Episode 103

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Published on:

13th Oct 2024

Ruth Stark S3E103

International health professional, Ruth Stark, talks about a life in global health, training local health workers and developing nursing programs, eventually being appointed by the World Health Organization as its representative to Papua New Guinea. Stark shares the origins of this calling in her grandmother's stories of exploration, which inspired Stark - as a young single mother - to sell everything and embark with her family on this lifelong vocation.

Doctor Ruth Stark is a nurse with over four decades of global health experience. From humble beginnings influenced by her grandmother's stories of exploration, Doctor Stark worked internationally for the World Health Organization, the United Nations, Catholic Relief Services, and other organizations across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands training local health workers, developing nursing programs, and leading initiatives like HIV/AIDS relief in South Africa. Her travels reshaped her perspective on health, deepening her understanding of the cultural, social, and economic factors affecting well-being. Doctor Stark has come to recognize the importance of local partnerships, sustainable solutions, and respecting cultural contexts in global health work, as reflected in her book ”How to Work in Someone Else's Country" published in 2011 by the University of Washington Press.

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About the Podcast

Lives Radio Show & Podcast with Stuart Chittenden
Every Sunday at 9am on KIOS 91.5FM, Omaha's NPR affiliate, Season Three of Lives will tackle the big questions: What is a good life? Why are we here? How might we feel more connected? These and other big questions about how we live will be explored each week. Through intimate conversations, fascinating guests will share their spiritual, philosophical, artistic, and cultural approaches to exploring the wonders of our human experience. Join me as we delve into the practical and profound possibilities of living well.

As well as listening to this Season Three of Lives being broadcast on KIOS, listen back to Seasons One and Two, featuring fresh voices and diverse perspectives on culture, community, business, and more. From the Midwest and beyond, inspiring guests share compelling stories spanning the fields of politics, business, media, community activism, arts and humanities, philanthropy, and more.

On air since January 2017, Lives Radio Show & Podcast initially broadcast on the community radio station Mind & Soul 101.3FM in north Omaha, housed at the Malcolm X Center, and more recently broadcast with 1st Sky Omaha.

About your host

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stuart chittenden

I believe that conversation enables us to live better and work well by building strong relationships as individuals, teams, and communities.

Driven by that belief, I founded Squishtalks to design and deliver conversation experiences and programs for small to Fortune 500 corporate clients and for a variety of non-profit organizations. I regularly speak and facilitate workshops on the principles of conversation and how their practice enlivens our potential. My belief in the profound power of conversation to awaken our humanity has led to me being selected to speak at three different TEDx events.

I am a British expatriate calling Omaha, Nebraska home since 2004. Before moving to America, I was a London-based lawyer working on major international transactions. In Omaha, as well as founding Squishtalks, I co-founded Gilbert+Chittenden with creativity expert Dan Gilbert, which is a creativity consultancy that helps individuals and organizations realize their best futures and apply design thinking processes to achieve innovative breakthroughs.

Among my community endeavors was the project: a couple of 830 mile long conversations. Inspired by John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, in an RV I adventured for four weeks along side roads and among small towns to talk with Nebraskans. Traveling through conversations, discovering the lives, cultures and stories of people I met, the project was a long hello to Nebraska.