March-April 2021

Past editions of the Fellows Flyer are available here.

March/April 2021

Dear Friends,

We hope that this publication of the Fellows’ Flyer finds you and your family well.

This year, we held our very first Virtual Mid-Year Retreat on March 4th & 5th. While it was disappointing that our 16 amazing Fellows did not have the opportunity to meet in person on the continent, we are grateful to them,  the alumni, and the speakers who made the retreat a success nonetheless.

During the two-day event, Fellows engaged in various breakout sessions that covered a multitude of topics, from professional development and identity dynamics to mental health. This virtual format also allowed for more alumni and speakers to participate in a way that would not have been possible with an onsite orientation. The Fellows also had an opportunity to reconnect with one another and with the staff.

As our Fellows enter the second half of their fellowships, PiAf has begun placements for the upcoming year, and hope to have the next cohort finalized by May, which is very exciting! We’re currently gearing up for our orientation in June and cannot believe how fast time has flown. We look forward to welcoming our new cohort, and we continue to be in awe of how amazing the current 2020-2021 fellowship class has been.

Thank you to all of the alumni, donors, and friends who continue to offer support to the Fellows and host organizations, and we look forward to seeing what the next couple of months will bring.

Warm regards,

Jodi & the PiAf Staff

  • Notes from the Field

     By Tim Offei-Ado, '2020-2021' Fellow with the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya

    My name is Tim Offei-Addo and I am currently a Fellow at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) working with the Communications and Knowledge Management team. As an agricultural research organization, ILRI’s mission is to support agriculture activities throughout the global south, with robust scientific research and training programs.

    Hosting and producing a podcast on the other side of the world isn’t exactly what I envisioned for my fellowship year. But hey here I am, learning a set of new skills and appreciating the mentorship that I’m gaining from my colleagues at ILRI. It’s been fascinating sitting on the communications team and talking to scientists in different disciplines for my podcast, The Boma. Last week I interviewed Hung-Nguyen Viet, an ILRI scientist, who went to Wuhan as a part of the World Health Organization’s trip to find the origins of the virus. I wasn’t on my A-game during the interview, but Hung was, and he made some fascinating comments on the Lab Leak theory and the proposed next steps to visit the south of China and trace the origins of possible host animals.

    The Artwork for The Boma, an ILRI Podcast hosted by Tim Offei-Addo

    Currently, I’m working on a climate change series. Sitting in my bedroom outside of Boston, I’m keenly aware of the anti-livestock movement that argues we need to eat less meat to curb greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a fair solution and one that might have to be employed in parts of the world.  

    An Earthworm wrapped up in the roots of some healthy Onion Seedlings

    As I interview researchers working on issues related to climate change, they all note that it’s extremely important to pause and refocus our lens: instead of asking, how will livestock impact climate change?, we should ask, how will climate change impact livestock and livestock farmers? Focusing on how we can help people adapt to climate change could help decrease all those greenhouse gasses the experts are always talking about. For now, I’m just ruminating, but as I pull quotes from the different interviews I’ve conducted and assemble the series, I’m sure to find data to back these thoughts up.

    When I’m not thinking about podcasts, I’m farming. While not ideal, the remote nature of the fellowship has allowed me to deepen my love for food, community, and culture through the work in my ever-expanding garden. As a Ghanaian, I have a specific food culture that isn’t catered to by local farmers in Massachusetts. Consequently, I’m growing staples of our West African diet, like hot peppers, garden eggs, tomatoes, onions, and okra, and sharing them with the immigrant populations in my community.

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  • Notes from the Field

     By Brian Njoroge, '2020-2021' Fellow with Kupona Foundation in Tanzania

    During one of our numerous daily Zoom meetings

    How time flies when you are having fun– or in this case, doing something you like. I cannot believe that 8 months have passed since starting my fellowship. While the ‘commute’ from my bedroom to my workstation has been unexciting, my time at Kupona Foundation has not. 

    Tigoni Tea Farms, A 20-minute drive from home where I occasionally go to watch the sunset

    One of the reasons I applied to the Princeton in Africa Fellowship was to gain more on-the-ground experience in the international development space. While moving in-country has been made impossible due to COVID-19, I have definitely learned more about the sector through my role. The learning has been compounded by working in the global health sector during a pandemic. As a Communications and Partnerships Officer, I handle most external communications and drive partnerships that amplify our impact in Tanzania. I have particularly enjoyed being on calls with current and potential partners as we try to seek alignment in our work. This process has got me thinking a lot about the impact that nonprofits have and how this can be made sustainable. Strategic partnerships ensure the scalability and longevity of most non-profits’ work – and this is currently being made possible by multi-sectoral collaboration across the government, civil societies, and the private sector. Kupona

    Maximizing a 3-day weekend by making an impromptu trip to the coast

    exemplifies this partnership model really well, which occasionally leads to a multitude of challenges and complexities, but it eventually provides answers to the problems we seek to solve. As the question of what to do next after the fellowship becomes more common, I intend to prioritize sustainable development work that is rooted in these multi-sectoral collaborations.

    PiAf promises access to a network of brilliant Fellows and alumni who are passionate about making a change in Africa, which was another reason I applied for the fellowship. Even though I am yet to physically meet most of the Fellows, I am constantly in awe of the brilliance that my cohort holds, continually shaping my Fellowship experience. Additionally, having a great mentor as well as PiAf alumni who are always willing to jump on calls with you, introduce you to someone or go for a hike together in Nairobi has been amazing. Looking back to the application question on why I was interested in the fellowship, I am glad some of my reasons are being checked off.

     

     

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  • Notes from the Field

     By Dara Bernstein, '2020-2021' Fellow the WARC Group in Sierra Leone

    Biking around DC’s idyllic Hains Point to see cherry blossoms in peak bloom

    Greetings from Washington, DC., where I’m completing my Princeton in Africa fellowship! I’ve been working with the West African Rice Company (Warc) Group, a small firm with agricultural production and consulting operations in Sierra Leone and Ghana, as a Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist. Over the past eight months, I’ve contributed to internal monitoring & evaluation activities that seek to measure the impact of our services on our smallholder farmer clients’ livelihoods, as well as external consultancies evaluating

    Living vicariously through my Accra-based Warc colleagues, who called into a meeting from the beach!

    agricultural programs. Aside from the Zoom fatigue, working virtually hasn’t been too big of a challenge for me, though I hope to meet my wonderful colleagues and visit Warc’s training farms in person someday!

    While I started my fellowship with two years of experience evaluating international development programs, I knew very little about agriculture and food security. Through my work, I’ve connected to people with decades of experience in the agriculture sector and have learned a ton about agricultural technology and food security innovations. Learning about the impactful food security work Warc and similar organizations are carrying out has been inspirational and has motivated me to continue working in the sector. My fellowship has reinforced my passion for program evaluation, which is not only an excellent means of helping organizations like Warc improve their operations, but also an opportunity for me to grow and learn from people with much more lived experience than myself. I have learned so much already! 

    Outside of work hours, I love practicing yoga and spending time outdoors to decompress. I’m so grateful for WhatsApp, through which I’ve been able to maintain close contact with my colleagues and co-Fellows located all over the world. I’ve also enjoyed virtual meetings with previous Fellows, who have been so willing to share their impressive and inspiring experiences. It’s a privilege to be part of the PiAf community and I’m very excited to see what the last four months of my fellowship have in store!

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  • Notes from the Field

     By Sami Ayele, '2020-2021' Fellow with the African Leadership Academy in South Africa

    A selfie a day keeps the doctor away

    Hello PiAf family! Eight months into my Fellowship at the African Leadership Academy, I can say my responsibilities and tasks haven’t stayed the same from week to week. Change has been the overarching theme this year and it stands true both in and out of my work. A lot of this change was only feasible because of the opportunity to work remotely from my home in Seattle.

    The African Leadership Academy (ALA) is a two-year secondary institution in Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition to its course offerings and student programs, ALA has developed robust arms in entrepreneurial support and professional industry communities to develop relationships with alumni, employer partners, and other strategic stakeholders. My responsibilities have ranged from analyzing newsletter engagement across our network to organizing the annual Carnival, the last touchpoint for graduating seniors to gain critical information about immigration, university support, and more.

    Preview of my project dashboard

    I’m also happy to gain new experiences for professional growth outside of work. I completed a data science bootcamp in February where I finished a project on LA County’s metro system with 3 teammates. Learning Python for the first time was equal parts thrilling and challenging, especially when it came to practicing how to call certain data segments over and over. It was especially exciting because I joined a new community of over 500 people, all working to transition or better themselves in the tech space.

    Flowers from a nearby park

    Overall, this year “synchronized” many little experiences into a year-long chain of events that continues to expand. The conversations I’ve had over WhatsApp, LinkedIn, email, and phone about the ever-mysterious future show not only how supportive complete strangers can be, but also that possibilities are endless given the right circumstances. In the spirit of Little Fires Everywhere, I didn’t make good choices – I had good choices. I know the work at ALA is meant to provide those same good choices to their students, one program and opportunity at a time.

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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