Dristy Shrestha

Country: Tanzania
Organization: BRAC Tanzania

DRISTY: "BRAC is the world’s largest non-governmental development organization measured by the number of employees and the number of people it has helped. It is dedicated to empowering people and communities living in poverty, illiteracy, disease and social injustice through its various programs in areas ranging from microfinance, agriculture and food security, education and more. It currently operates in 11 countries across the globe.

BRAC started its work in Tanzania in 2006 with microfinance and livelihood development programs. In just less than a decade with multiple programs in various sectors ranging from agriculture and food security, education, empowerment and livelihood for adolescents, microfinance and small enterprise program, BRAC has become one of the largest financial institutions in the country.

In June-August 2016, under the supervision of the Program Manager of Microfinance Program, I had the opportunity to work as the Summer Research Intern at BRAC Tanzania. In this role, the main task I was entrusted with was to i) assess the services offered by BRAC Tanzania tailored towards smallholder farmers in the country, and ii) make recommendations to the Country Office based in Dar es Salaam on how to better address the needs and challenges of smallholder farmers in Tanzania."

"Personally, I had an incredibly rewarding summer filled with new challenges, new experiences, and learnings. BRAC is an organization that development practitioners such as myself study a lot about, both inside and outside class. Therefore, the opportunity to experience its activities and inner workings first hand and be a part of its team was a special treat for me. In addition, it was refreshing to explore Tanzania and go beyond my comfort zone into a country, region and continent that I had never been to."

Christine / Andrew

Country: Tanzania

Christine assisted Twaweza, a Tanzanian based NGO with operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, to prepare an evaluation plan and research existing data for a baseline survey. Designed a way to use cellular SMS to conduct surveys and designed a reporting system to report violence in a timely manner.

Andrew focused for CARE in remote villages where there had been no previous NGO intervention and limited government presence to develop a baseline survey, platform monitoring future progress and building local commerce.

Sarah Jones

Country: Tanzania

Sarah worked with African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) to empower communities in wildlife areas to engage in alternative livelihoods that not only have minimal environmental impact but allow them to see tangible benefits from conservation. Projects included helping women setup handicraft businesses and tourism for sustainable development.