About Jan Tollefson


Jan has a medical degree from the University of Calgary and practiced Emergency Medicine for eight years at the Alberta Children's Hospital and Foothills Hospital in Calgary . She then re-specialized in Community Medicine at the University of British Columbia . Her Masters project was entitled, "An Evaluation of Health Impact Studies of Water and Sanitation Projects in Less Developed Countries".


Working as a field epidemiologist with Health Canada, Jan investigated outbreaks of communicable diseases, such as shigella diarrhea at the Shoal Lake Reserve, Saskatchewan, meningococcal meningitis in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and HIV in Newfoundland. However, a year traveling around the world, another year working in Trinidad, as well as a love for the language of Spanish, made her decide to take the step of volunteering in the Dominican Republic . Jan writes:


"I knew I wanted to work with people who were struggling with the burden of poverty. Although there is poverty in Canada , I felt pulled to work in less developed countries, where the poverty is more widespread and where there are no social safety nets. It was also important for me to get to know people by name, and to be able to work closely with them, face-to-face. Children give me great delight, but I know it is their caregivers, the adults, who also must be supported to give that care.


When the opportunity arose in 1998 to volunteer at three orphanages in the Dominican Republic , it seemed like a good place to start. I was presented with a couple of ideas for projects, and thought I could help the orphanage staff achieve their goals. Fortunately, my sponsors backed me up, and have been doing so ever since. I return to the D.R. every three to four months for two to three weeks at a time, assisting with project development and evaluation. We have accomplished far more than we ever could have dreamed of and we keep on dreaming and hoping!


Between trips, I am in communication every 2-3 days with the Dominican team that has gradually formed. Connecting Dominican Rotary Clubs with Canadian and American Rotary Clubs has dramatically increased the productiveness of our work, and I am grateful for the tremendous support given by Rotarians.


I did this work as a volunteer between 1998-2005. Since then I have received remuneration for some of my hours of accounting and project supervision work. A home-based office means administrative expenses are minimal. Although the projects were originally outreach projects of University Hill United Church in Vancouver , they are now done through the Add Your Light Charitable Foundation, which was started in Calgary in January, 2004".