Joan Gbemie Marshall – Liberia

Area Director

Joan lives in Gbarnga, a small city of about 40,000 in central Liberia. When she was young, her parents in desperation sent her to live with another family, since, as humble subsistence farmers, they could not provide Joan with proper education. Loneliness from being isolated from her family and continued unmet financial needs eventually forced her to move out on her own. With great perseverance, she spent many years coming up with the necessary money to pay for books, uniforms, and school fees to complete high school. Now graduated from the Developing Global Leaders program, Joan has the opportunity to continue studying at Cuttington University, where she majored in professional nursing which she has a deep passion for. In her words, “I want to help save lives as Liberia needs more professional health practitioners to build a vibrant health-care-delivery system across the country.” Already making a huge impact in her community, Joan leads Young Life in her city as a volunteer area director and dreams of being a role model for the young girls in her community.