Meet the Volunteers in Cameroon

Project HOPE is sending its first group of volunteers to Cameroon, to participate in The Volunteer Medical Rotation Program at the Maria Rosa Nsisim Hospital in the capital city of Yaounde. These medical professionals will assist the Hospital with on the job training for local doctors and nurses in addition to developing education and training programs and initiatives associated with improving women’s health and reducing neonatal mortality. 

Linda Jo Burt, a Nurse from Payson, Utah is a first-time volunteer for Project HOPE.  Burt has over 40 years experience in nursing that includes patient care in Med/Surg, ICU, Orthopedics and Nursing Administration including her most recent position as a Chief Clinical Officer for Mountain View Hospital in Utah. She is providing patient care and nursing development to local practitioners during her three-week rotation in Cameroon

Jay Smith, M.D., M.P.H., is a recently retired Family Practice Physician from Pembroke, New Hampshire and is a first-time volunteer for Project HOPE.  He is pleased to be returning to Africa where he first developed an interest in global health while living in Kenya as a teenager. Since obtaining his MPH in 2006, Dr. Smith has worked on health research in Peru, Nicaragua and Mali while maintaining clinical skills serving medical needs of hospitalized psychiatric patients. Dr. Smith is serving as HOPE’s Medical Director at the Maria Rosa Nsisim Hospital for the next six months, providing care and health education to local practitioners.