2013 MDP Practicums

RENEE BARRON RENEE BARRON
Renee spent her summer in Nepal working on human trafficking at the head offices of Maiti Nepal in Kathmandu. Maiti works to rescue and rehabilitate survivors of trafficking as well to to eliminate it through advocacy and prevention programs among at-risk groups. Renee designed and implemented activities to establish new sources of income and foster international recognition for the organization’s efforts. She also analyzed Maiti’s strategic plan with the goal of devising ways whereby the organization can enhance its financial sustainability, while continuing to meet the needs of its clientele.

SARAH BROOKS SARAH BROOKS
Sarah spent the summer in Uganda working as a Market Analyst and Product Development intern for Habitat for Humanity International's housing finance program, which is funded by the MasterCard Foundation. Sarah helped plan and design qualitative and quantitative research instruments to assess the impact of housing microfinance throughout Uganda. She used these tools to undertake a baseline survey that will inform this five-year project. Finally, Sarah assisted the MasterCard team in pitching the housing microfinance product and successfully brought three banks on board. 

SAMANTHA COLLINS SAMANTHA COLLINS
This summer, Samantha worked with CARE India's EMPHASIS project, a regional initiative being implemented in Nepal, India and Bangladesh, to provide migrants with information and services about HIV/AIDS. Samantha designed a qualitative research project to study the vulnerabilities of Nepalese migrants entering India at the Banbasa transit point in Uttarakhand, India. After administering interviews and focus groups in the field, she analyzed the data and produced a report on her findings that discussed the remaining challenges and risks for this population.

ALEXIS COPPOLA ALEXIS COPPOLA
Alexis worked in Paraguay with a Emory Global Health Institute team in the Bañado Sur Neighborhood of Asunción. Partnering with Mil Solidarios, a community-based organization, the team conducted qualitative research to understand how faith-based organizations can be mobilized to support interventions around sensitive issues like sexual and reproductive health, substance abuse, and violence. They also completed a GIS project, mapping key organizations in a marginalized section of the neighborhood, and assisted in the implementation of a Photovoice project against displacement.

MYRIAM DORMER MYRIAM DORMER
Myriam returned to Brazil to work with the Bomfim Farmers Association, in collaboration with faculty and students from the MDP program at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. She conducted an open-ended diagnostic study of farming practices in the region of Alto Bonfim, focusing on the use of agrochemicals. She collected data through interviews, which she analyzed and synthesized into a report. The information will be used to promote sustainable farming methods and collective action among farmers.

ANNA ELLIS ANNA ELLIS
Anna returned to the Philippines to conduct a situational analysis for Save the Children, expanding on research conducted during the previous summer on menstrual hygiene management in schools. She trained teams to use mixed methods and led research activities in Metro Manila and South Central Mindanao. She analyzed data from her research to write a report and formulate programmatic recommendations. Her work resulted in a published report which will inform future initiatives in School Health and Nutrition and Adolescent Development programs.

NAFISA FERDOUS NAFISA FERDOUS
Nafisa worked with Climate Change, Agriculture, Food Security (CCAFS), a research program of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR). She worked in the CCAFS site in Western Kenya to test and modify existing tools - and develop new ones - for participatory gender sensitive research on Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA). Her findings are featured in an article on the CCAFS website and will be integrated into a CCAFS manual on gender and climate change research. At the end of the internship, Nafisa was hired by CCAFS as a Gender and Social Learning Consultant.

TRINITY FINDLAY TRINITY FINDLAY
Trinity completed her internship with Global Dialogues in Atlanta, Georgia. As part of her internship, she analyzed youth narratives about HIV/AIDS, sexuality and violence from Africa and Central America. Trinity also led an international group of researchers in team-based qualitative analysis, and will continue her work with Global Dialogues this fall.

ALIYA FIROZVI ALIYA FIROZVI
Aliya went back to work with CARE in Sri Lanka, where she participated in advocacy initiatives for a project aimed at fostering male-engagement in efforts to combat gender-based violence. In addition, she produced a communication strategy for the second phase of the project, and supported knowledge management consolidation. 

ANNAMARIA HAJDUK ANNAMARIA HAJDUK
Annamaria spent the summer in Rwanda. She was part of an Emory Global Health Instituteinterdisciplinary team working in partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International's Ecosystem Health and Community Development Program. They conducted a baseline assessment of water, sanitation, health and livelihoods in 17 villages near Volcanoes National Park. Annamaria led the qualitative component of the study, training six locals in focus group facilitation and data-recording techniques. She presented results to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, NGOs and local government representatives.

KATE JACKSON KATE JACKSON
Kate spent her summer working as a monitoring and evaluation intern with CARE Malawi. Kate was based in the central region, where she spent time interviewing chronically food insecure households and other stakeholders. She also spent time working with Integrating Adolescent Girls, a pilot project focused on reducing vulnerabilities of adolescent girls based in the Ntcheu and Salima districts.

ESTHER JOE ESTHER JOE
Esther returned to Malawi for a second summer of fieldwork with CARE International. She completed a longitudinal impact evaluation of 10 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) in the Lilongwe and Mchinji districts. She conducted focus group discussions and in-depth interviews and analyzed data to assess improvements, innovations or shortfalls in the VSLAs, focusing on socioeconomic changes, gender empowerment and community leadership. She then produced a report and presented her findings to the Monitoring & Evaluation team and the Technical Support Unit at CARE Malawi.

AMIHAN JONES AMIHAN JONES
Amihan spent the summer working at Nyumbani Village - a sustainable community for AIDS orphans - based in Kitui, Kenya. The internship was part of a broader program - supported by Emory’s Global Health Institute - centered on interfaith approaches to global health. Amihan was responsible for developing a monitoring and evaluation system for Nyumbani Village that established indicators for and tracked progress towards goals of sustainability and child wellbeing. She also collected data to use as a baseline for measuring impacts. 

APOSTOLOS KALANTZIS APOSTOLOS KALANTZIS
This summer Apostolos worked with the Emory Interfaith Health Program and Okaalet and Associates Ltd. in Nairobi, Kenya. As part of this internship Apostolos conducted interviews to inform the development of a curriculum on HIV-AIDS for training faith leaders across the country. The goal of the training is to enable these leaders to disseminate accurate information to their congregations and communities and to be more effective in advocating for better HIV and AIDS policies.

MORGAN MERCER AND PAUL KENNEDY PAUL KENNEDY AND MORGAN MERCER 
Paul and Morgan worked with an Emory Global Health Institute research team in Madagascar, where they hiked to six villages in and around Ranomafana National Park to gather baseline data on the interaction between human and animal health and ecosystem integrity. They used GIS to survey the layout of villages, agricultural sites, and forest park boundaries to better understand disease ecology. The results of the research will inform the design of programs to integrate human and animal health with environmental sustainability. Their research was featured in the Emory Report. View video.

CLAUDIA LANGFORD AND JACOB WOOD CLAUDIA LANGFORD AND JACOB WOOD
Claudia and Jacob served as graduate research interns at the International Water Management Institute at its East Africa office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Working within the framework of the Nile Basin Development Challenge program, they played key roles in the design and implementation of two participatory workshops that brought together farmers, politicians, and experts, to identify challenges to livelihoods and to develop a natural resource management strategy for their community. The results of the workshop will inform future development projects in those regions.

ANNA TARRANT AND KALIE LASITER KALIE LASITER AND ANNA TARRANT
Kalie and Anna worked with the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food's Volta Basin Development Challenge (VBDC) Project in West Africa. They conducted an assessment among smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana to identify enabling factors that promote agricultural innovation. They also facilitated a Companion Modeling Workshop working with local farmers and regional policy makers to identify policy gaps and innovative solutions for integrated water resources management. The results of their impact assessment were presented at a VBDC's Science Workshop in September 2013.

CAITLIN MCCOLLOCH CAITLIN MCCOLLOCH
Caitlin worked in Mexico with an Emory Gobal Health Institute team conducting research on the dengue fever virus. While most of the team focused on biological aspects - collecting mosquitoes and mosquito eggs to study insecticide resistance, Caitlin researched the social dimension. She applied visual anthropological techniques to collect qualitative data on the relationship between people and domestic mosquito breeding sites in three communities, working in partnerships with the local university and Ministry of Health.

KUNAL PATEL KUNAL PATEL
Kunal worked with Maiti Nepal, an NGO based in Kathmandu, Nepal.  He was involved in each aspect of Maiti Nepal’s four core objective areas, including combating trafficking, migration, HIV and AIDS, and gender empowerment. As part of his work he conducted research for the legal section, developed budgets, contributed to strategic planning and marketing strategies, participated in personnel training, and edited and wrote reports, case studies, and grant proposals.

LARISSA SANFORD LARISSA SANFORD
Larissa returned to Sierra Leone to work with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization on an assessment of its Agri-Business Centers (ABC), which seek to facilitate smallholders' participation in marketing opportunities. She conducted a field study – based on interviews and focus groups - to explore which ABCs have been able to innovate and expand their business portfolio and which have not, and to identify mechanisms that account for such differences in performance.

KRISTIN TANIS KRISTIN TANIS
Kristin returned to India to work with CARE Pathways, a program focused on women's empowerment through their participation in sustainable agriculture. During her internship, she interviewed participants in farmer’s clubs and self-help groups as well as key informants in the states of Orissa and Chhattisgarh. She also assisted in data analysis for a qualitative assessment of women’s experiences and achievements. In addition, she also helped produce program reports and customize content for different audiences.

JIABING WANG JIABING WANG
Jiabing worked with The Nature Conservancy China in Inner Mongolia for a second summer. He participated in designing a project aimed at rehabilitating abandoned farmland in order to restore their original ecological functions, through practices such as wind-break, sand-fixing, and soil and water conservation. Jiabing helped TNC staff carry out a baseline survey, which took him to several towns of Helingeer County. He then analyzed and synthesized the findings to inform future programming by the project team.

LINLING ZHONG LINLING ZHONG
Linling spent her summer working with the Emory University China Tobacco Control Partnership in China. The goal of the partnership is to reduce the burdens of tobacco use through developing and implementing accountable and sustainable tobacco prevention and control initiatives designed to change the social norms surrounding tobacco use in China. During her time in China, Linling interviewed government officials in 10 cities to understand and evaluate the implementation of tobacco control activities. She assisted with data coding and analysis that fed into each city’s final assessment.