Keith Mangam
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Organization: FINCA International
Keith Mangam’s worked as part of FINCA’s Client Research Fellows Program, helping FINCA to measure and manage its social performance throughout the world. His main task was to act as the Survey Manager, leading a comprehensive survey of 439 households throughout the DRC branches. He helped to recruit and train local surveyors and staff in the use of smartphones as a tool for facilitating data collection.
Keith : “I believe that this experience has given me first hand experiences with cultures in conflict and has given me a more realistic expectations of how societies react in post-conflict settings. I gained good insights into the world of micro-finance, both the perspectives of those offering the services as well as the beneficiaries of those services.”
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Organization: FINCA International
Keith Mangam’s worked as part of FINCA’s Client Research Fellows Program, helping FINCA to measure and manage its social performance throughout the world. His main task was to act as the Survey Manager, leading a comprehensive survey of 439 households throughout the DRC branches. He helped to recruit and train local surveyors and staff in the use of smartphones as a tool for facilitating data collection.
Keith : “I believe that this experience has given me first hand experiences with cultures in conflict and has given me a more realistic expectations of how societies react in post-conflict settings. I gained good insights into the world of micro-finance, both the perspectives of those offering the services as well as the beneficiaries of those services.”
Julia Leis
Country: Burkina Faso
Organization: Millennium Challenge Corporation
Julia Leis was selected to work on the Diversified Agriculture Activity, a $30 million project of the $490 million Millennium Challenge Compact with Burkina Faso, designed to increase rural incomes and employment and to enhance the competitiveness of the rural economies in the Sourou Valley and the Comoe Basin. She completed an extensive value chain analysis of the project’s deliverables, synthesizing different activities along the supply chain within certain sectors, providing insight on the multitude of interventions taking place in the regions over the past few years.
Julia: “Working with MCC and Burkinabé colleagues was an incredible experience. I gained an understanding of the complexity of contract management and program implementation in the field. While I have studied international development during my undergraduate years and now graduate school, it was incredibly valuable to see how complex projects are managed and implemented on the ground, and learn about the importance of partnerships with local communities. I now feel more prepared and committed to pursuing a career in development in West Africa and I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity.”
Country: Burkina Faso
Organization: Millennium Challenge Corporation
Julia Leis was selected to work on the Diversified Agriculture Activity, a $30 million project of the $490 million Millennium Challenge Compact with Burkina Faso, designed to increase rural incomes and employment and to enhance the competitiveness of the rural economies in the Sourou Valley and the Comoe Basin. She completed an extensive value chain analysis of the project’s deliverables, synthesizing different activities along the supply chain within certain sectors, providing insight on the multitude of interventions taking place in the regions over the past few years.
Julia: “Working with MCC and Burkinabé colleagues was an incredible experience. I gained an understanding of the complexity of contract management and program implementation in the field. While I have studied international development during my undergraduate years and now graduate school, it was incredibly valuable to see how complex projects are managed and implemented on the ground, and learn about the importance of partnerships with local communities. I now feel more prepared and committed to pursuing a career in development in West Africa and I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity.”
Chuck Dokmo
Country: Chad
Organization: Enterprise for Vocational Development (ENVODEV)
Chuck Dokmo acted as a market researcher, networker, strategist, project Designer & Manager for ENVODEV, a small start-up NGO with vocational and energy projects in southern Chad. He was responsible for growing a network of contacts within N’Djamena, conducting market research on charcoal in the region and assessing the sustainability and scalability of ENVODEV’s charcoal project. His findings helped to determine the course of ENVODEV’s future strategies for meeting urban demand.
Chuck also led a team of 5 to develop two new models of clean, efficient cookstoves, and worked with the International Director to explore several new partnerships.
Chuck: “This internship was a landmark experience in my life. It pushed me well outside of my comfort zone, and I enjoyed the numerous challenges we faced. Most of all, I thoroughly enjoyed the people with whom I worked.”
Country: Chad
Organization: Enterprise for Vocational Development (ENVODEV)
Chuck Dokmo acted as a market researcher, networker, strategist, project Designer & Manager for ENVODEV, a small start-up NGO with vocational and energy projects in southern Chad. He was responsible for growing a network of contacts within N’Djamena, conducting market research on charcoal in the region and assessing the sustainability and scalability of ENVODEV’s charcoal project. His findings helped to determine the course of ENVODEV’s future strategies for meeting urban demand.
Chuck also led a team of 5 to develop two new models of clean, efficient cookstoves, and worked with the International Director to explore several new partnerships.
Chuck: “This internship was a landmark experience in my life. It pushed me well outside of my comfort zone, and I enjoyed the numerous challenges we faced. Most of all, I thoroughly enjoyed the people with whom I worked.”
Dhriti Bhatta
Country: Uganda
Organization: FIT-Uganda Pvt. Ltd: an agro-consulting firm in Kampala
Dhriti Bhatta worked as a member of the consulting team at FIT, developing a rollout strategy for FIT’s latest product, FARMIS (Farmer’s Record Management System). She conducted value chain analysis for the coffee sub-sector, wrote proposals for consultancy projects, and conducted analysis for FIT’s trademark product, the Market Analysis Report (MAR) 2013, a comprehensive collection of price information of over 40 commodities from over 35 markets in Uganda.
Dhriti: “This experience was important for me, as I got a a sense of how rural Uganda still is and how difficult it is to operate businesses there. I was pleasantly surprised by the farmers’ groups we came across there. The leaders of these organizations seemed quite entrepreneurial and were excited to test out a product like FARMIS. Overall, my experience in FIT Uganda was quite important to my academic and intellectual interests. I learnt a lot more about how the agriculture sector works, specifically in East Africa. Also visiting a growing East African country gave me a sense of how those markets are expanding and increasingly becoming more important globally.”
Country: Uganda
Organization: FIT-Uganda Pvt. Ltd: an agro-consulting firm in Kampala
Dhriti Bhatta worked as a member of the consulting team at FIT, developing a rollout strategy for FIT’s latest product, FARMIS (Farmer’s Record Management System). She conducted value chain analysis for the coffee sub-sector, wrote proposals for consultancy projects, and conducted analysis for FIT’s trademark product, the Market Analysis Report (MAR) 2013, a comprehensive collection of price information of over 40 commodities from over 35 markets in Uganda.
Dhriti: “This experience was important for me, as I got a a sense of how rural Uganda still is and how difficult it is to operate businesses there. I was pleasantly surprised by the farmers’ groups we came across there. The leaders of these organizations seemed quite entrepreneurial and were excited to test out a product like FARMIS. Overall, my experience in FIT Uganda was quite important to my academic and intellectual interests. I learnt a lot more about how the agriculture sector works, specifically in East Africa. Also visiting a growing East African country gave me a sense of how those markets are expanding and increasingly becoming more important globally.”
Mari Kenton Wright
Country: Malawi
Organization: Population Services International (PSI)
Mari Kenton Wright worked as an M&E and Program Officer with responsibility in the Reproductive Health Department for the launch of a family planning social franchise network, SafePlan, and working with a Malaria/Child Health team. She conducted baseline assessments at 30 clinics, participated in high level policy meetings and presented her findings to members of Malawi’s parliament
Country: Malawi
Organization: Population Services International (PSI)
Mari Kenton Wright worked in an M&E manager capacity with responsibility in the Reproductive Health Department for the launch of a family planning social franchise network, SafePlan. She also worked with the Malaria/Child Health team to develop policy and program documents. During her fellowship, she conducted baseline assessments at 30 health clinics, participated in high level policy meetings, and presented policy work to members of Malawi’s parliament.
Mari: “My fellowship experience at PSI greatly re-inforced many of my career goals while helping to refine others. The fellowship allowed me to strengthen my skills in program design, monitoring, and evaluation.”
Kyle Muther
Kyle Muther conducted a value chain analysis of four selected commodities in Uganda and Indonesia to identify market opportunities for bundling farm and crop management tools and financial services on mobile platforms. He attended meetings of the Indonesia World Economic Forum working group on Maize.
Kyle: “The internship was very useful for my career development… with a lot of interaction with high level MercyCorps staff. My main accomplishment during the summer was getting exposure to an exciting field – mobile agriculture information services and mobile money/banking.”
Country: Indonesia and Uganda
Organization: Mercy Corps
Kyle Muther conducted a value chain analysis of four selected commodities in Uganda and Indonesia to identify market opportunities for bundling farm and crop management tools and financial services on mobile platforms. He attended meetings of the Indonesia World Economic Forum working group on Maize.
Kyle: “The internship was very useful for my career development… with a lot of interaction with high level MercyCorps staff. My main accomplishment during the summer was getting exposure to an exciting field – mobile agriculture information services and mobile money/banking.”
Bernardo Goriupp
Country: Uganda
Organization: MAPLE (Microdevelopment for the Alleviation of Poverty through Learning and Entrepreneurship), an Oregon based NGO operating in Uganda
Bernardo Goriupp worked as Project Manager, responsible for design to implementation of a small scale fish farm. This included everything from technical and business modeling to investigating potential sources of funding to developing a business plan to be used for grant applications and for expansion.
Country: Uganda
Organization: MAPLE (Microdevelopment for the Alleviation of Poverty through Learning and Entrepreneurship), an Oregon based NGO operating in Uganda
Bernardo Goriupp worked as Project Manager, responsible for design to implementation of a small scale fish farm. This included everything from technical and business modeling to investigating potential sources of funding to developing a business plan to be used for grant applications and for expansion.
“What makes me proud is that I left behind something that did not exist before… it may well be one the the things of greatest significance I have ever done. The whole experience was also very useful in serving my own careet objectives. I have a profound interest in the synergies between development objectives and business, in particular the role that the private sector can undertake to promote sustainable and long-lasting social progress.”
Michelle
Country: Uganda
Michelle worked with two Kiva microfinance partners, BRAC Uganda and Pearl Microfinance Limited. Her goal as a Fellow was to ensure that each institution accurately represented Kiva and was utilizing Kiva funds efficiently. She saw how Kiva’s mission came together in the field and had significant involvement with top management at both MFIs.
The Fellowship reiterated my previously held belief that microfinance alone cannot solve problems in development, and that access to health systems, education, and good governance among other things, is needed for change to be sustainable.
Country: Uganda
Michelle worked with two Kiva microfinance partners, BRAC Uganda and Pearl Microfinance Limited. Her goal as a Fellow was to ensure that each institution accurately represented Kiva and was utilizing Kiva funds efficiently. She saw how Kiva’s mission came together in the field and had significant involvement with top management at both MFIs.
The Fellowship reiterated my previously held belief that microfinance alone cannot solve problems in development, and that access to health systems, education, and good governance among other things, is needed for change to be sustainable.
Jocelyn
Country: Catholic Relief Services
Jocelyn worked with Catholic Relief Services-Rwanda (CRS-Rw) to analyze how male and female farmers benefit differently from CRS’ agricultural and value-added production programs. She designed focus group surveys to meet with coffee, sweet potato, and cassava farmer’s groups. Her research was shared with the CRS-Rw livelihoods team to improve future agricultural and gender programming.
Country: Catholic Relief Services
Jocelyn worked with Catholic Relief Services-Rwanda (CRS-Rw) to analyze how male and female farmers benefit differently from CRS’ agricultural and value-added production programs. She designed focus group surveys to meet with coffee, sweet potato, and cassava farmer’s groups. Her research was shared with the CRS-Rw livelihoods team to improve future agricultural and gender programming.
Kristy
Country: Niger
Kristy was an intern with Catholic Relief Services, working on a cell phone literacy project, focusing on helping rural farmers create improved access to markets and in the identification of avenues for obtaining current pricing of products.
Country: Niger
Kristy was an intern with Catholic Relief Services, working on a cell phone literacy project, focusing on helping rural farmers create improved access to markets and in the identification of avenues for obtaining current pricing of products.
Joshua Haynes
Country: Niger
For Project ABC (Alphabetisation Basee par Cellulaire), Joshua Haynes created a software system that empowers rural farmers to make better economic decisions through information and literacy by using mobile phones to send SMS messages to check market prices of specific crops at different markets before traveling all the way to the market, saving transportation costs and providing the farmers with better prices for their crops.
He has since started his own Non-Profit, MASAWA, along with Julie Zollmann and three other former Blakeley Fellows. www.masawa.org
Country: Niger
For Project ABC (Alphabetisation Basee par Cellulaire), Joshua Haynes created a software system that empowers rural farmers to make better economic decisions through information and literacy by using mobile phones to send SMS messages to check market prices of specific crops at different markets before traveling all the way to the market, saving transportation costs and providing the farmers with better prices for their crops.
He has since started his own Non-Profit, MASAWA, along with Julie Zollmann and three other former Blakeley Fellows. www.masawa.org
Rebecca
Country: Uganda
Rebecca conducted focus group discussions and designed a program manual for Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), designed survey tools oversaw a pilot program in 8 schools. She also managed relationships with all partners on Google’s Social Impact Assessment including development of a study guideline and manual for marketing teams.
Country: Uganda
Rebecca conducted focus group discussions and designed a program manual for Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), designed survey tools oversaw a pilot program in 8 schools. She also managed relationships with all partners on Google’s Social Impact Assessment including development of a study guideline and manual for marketing teams.
Shailee
Country: Malawi
Shailee set up programs with C-FISH to provide access to credit and training for best aquaculture practices. Conducted a baseline survey for MicroLoan Foundation (MLF) to evaluate the impact of their micro-loans in agrarian communities lacking capital and technology., enabling MLF to better understand the needs of their clients.
Country: Malawi
Shailee set up programs with C-FISH to provide access to credit and training for best aquaculture practices. Conducted a baseline survey for MicroLoan Foundation (MLF) to evaluate the impact of their micro-loans in agrarian communities lacking capital and technology., enabling MLF to better understand the needs of their clients.
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.
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.