in development last week who said that there are so many donors who give to The Carter Center because of their connection to President Carter and President Carter does a lot of the calling for big donors. That personal connection is very important for donors. A "young" donor to The Carter Center is someone under the age of 60. Many donors are individuals who have supported Carter since his presidency (or even before when he was governor). Dr. Stremlau said President Carter is working very hard to make sure The Carter Center will be in good hands when he passes on. Dr. Stremlau also expressed his own concern about whether the mission of The Carter Center will continue on in the same form that President Carter leads it. The Board for The Carter Center meets quarterly and hears the latest update from President Carter on what he is doing. President Carter does what he wants and no one would ever stand up to the former President and tell him he couldn't do something. That will probably change when President Carter is no longer there and is something that makes me wonder whether or not The Carter Center will be the same. I feel so grateful to have this opportunity to intern at The Carter Center right now and it's such a privilege that I will get to spend a weekend with President and Mrs. Carter in their hometown and really get to talk with them. It wasn't until thinking about the day the Carters are no longer living that I think I really appreciated this opportunity. The Carters are so involved at The Carter Center and since the staff is so small, they really know who works there and the staff all consider themselves as part of a family. I couldn't help but think how devastating the death of the Carters will be to everyone who works there (and really all over the world)...not to be too morbid or anything, but it has been a topic of conversation lately. One thing that Dr. Stremlau mentioned that I found interesting was that there was talk of asking different prominent figures to take a leading role at The Carter Center for a year or something like that once President Carter is gone. This would be someone like Nelson Mandela taking charge of the center for a year or so and then someone else. I don't know that they will actually do that, but it would be interesting.

This weekend really opened my eyes to everything President and Mrs. Carter have created at The Carter Center. It really is an amazing place to work and such a collegial work environment. I already know I am going to miss it here and I have only just completed my second week :)

The other interns at The Carter Center have amazing backgrounds and have literally traveled all over the world. There are a few Fulbright scholars, peace corps volunteers, multi-lingual individuals, internationals, and they are all highly accomplished in all their areas of study...it's just fascinating to talk with all these people.

This last week I was working on research for the Liberia initiative and am really enjoying working on the project. The mental health team is simply amazing and I love working with all of them. They are so dedicated to creating the best experience possible for their interns and I really appreciate it.

Hope ya'll are doing well :)