The Village P.r.o.j.e.c.t.s. was founded by Dr. Gloria Willingham (Toure') PhD, RN, BSN,MNSc. with the vision of assisting persons to regain strength by capitalizing on the community support networks(social capital) available to them. She felt that we are losing social capital by not connecting to our communities, and by not sharing what we know. She was particularly concerned about the shortage of nurses from underrepresented groups, and even moreso by the lack of access to nursing as a profession, and to nursing care in many communities. Persons from underserved communities/underrepresented populations are less likely to have the connections/parental history needed to move into the profession, and to change the status quo.
She knows firsthand what it is like to move through mainstream education systems and the work world. She knows about disparities both from her own experiences and from the experiences of others. She knows firsthand the difficulties that persons from underprivileged backgrounds face, often unspoken and unshared. She willingly shares her own history. She was one of the early graduates of the newly desegregated Little Rock Central High School in the 1960's and knows what it feels like to be alone in a classroom left to learn the best way you can, and the prevalence of mainstream ways of knowing in the classroom. She says that she never could have made it without the support and encouragement of her community. She encourages us all to "tell our story" and by so doing to help others to regain their strength and the strength of the community.
Our founder worked as a nurse for over twenty years working her way through the ranks from nurses' aide, to staff nurse, to her retirement as a Chief, Nursing Education and Research at the VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California. She is also a retired Lt. Colonel(U.S. Army Reserves Nurse Corps). After her retirement she moved into collegiate education having served many years in adjunct faculty roles and on the advisory boards of numerous nursing programs.
She organized the first group of African-American nurses in Long Beach,California to form Psi Eta chapter of Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority Inc. (http://www.chietaphi.com) with the motto of "Service for Humanity." She was very surprised that many of these Registered nurses did not know each other, nor were they known to the community at large.
While on the faculty at California State University, Long Beach (http://www.csulb.edu) she was one of only a handful of African-American Nurse faculty. They were all near retirement, and there were very few African-American nurses ready to step into their positions. Their loss to the organization would inadvertently affect the availability of role models for incoming African-American students. This was a concern to Dr. Willingham-Toure'.
She most recently served as the Interim Provost/ Senior Vice-President, Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, California.(http://www.fielding.edu). She was an active participant in the development of the Worldwide Network for Gender Empowerment (http://www.fielding.edu/WNGE). Her speeches ring with the vision of creating opportunity and access for persons from underprivileged backgrounds - especially African-Americans, and African Diaspora immigrants worldwide.
Our founder has worked and traveled abroad studying various healthcare and educational systems to include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, South Korea, Thailand, Mexico, Cuba,South Africa, Malta, Canada, and most recently China. She envisions connecting underrepresented immigrant populations via the Village P.r.o.j.e.c.t.s. to address problems and opportunities.
She calls upon each of us to step forward and to offer ourselves to "Stand in The Gap" for those who may not have experienced the privileges that would have prepared them for life, and for leadership roles. She calls upon each of us to share what we know in a way that will be of value to persons in underprivileged communities. It is time to tell our stories and to help others to know what it is really like... Now is the time to open doors to new and empowering experiences and opportunities.
"Our problems are bigger than any one profession or job. We must reclaim our interconnections and learn to freely share information with each other, and to support the success of a new generation. We must create connections and collaborations. Our goal must be to move this system in the direction of caring what happens to persons who need it the most, and we must take our place in that effort. We will find a way to make a difference!"
villageprojects@aol.com
http://www.epsilen.com/gwillingham
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