March-April 2019

Past editions of the Fellows Flyer are available here.

March/April 2019

Here at PiAf, April showers not only promise May flowers, but the exciting launch of our 20th ANNIVERSARY! We are springing forward into a season of nostalgia, as we celebrate the growth and transformation of our organization over the past two decades.

At the beginning of March, staff and Fellows spent four days in Moshi, Tanzania at the annual mid-year leadership retreat. It was a time of reflection, encouragement, and professional development, and our Fellows left ready to maximize their remaining time at their fellowship organizations. Check out our Facebook album here!

Jodi, Reanne, and Michelle then conducted site visits in 9 countries, from Ethiopia to Lesotho, visiting our current ’18-19 Fellows, meeting with new ’19-20 host organizations, and developing new partnerships for the future.

Forming new partnerships is just one of the ways PiAf continues to grow, touching the lives of more young professionals, and expanding across the continent. Looking forward, our next several Fellows Flyers will be dedicated to celebrating our growth in our 20th anniversary, highlighting PiAf’s mission over the years and into the future to continuously seek to~

transform
innovate
share
empower

  • Notes from the Field

     By Sofia Gomez-Doyle, 2018-19 Fellow with More than Me in Liberia

    morning sunrise

    Morning sunrises as I leave for work.

    Almost four years ago, I discovered On Being – a podcast that asks timeless questions about how we live and what it means to be human. Throughout my transitions over the last few years  – as I have moved to new geographies and explored unexpected terrains of my own emotional landscape – On Being’s collection of conversations have sewed hope, humility, and a hunger to learn more about what it means to live in this deeply complex world.

    In one of my favorite podcasts, Krista Tippett interviews Irish poet John O’Donohue. He says:

    Beauty isn’t all about just nice loveliness, like. Beauty is about more rounded, substantial becoming. …about an emerging fullness, a greater sense of grace and elegance, a deeper sense of depth, and also a kind of homecoming for the enriched memory of your unfolding life.

    As I approach the end of my fellowship year in Monrovia, Liberia, I continue to return to O’Donohue’s definition of beauty. What are the beautiful moments that will remain etched in my memory well beyond my fellowship year? My fellowship has been shaped by the repeated micro-moments — the morning greetings to our security guard, the unyielding rhythm of the rain in July, hilarious group WhatsApp messages, lunchtime walks to buy ground nuts, and incessant car horns that make me feel energized and alert. There is no single moment that will capture the complexity of my fellowship, and so, I have written a mosaic of memories that represent the beauty I have experienced:

    co-workers

    What’s more exciting than spending time with co-fellows?

    ~Morning hellos and “Happy Mondays!” as we walk up the steps to sign in for work,

    ~Salmon colored walls that will slowly fade as rainy season advances,

    ~The welcoming shouts of “Team Curriculum” as I step into the print shop to carry back the hundreds of Teacher Guides and thousands Student Workbooks that will be eventually be distributed to schools,

    ~Whitney Houston’s lyrics belted out at Thanksgiving dinner with PiAf Fellows and Church friends,

    ~Choir voices practicing on Saturday evenings,

    ~Stories, laughter, and cucumbers shared with colleagues on day-long car rides to and from school visits and closing ceremonies,

    ~A deep appreciation for Google Sheets, Pivot Tables, Way Bills, and fluorescent Obama pens,

    ~Monday morning meetings, standing on the rooftop of our office, listening to staff updates, announcements, and SHOUT OUTS,

    ~Conversations on life, love, and next steps on hot Saturday afternoons,

    ~Beach yoga sessions on Saturday that roll into all day meditations in the sun,

    ~Potlucks with friends once strangers that make Monrovia feel like home.

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  • Notes from the Field

     By Kai Ong, 2018-29 Fellow with Imani in Malawi

    Imani's office entrance

    Standing at Imani Development’s office entrance.

    The first part of my fellowship with Imani Development, based in Blantyre, Malawi, has provided some great learning experiences. I have had the opportunities to work on several projects ranging from conducting an aquaculture baseline analysis to managing and providing technical support to a team of enumerators conducting baseline surveys in rural Malawi. Some highlights at the workplace include taking the lead on the coding of survey questions using CommCare, conducting site visits and setting up a location tracking system, receiving training on QGIS, as well as working on various data analysis projects using R.

    Project-based consulting can mean very inconsistent workloads — a feast or famine work cycle, where one is very busy at some times and in a lull during other times. Nevertheless, the downtime has given me the opportunity to work on improving my professional knowledge and skills relevant to the development sector. I have managed to complete a MicroMasters in Data, Economics, and Development Policy offered by MITx over a period of four months. Though it was certainly challenging to be taking four online courses while working full-time, the experience has proved to be extremely rewarding. The classes were very relevant to my work at Imani Development, and I was able to apply what I have learned to some of the projects I was working on.

    Sapitwa, Malawi's highest peak

    En route to Sapitwa, Malawi’s highest peak

    For instance, the lessons on designing questionnaires and coding in SurveyCTO were proven highly valuable when I was tasked with coding surveys — having never previously done any work on CommCare, the practices on SurveyCTO helped reduce the learning curve and allowed me to complete the task in a timely fashion.

    In the coming months, I will have the opportunity to lead and manage several baseline surveys for the Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund (MICF), a UNDP-supported project. From planning the logistics and designing the questionnaires, to managing the fieldwork and data cleaning, I look forward to managing the projects from start to finish.

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  • Notes from the Field

     By George Hritz, Co-founder of PiAf

    Renee Hsia, PiAf Fellow 1999-2000

    PiAf alumn Renee Hsia during her fellowship with the IRC in Rwanda. Renee was one of PiAf’s first two fellows in 1999.

    My wife and I often joke about who had the idea for a Princeton in Africa program. I remember that we were at the 100th Anniversary dinner for Princeton in Asia. One of us said to the other “why isn’t there a Princeton in Africa?” As it turns out, Jim Floyd ‘69 and others had been thinking the same thing. 

    Years before, Ralph Nader and his class (‘55) offered to mentor us in creating an alumni vehicle to help attract undergraduates to public service.15-20 of us began to mentor undergraduates to work in organizations that were important to us. I chose the International Rescue Committee, a refugee relief organization on whose board I was serving.

    After five years of experience with Princeton summer interns, the IRC’s head of international programs agreed that if he could get full-time recent grads, the IRC would put them on the IRC payroll. I brought the idea to the ‘69 Board, and it was initially rejected as too risky. We again tried to launch the program with class members, as an unofficial Class of ’69 activity. Nearly immediately, 10 people, including 1 or 2 who were not members of our class, each chipped in $1,000. But, our plan was leaked to a member of the administration, and we were shut down.

    However, years earlier, as the last all-male class, we had been allies in the movement for co-education at Princeton by using extra-legal conduct. We were not going to take no for an answer. The rest is history. It was like pushing a snowball downhill. By the summer of 1999, we managed to send to Rwanda (5 years after the genocide) a Pyne Prize winner, Renee Hsia ‘99, before she began at Harvard Medical School, and Emily Holland ‘01, who returned to tell the campus about PiAf.

    20 years later, we still place recent grads with the IRC, but we have also placed PiAf Fellows in over 100 other organizations in 36 countries. We have Fellows from around the world and this incredible diversity has shaped and strengthened our program as we move forward.

     

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Our History

In 1999, a group of Princeton alumni, faculty, and staff launched Princeton in Africa as an independent affiliate of Princeton University inspired by the University’s informal motto, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations.” In 2010, the program opened up to include graduates of any US accredited university in order to meet the growing demand from host organizations and allow more young professionals access to the unique opportunities afforded by PiAf. During the past 20 years, we have placed over 600 Fellows with more than 100 organizations in 36 countries, while developing more strategic partnerships across Africa and creating more opportunities for our alumni community to engage with the continent and with one another.

Testimonials

The International Rescue Committee has been so fortunate to have had a longstanding relationship with Princeton in Africa since our very first Fellows landed in Rwanda in 1999.  Whether it was Emily or Renee in 1999 or the 110 Fellows across 14 IRC countries over the years, we have been blessed by the relationship, the quality of the Fellows and the impact on what IRC does on the ground every single day.

Brian Johnson
Chief Human Resources Officer
International Rescue Committee

My fellowship has been the most impactful personal and professional development opportunity of my life. I wanted a post-college experience that would push my limits, expand my comfort zone, and help me discern the next steps in my career journey. And this has been the case.

Ryan Elliott
2014-15 Fellow
Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Lesotho

I can honestly say that this year has changed my life and my view of what’s possible for the future. Princeton in Africa isn’t just a one-year fellowship, it’s an introduction to a particular way of life and a new way of thinking about the world. I feel like so many doors are open now that I never would have considered before.

Katie Fackler
2010-11 Fellow
UN World Food Programme

My Princeton in Africa fellowship was everything I could have hoped for and much more. The myriad of experiences makes my head swim, and it has strengthened my desire to help underserved populations worldwide.

David Bartels
2006-2007 Fellow
Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative

Princeton in Africa was an invaluable experience for me. I learned an infinite amount through my work and through living in Uganda. I also realized that I want to continue working on African issues as long as I can.

Alexis Okeowo
2006-2007 Fellow
The New Vision

The International Rescue Committee’s experience with Princeton in Africa has been exceptional. Each Fellow brings excellent writing and analytical skills as well as unique interests and passions that enrich the program and the field office environment. We were so pleased we expanded the program to more field offices.

Susan Riehl
Human Resources, IRC

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has been working in Africa for over 11 years through its Secure the Future program.  One common theme in all aspects of program implementation is having passionate, energetic individuals on the ground who can think outside the box and then transfer the skills for sustainability.  The Princeton In Africa Fellows have been a huge asset in this regard and our programs and patients have been better for it.

John Damonti
President, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation