Meet the UMN Master of Development Practice team who will be on site in Karagwe in May/June 2017. They are the team of Dr. Chris Johnstone and three UMN students who will assess community needs as ETI helps build Opportunity Centers in Tanzania. The team will be assisted by Ms. Rachel Kakulima of Karagwe.
From May – July 2017, the team of Isabel Marsh, David Wittman, and Tarere Eyimina will be tasked with conducting focus groups and participatory rural appraisal activities to better understand community needs and desires related to Rural Opportunity Centers (ROCs). The Team is supervised by Dr. Chris Johnstone, UMN who was introduced to Karagwe by ETI in 2012. Chris will be assisted by Ms. Rachel Kakulima, a resident of Karagwe who is conducting doctoral work in Educational Leadership in Minnesota. Chris and Rachel will be leading the team of three graduate students with a variety of background experiences and who are enrolled in the University of Minnesota’s MDP program. Click [HERE] to read more on the MDP Program at UMN.
Meet the Team!
(l-r) Dr. Chris Johnstone, Ms. Rachel Kakulima, Ms. Isabel Andrea Marsh, Ms. Tarere Eyimina and Mr. David Wittman
VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHT
Isabel Andrea Marsh –
Isabel is a first year student in the master of Development Practice and a Colombian economist, who has experienced firsthand the struggle to access the building blocks of development. Isabel is passionate about finding solutions for people battling poverty. She has a keen interest in economic development, gender studies, program evaluation, conflict resolution, rural and sustainable development. Isabel has worked in strategic communication for a public relations firm in Colombia, having as her main client the Colombian Government. There she deepened her knowledge on the Colombian conflict, the struggle of victims, the importance of peace, and the intricacies of international relations.
Through her experience in Karagwe this summer she hopes to learn about the different ways of Karagwe’s residents. She is especially exited about collaborating with the ETI Opportunity Center project.
Tarere Eyimina –
Tarere was born and raised in Lagos Nigeria. She studied economics and International Relations at Knox College in Galesburg Illinois, after which she spent a year as a grant-writer for a children’s museum in Galesburg and worked on community development projects including creating a youth board and a travel/tourism package for the Galesburg community. Tarere also spent a year teaching third grade at a public elementary school in Lagos Nigeria as part of a national service program.
Tarere tells that her experience living in a developing country and enrolling in a Politics of International Development class in college led her to enroll in the MDP program at UMN. She is particularly interested in micro-finance and how it can be used to empower women and lift their families above the poverty line.
She is interested in working for ETI and in Karagwe because ETI proactively applies some concepts that she has just learned in the MDP program, and also because the experience will allow her to engage in Rural Development which is of particular interest to her.
David Wittman
David is a student at HH Humphrey School of Public Affairs seeking a Master’s Degree in Development Practice (MDP). After military service during the Iraq War (2004-2008) he toured the United States, coast to coast. He then attended the University of Minnesota Morris and earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology (2008-2012). After working in the field, David decided to make a change and pursue a career with an international scope and development mindset. He then volunteered for Where Rainbows Meet, an NGO in a township outside of Cape Town, South Africa (2014). He wanted to get a feel for international work – and he did. After that great experience he is excited to continue to learn and work toward improving global well-being.
ETI is proud of David for his commitment and sacrifice to our nation and for the same for our world. Welcome.
The MDP students’ commitment to international development is palpable. They are eager and committed to making good things happen around the world with the 3 C’s: Competency, Caring and Character. We are so happy to have these MDP students on the ETI team!
Karibu sana.