by Jonathan Shipley, Bush Class of 2021 Parent
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Mvengue is about a three-hour drive from Kribi. Kribi faces the Atlantic Ocean. Driving this route through Cameroon, one might see rain falling from the skies into a network of rivers. There is still water, even through the challenges of drought and climate change. It is a Sunday morning in the fall of 2019, and Grant Friedman ’15 is leaving his home in Mvengue to walk to the village spring to collect water and to wash his clothes by hand. He is the only American within a thirty-five-mile radius. He is a Peace Corps Volunteer working at the health clinic, educating community members about HIV and AIDS prevention, malaria prevention, and maternal and child health. In Cameroon, Grant often hears the phrase, On est ensemble. It is repeated during his training and becomes a mantra driving his daily work. He says it to himself as he settles into his work with the community. It means, “we are together.” In just a short time Mvenge feels like home, and those he is working with feel like more than neighbors. They are a community. On est ensemble.
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Grant Friedman ’15
Grant has felt this sense of camaraderie and family for a long time, starting when he first joined the The Bush School as a Third Grade student. During his ten years at Bush, he developed a keen interest in learning both inside and outside the classroom. “Bush taught me that education, in a broader sense of knowledge acquisition and sharing, is something that we should strive for every day, in every aspect of our lives,” Grant says. A lifelong Seattleite, Grant headed to Vermont to attend Middlebury College after his graduation from Bush. He then served in Cameroon as a Peace Corps Volunteer until March of last year. Abruptly, Grant was evacuated from Africa due to the looming COVID19 pandemic, and the Peace Corps suspended all volunteer operations, evacuating all posts. One can plan for life, but one cannot predict it. COVID-19 abruptly ended his Peace Corps service. Despondent, Grant did not know what to do next, but he knew he wanted to do something to help others. “The Bush community, the country, and the world have really shown me firsthand the values of perseverance, optimism, and community.” His next opportunity appeared in the fall of 2020, when he stepped into the role of state staff assistant at the office of U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell. Grant’s passion for learning about the world was cultivated on the second f loor of Gracemont with history teacher Gardiner Vinnedge. “He
