Forty-three students from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service will complete international public service projects in 26 countries this summer as part of the Master of Public Service (MPS) degree program. Students are partnering with a government or non-government agency to complete their projects. This year’s partner organizations include Habitat for Humanity, Heifer International, Peacework, United States Department of State, Walton Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund, among others, working in areas of environmental sustainability, early childhood education, women’s empowerment, and economic development.
“The international public service project is one of the most unique experiences we offer at the Clinton School,” said Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School. “It gives students an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom related to conflict resolution, decision analysis, and leadership and apply that knowledge to real problems in communities around the world.”
Seven students will be completing projects in six new countries – Croatia; Ecuador; Ireland; Liberia; Nigeria, and Senegal – for the Clinton School, which will bring the total to 77 countries where students have served since the school opened in 2005. This represents about 40% of the world’s countries.
The international public service project is one of three public service projects that make up a significant portion of the MPS degree program. Students also complete a team-based project in Arkansas and a final individual project that culminates their degree.
The international work exposes the students to unique challenges around the globe and provides immediate and long-term impact for the students and their organizational partners.
Work sites and host organizations are selected collaboratively by Clinton School students and faculty.
2015 International Public Service Projects:
Olajumoke Joyce Ajayi – Lagos State Waste Management Authority (Lagos, Nigeria) – Ajayi will create an evaluation plan that will serve as a framework for an evaluation of LAWMA’s recycling project in Makoko, Lagos, fostering the organization’s goal of an environment free from susceptibility to waste pollution.
Joyce Akidi – Heifer International (Mchinji, Malawi) – Akidi will focus on assessing the sustainability of social capital several years after the Heifer’s Small Holder’s Dairy Initiative Project has been completed in Mchinji, Malawi. This report will help Heifer determine the impact of its work in this area and how to improve it in other areas with a similar project.
Nouroudine Alassane – Heifer International (Thies, Senegal) – Alassane will collect and analyze data that will inform Heifer’s monitoring and evaluation team. He will carry out surveys and focus groups and analyze data to show the effectiveness of Heifer’s program in mitigating children malnutrition and poverty among women.
Berkeley Anderson – Barefoot College (Rajasthan, India) – Anderson will create an evaluation toolkit that measures the impact of several educational programs within the organization. She will incorporate input from teachers, students, and community members to facilitate evaluations that reflect the community’s definitions of program success.
Kathryn Baxter – Village Life Outreach Project (Shirati, Tanzania) – Baxter will collect narratives from participants in the Mama Maisha maternal health program. This research will help the program understand how its Maternal Health Advocates are supporting local women in navigating the health system.
Abigail Bi – Walmart and Walmart Foundation (Bentonville, Arkansas, USA) – Bi will help evaluate outcomes of completed philanthropic grants in the developing countries where Walmart sponsored funds on women’s economic empowerment, monitor active philanthropic grants in those countries, and work out strategic solutions on local relationship development for the three new women’s economic empowerment projects in Asia and Africa.
Romerse Biddle – Southern Arkansas University (Magnolia, Arkansas, USA) – Biddle will conduct a feasibility study that will include program strengthening with SAU international partner universities that could lead to the creation of an international public service student exchange program.
Katherine Brown – World Wildlife Fund (Ankara, Turkey) – Brown will create a series of asset maps and educational materials detailing the significant ecological and industrial features of the Büyük Menderes River Basin. The materials will be used by WWF staff to engage with basin stakeholders about the implementation of the Büyük Menderes River Basin Water Stewardship Strategy.
Jordan Butler – Village Life Outreach Project (Shirati, Tanzania) – Butler will work with community members to create a strategic plan designed to ensure that the Nutrition Project has a safe and sustainable water supply program necessary to provide daily school meals. She will also design a health education pilot program for the three primary schools where the Nutrition Project operates.
Melvin Clayton – Beacon School East Africa (Kampala, Uganda) – Clayton will assist the school in developing sustainable partnerships for funding streams and accreditation. He will document the standards request and provide recommendations for the Beacon School to reach these standards.
Amanda Cullen – Senhoa (Siem Reap, Cambodia) – Cullen, along with fellow student Jennifer Guzman, will conduct an evaluation of Senhoa’s Lotus Kids’ Club, a program that links early childhood education with family development in order to prevent future cases of human trafficking and exploitation. She will use the data she collects to help determine whether the program is meeting its intended mission and goals.
Andrew Forsman – Peacework and the Belize Ministry of Education (Belize City, Belize) – Forsman will create evaluation plans for two youth financial literacy and entrepreneurship initiatives. His work will help the Ministry and partnering staff from PricewaterhouseCoopers strengthen their teacher training and entrepreneurial service learning efforts across Belize.
Sarah Fuchs – Lifesong for Orphans (Mirebalais, Haiti) – Fuchs will be designing and implementing an interview-based research plan evaluating current needs and best practices in the Haitian education system. After detailed data analysis, she will present the organization with recommendations for school development and partnerships.
Georgia Genoway – Liberian Ministry (Monrovia, Liberia) – Genoway will develop an impact assessment report by conducting interviews and focus group discussions with stakeholders. The report will help the ministry secure more funds for program improvement.
Jennifer Guzman – Senhoa (Siem Reap, Cambodia) – Guzman, along with fellow student Amanda Cullen, will conduct an evaluation of Senhoa’s Lotus Kids’ Club, a program that links early childhood education with family development in order to prevent future cases of human trafficking and exploitation. She will use the data she collects to help determine whether the program is meeting its intended mission and goals.
Anne Haley – Community and Family Services International (Manila, Philippines) – Haley will create a comprehensive marketing and communications plan with an emphasis on digital and social media to be implemented by the existing staff of the organization. She will assess the current marketing efforts and tailor a plan to fit the specific needs of the organization.
Austin Hall – Peacework (Magaliesburg, South Africa) – Hall will design and implement an impact evaluation for an undergraduate internship program between Siena College and Peacework in the Botshabelo community. He will conduct asset mapping in the community to identify other leaders and organizations to further support a positive global learning environment.
Austin Harrison – United States Department of State (Zagreb, Croatia) – Harrison will work in the Economic Office for the United States Embassy in Croatia focusing on U.S.-Croatian relations and Croatia’s relationship with the European Union. He will develop weekly reports highlighting issues of U.S. national importance and create daily briefings, which will be used to inform the staff of Department of State about the current political and economic climate in Croatia.
Amber Jackson – Heifer International (Pinukpuk, Kalinga, Philippines) – In an effort to assess women’s empowerment, Jackson will examine such indicators as decision-making, control and use of income, and labor time allocation of women who participate in Heifer’s agri-business program. She will build case studies and a labor supply schedule for the organization.
Akaylah Jones – Beacon School East Africa (Kampala, Uganda) – Jones will use a community-centered research approach to assess Beacon School East Africa’s current curriculum, implementation procedures, and resources. She will then develop a recommendation plan the school can use to achieve its improvement goals.
Henry Karlin – Circle of Health International (Waspam, Nicaragua) – Karlin will be providing logistical support and capacity building to provide his organization with the capability of delivering programmatic material in the indigenous Autonomous Region of the Atlantic North. Circle of Health International provides maternal and newborn health to women in crisis.
Helen Grace King – Virtual Dinner Guest Dinner Project (The Hague, Netherlands) – King will develop curriculum that encourages dialogue through video-conferencing technology between people from diverse backgrounds through facilitated dinner conversations, focusing on conflict transformation and collaborative deconstruction of media stereotypes, King’s project will center on the relations between Muslim and Non-Muslim groups of Europe and the Middle East.
Alex Lanis – Fundación Paraguaya (Asuncion, Paraguay) – Lanis will be developing a long-term plan to continuously monitor and evaluate the efficacy of a rural agrarian secondary school. In addition, Lanis will be implementing an alumni network that will enable the organization to track its graduates for evaluation.
Coby MacMaster – Give and Surf (Bocas del Toro, Panama) – MacMaster will create an adult education program to serve an indigenous community in Panama. He will conduct surveys targeting specific educational needs in the area to lay the foundation for the program. Also, MacMaster will be building partnerships and diversifying funding avenues for the organization.
Amanda Mathies – Heifer International (Ecuador) – Mathies will perform a social network analysis to determine the effectiveness of cornerstone training in facilitating social capital. She will document the mechanisms used to catalyze social capital through site visits and interviews.
Emma McAuley – Peacework and the Belize Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (Belize City, Belize) – McAuley will evaluate school gardens for the purpose of developing a teacher’s manual on ways to better incorporate the garden into daily school life. She will provide an evaluation of the use of existing gardens and a best practice framework to assist with curriculum integration.
Molly Miller – Peacework and the Belize Family Life Association (Belize City, Belize) – Miller will conduct an impact assessment of the organization’s peer helper program at Edward P. Yorke High School. She will also complete a curriculum review to ensure that the program is utilizing best practices and meeting the needs of program participants.
Ashley-Brooke Moses – Peacework and Project Esperanza (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) – Moses will create and conduct an evaluation to measure outcomes for youth participating in an English language immersion summer camp. Data from the evaluation will be used to improve program activities, leverage program support, and provide recommendations for future programing.
Florence Mueni – Rwandan Orphans Project (Kigali, Rwanda) – Mueni will develop a child protection policy. The policy will set standards and guidelines for safeguarding the rights of children being rehabilitated by the organization.
Dariane Mull – Biblioteca Interactiva Fundación Arte del Mundo (Banos, Ecuador) – Mull will be assisting Fundación Arte del Mundo to further improve and strengthen its volunteer program. She will develop a comprehensive volunteer guide and a proposal of potential university partnerships to facilitate more volunteer opportunities.
Michelle Perez – Fundación Paraguaya (Asuncion, Paraguay) – Perez will conduct an evaluation of Fundación Paraguaya’s Microfranchise Project to determine whether microfranchising is an effective tool to lift women out of poverty in Paraguay. Perez will collect and analyze data as well as conduct market research for future micro franchises in the region.
Shanell Ransom – Peacework and the Belize Ministry of Education (Belize City, Belize) – Ransom will evaluate the health and fitness curriculum to strengthen and expand it. She will also develop a manual and partner with new schools for curriculum implementation.
Jessica DeLoach Sabin – Accademia dell’Arte (Arezzo, Italy) – Sabin will create an organizational toolkit of resources that will serve to measure the success and effectiveness of the organization’s programming as well as promote its mission. Her efforts will serve as a resource to expand programming and outreach.
Jeremy Ratcliff – Beacon School East Africa (Kampala, Uganda) – Ratcliff will create a strategic plan that will serve as the foundation for future school expansion. He will design a model to identify school assets to promote development.
Maddy Salzman – Barefoot College (Tilonia, India) – Salzman will create an environmental impact assessment tool for the organization’s Barefoot Solar Initiative, which works to provide clean electricity to rural villages around the world. She will identify environmental indicators and develop measures to assess ecosystem and climactic impacts.
Eddie Savala – Dar es Salaam Voluntary Association (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) – will develop a strategic plan that will help the organization improve on its capacity and performance providing means to deal with its operational challenges. He will also establish an implementation and monitoring schedule that will help foster accountability and programming.
Kat Short – Community and Family Services International (Manila, Philippines) – Short will conduct a mid-implementation evaluation of the organization’s Livelihood Initiative. She will use data collection processes in order to suggest recommendations for program development.
Dustin Smith – Barefoot College (Zanzibar, Tanzania) – Smith will create an asset mapping toolkit to be used by Barefoot College staff, ground partners, and other stakeholders in the creation of location-specific livelihood training curricula for newly-opened and planned vocational training centers across Africa. This toolkit will be piloted for Barefoot College’s new vocational training center in Zanzibar.
Becky Twamley – Village Life Outreach Project (Shirati, Tanzania) – Twamley will work on women’s health issues and will create an asset map of health services available to village women in Shirati, Tanzania. The community resource will include a catalogue of a wide range of health services and how to access them.
Nathan Watson – Lucey Fund (Dublin, Ireland) – Watson will be working with the Lucey Fund to assist startup companies by creating an organizational capacity assessment tool. This tool will be used to help startup companies identify organizational strengths and weaknesses and how to address them.
Brandon Wayerski – Sun Hot Sauce (St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands) – Wayerski will be facilitating the organization’s entrance into the U.S. hot sauce industry while establishing a socially responsible initiative for the organization to allocate some of its U.S.-based proceeds.
Nic Williams – Habitat for Humanity International (Bratislava, Slovakia) – Williams will create a legal compliance and audit manual to be used by Habitat’s legal team for internal legal audits. The team will use the manual for legal work conducted in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
LaKaija Wood-Johnson – Peacework (Belize City, Belize) – Johnson will develop a health education service-learning program guide for Belize. This organizing plan will include an analysis of public health needs in Belize and identify ways Peacework can support community health promotion and disease prevention activities across the country through academic service-learning partnerships.
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