By bethanycroasmun on August 25, 2009
GESI was featured on the front page of the most recent Northwestern Research Newsletter! The article tracks the success and growth of GESI from the original Engage Uganda program to what GESI is today: an innovative service-learning experience that this summer sent over forty students to ten different community-based organizations on three different continents.
The excitement generated by the creativity and passion of GESI 2009 participants in Argentina, Uganda, and India is reflected in the descriptions of their projects. The article highlights our team that worked with the Organization for Rural Development (ORUDE) in Uganda, who this summer facilitated a mushroom-growing project to generate income and improve nutrition among an HIV/AIDS affected community. Another GESI 2009 team visited semi-isolated tribal villages in India and led the villagers in a participatory mapping activity that assessed the status of healthcare, education, and a number of other issues in their community. One of the teams in Argentina developed strong relationships with the staff of their NGO as they worked together to raise awareness about adults with disabilities in their community as well as enrich the lives of the disabled adults that the NGO serves.
The GESI values of engagement and sustainability are also features of the article. As Nicole Patel, GESI Program Manager stresses: “Our program is not about going abroad and enrolling in a local university… It’s about getting your hands dirty and working directly on issues that affect the community every day.” GESI projects are meant to emerge from the community itself and be long-term endeavors: “All of the groups strive to create projects that will have a lasting effect…We know that projects succeed when community members have ownership. We also want students to understand that development is not promoted when an outsider comes in with a quick fix. It’s a long process with many stakeholders.”
Click here to check out the full article!
