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.
January 2023 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Welcome to 2023! From all of us at Princeton in Africa, we hope you had a peaceful and exciting beginning to a new year.
2022-23 Fellows Aishwarya Rai (IRC, Kenya) and Kyilah Terry (IRC, Kenya) published in Migration Information Source
Our two Fellows placed at the International Rescue Committee wrote an article published by Migration Information Source on January 18th. The article, titled “Amid Record Drought and Food Insecurity, East Africa’s Protracted Humanitarian Crisis Worsens”, discusses how the drought in East Africa is creating challenges for humanitarian relief efforts. Their writing was informed mainly by the work they are currently doing with IRC, Kenya.
Aishwarya Rai graduated from Seton Hall University in 2020 with a bachelor’s in Economics. She then went on to pursue a Master’s degree in International & Development Economics at Yale University, where she graduated in 2022. She is interested in a career focused on international development and humanitarian assistance. At IRC in Kenya, she works as a Grants and Communications Fellow. Read more about her here.
Kyilah Terry is a 2019 graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied International Studies and German. In 2021, she graduated from Georgetown University with a master’s degree in International Relations with a concentration in migration diplomacy and refugee law. She is a Grants and Reporting Fellow at IRC, Kenya. Read more about her here.
Please read their full article here:
Kyilah Terry and Aishwarya Rai, Amid Record Drought and Food Insecurity, East Africa’s Protracted Humanitarian Crisis Worsens (Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2023),
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/east-africa-drought-food-insecurity-refugees
2022-23 Fellow Maddie Wong (ILRI, Kenya) hosted Princeton SPIA Students at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Maddie Wong, a 2022-23 Fellow at the International Livestock Research Institute, collaborated with Princeton School of International Affairs students to arrange a visit her host organization in January. Princeton SPIA students were conducting a student-led policy trip to Nairobi, to explore the theme of “Africa’s Rising Cities”, visit global development organizations, and explore sustainable development across the continent. Maddie led the students’ tour of the Mazingira Centre, ILRI’s climate research center, and welcomed them into a roundtable discussion with ILRI scientists and team leads. The Princeton SPIA students were able to learn about ILRI’s mission and what role our PiAf Fellows play in supporting their work. Thank you to Maddie Wong for her leadership in this event and for connecting with these students.
2022-23 Fellows Maddie Wong and Madison Spinelli Co-Wrote an Article for Agrilinks, the USAID Agriculture and Food Security Blog
Our 2022-23 ILRI Fellows, Madeline Wong and Madison Spinelli, wrote an article that was featured in Agrilinks in January. Agrilinks is part of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative, led by the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security (RFS). The online hub shares information about global agriculture, food security and development. Maddie and Maddy’s article titled, “Social Media and Drone Technology: Transforming Gender Norms for Women Livestock Farmers“, touches on ILRI’s initiatives to “sustainably change negative gender norms surrounding women poultry farmers…” Read more on how ILRI is doing this through partnering with Shujaaz Inc on social media.
Madeline Wong graduated from Tufts University in 2022, where she studied biology and archaeology. Originally from Brooklyn, Maddie is now based in Nairobi as a Communications Specialist for the International Livestock Research Institute. Read more about her here.
Madison Spinelli is a Princeton University graduate of the class of 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Public and International Affairs and a minor in Global Health Policy. She is also placed as a Communications Specialist at ILRI in Kenya. Read more about her here.
Hannah Blair (Young 1ove, Botswana, 2017-18) Named Schwarzman Scholar
Hannah Blair, a 2017-2018 Fellow with Youth Impact (formerly Young 1ove) in Botswana, has received a Schwarzman Scholarship. This award will fund a one-year master’s degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Originally from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, Hannah graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in International and Global Studies and a minor in Global Health. In her undergrad years at Middlebury, Hannah traveled worldwide working with organizations related to her studies. She completed an internship at Gardens for Health International, Global Brigades in Ghana, and the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador. She spent one summer in Amhara, Ethiopia collecting field notes on the Women’s Development Army, a government program seeking to empower women and improve health outcomes from a grass-roots level. She was inspired to follow a career surrounding health equity after studying abroad in Argentina and Tanzania. In Gaborone, she worked as a Media Fellow for Youth Impact, creating marketing materials and establishing communications strategies. Youth Impact is a grassroots, youth-led, evidence-based movement based in Botswana. They work to connect youth to proven life-saving information and transform education structures across Botswana. Currently, she is the Communications Manager at Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP).
We wish Hannah good luck on her journey as a Schwarzman Scholar! An article about Hannah’s achievement was published on the Middlebury College website. Read more about Hannah here.
Welcome Kamila Radjabova, PiAf’s Program Coordinator
In late December of 2022, PiAf alumna, Kamila Radjabova, joined the PiAf staff team as our new Program Coordinator. Kamila was a 2021-22 Fellow with Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Botswana, where she was a Youth Program Coordinator. As a BIPAI Fellow, she expanded BIPAI’s tutoring program to include more young patients, scheduled tutoring sessions, evaluated the program, and built program resources. As a project assistant, Kamila also helped with consolidating the annual report, planning an adherence camp for adolescents living with HIV, and writing grant and IRB proposals.
We are thrilled to have Kamila as a part of the PiAf team. Read more about Kamila on our staff page here.
Read the 2021-22 Princeton in Africa Annual Report
Our latest annual report is live on our website! The 2021-22 Annual Report highlights our 2021-22 Fellows’ achievements, impactful events that took place remotely or on the African continent, our new Board Members, all those who have supported our program in the 2021-22 fiscal year and so much more. Read the whole annual report here.
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.