Jill Van-Gyn Carr, pursuing a Masters in Human Security and Peacebuilding at Royal Roads, is about to set off to Acholiland, Uganda, a region recovering from twenty years of conflict.

As part of her program she is conducting major research in community inclusion in the region’s developing oil sector. She hopes to bridge the gap between the on-the-ground successes of grassroots micro re-building solutions and broader policy at the civil society and governance level.

As a trained first aid instructor at Alert First Aid, Jill identified a gap in her own community: individuals who frequent shelters and harm reductions sites often do not seek help when first aid is needed resulting in infection, prolonged injury and even death. As a result she developed a volunteer program to teach these individuals how to perform peer-to-peer first aid.

She hopes to adapt this program for communities in Uganda. Her drive is to find the connections in compassion and facilitating self-determination for those who society often forgets.