Financial Resources for Quality Education - Analysis & Collection: Nairobi, Kenya

Financial Resources for Quality Education – Analysis & Collection: Nairobi, Kenya

Program Overview

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all UBC students from any faculty with an interest in special needs education. Business, medicine, and education-related majors encouraged to apply.

Partner Organization

Little Rock was founded in 2003 to fill a gap and address a great need for intervention during the most formative years for children ages 1 – 8 years old. Currently Little Rock –works with approximately 1,000 children of which 150 are children with special needs. The school’s target groups are orphans, those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as impoverished and special needs children. The children are educated, trained, and catered to by 30 qualified early childhood and primary teachers, 30 caregivers and a handful of administration staff.

Little Rock Academy is situated in Kibera, an informal settlement, in Nairobi Kenya. The historical and current realities of living in an informal settlement mean that many families are living in absolute poverty. The school itself began with humble beginnings, but through hard work, grants and fundraising, the founder Lily Oyare, has built a beautiful facility within Kibera. In her words, every child deserves dignity and poverty or disability are no reasons for a poor education.

Project Description

Every year, Little Rock provides 1,000 children with education, as well as physical, emotional, and social support during their most formative years. With 150 special needs children participating in their programming, Little Rock often relies on grants and other sources of funding for access to necessary resources and equipment. Students in this role will work with Little Rock administrative staff to assess the financial needs of the organization, and pursue different funding options. Responsibilities will include research into public and private grant opportunities, preparation of proposals and applications, as well as identifying key organizational contacts for future needs. Ideal candidates have strong writing and computer skills as well as an interest in special needs and childhood education.

This placement will require a high degree of initiative and problem-solving – and will need to work closely with Little Rock staff to strategize working toward the vision for the program with very few resources. This will involve building effective relationships within the communities, developing a plan in collaboration with Little Rock staff, and developing strategies for these projects.

The aim of this internship is to provide assistance to Little Rock while learning about special needs education, social change, and community development in Kenya. This will also develop understanding of the role of community spaces in providing necessary resources to various community demographics, understanding the complex issues surrounding poverty and community development, and to appreciate the social, economic, and cultural factors relevant to implementing policy.

Accommodations

You will live with a host family in the Kibera neighborhood. In most cases, you will walk to the nearby school or take public transport to and from your placement.

Program Dates

Date	Activity
October 9, 2017	Program applications accepted until full OR until 11:59pm on Monday, October 9th, 2017, whichever comes first.
Late October – November 2017	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions (all successful applicants will be expected to be in attendance at all sessions)
January – April 2018	12 weeks of fieldwork in an International Service Learning placement
Late April – May 2018	Re-entry debrief and Public Engagement Event

**Please note these dates may be adjusted but will be confirmed prior to offer.

Program Costs

The costs below are per student. Exact program costs are not confirmed at this time, but will be within the following ranges.

Location	Program Fee
Kenya	$3,900 – $4,400*

SOCI 435: Partnerships for Participatory Development

Program Overview

Eligibility Criteria

Students who have completed their second year of study at UBC. This program is open to both Arts and non-Arts students.

SOCI 435 has multiple components

Pre-departure learning program from January – April 2018
Seminars run on campus during Spring term, May 2018
12 weeks of fieldwork in an International Service Learning placement from June- August 2018
Return seminar and final course-work on campus in September 2018
Post-placement re-entry debrief and International Development Symposium on campus in September – October 2018

Course Description

Partnerships for Participatory Development: An International Service Learning Course is a 6 credit course that provides an opportunity for students to better understand how applied research can promote social change, in this case by supporting the design, implementation, and assessment of development projects. Although ‘research’ is the focus, this course is not about the student as a researcher, or about the student’s research project. Rather, this course explores how social research can be employed in international projects for community-based development where collaboration and reciprocal learning are central to the research process. Learning is facilitated through a series of pre- and post-departure seminars and assignments. The seminars are designed to develop not only academic knowledge, but also skills that prepare participants for responsible service work: collaboration, critical reflection, and demonstration of an understanding of the difference between ‘charity’ and work oriented to global justice.

Placement Description

As a part of the SOCI 435 course, you will be enrolled in an International Service Learning placement. Specific placements will be located in Mexico, Bolivia, Costa Rica, India, Kenya, Uganda or other countries where ISL community partners are located. Specific options will be announced in the Winter term of 2017. Below are examples of previous placements for SOCI 435.

Uganda

Literacy & Community Development (Program Assessment)

Students worked with a rural community library to undertake an assessment of youth-based programming and to understand the effectiveness in meeting intended outcomes of leadership development, nutritional knowledge and readiness to take up vocational training. In addition, students participated in the implementation of particular library programming, such as the women’s literacy group, computer literacy workshops and primary school reading programs to fully understand the role of youth at the library and the strengths and challenges facing this group in their interactions with the library. Students also developed a report assessing youth programming and opportunities for the future.

Uganda

Literacy & Community Development (Program Development)

Students worked in a small community in the far west of Uganda at a young community library. They contributed to small-scale program development at the library by supporting library outreach to the surrounding community in the form of primary school reading programs, documenting library activities and supporting the creation and maintenance of a library database. The work involved collaborating closely with library staff to further integrate the community library into the fabric of the surrounding community and may include developing reports which can be utilized in securing resources to further realize the vision of the community library.

Placements for 2018 are currently being determined by host partners and program staff.

Living Environment

In Uganda, Kenya, India and Bolivia you will live with host families in modest conditions. In most cases, you will take public transport to and from your placement. In Mexico and Costa Rica you will live in hostel-style accommodations with modest living conditions on the placement site.

In most cases, you will take public transport to and from your placement.

Program Dates

Date	Activity
January-April 2018	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions (all successful applicants will be expected to be in attendance at all sessions)
January-April 2018	Sociology 435 seminar
Jun – Aug 2018	12 week International placement including a facilitated workshop approximately mid-way through (exact dates TBD)
Sep 2018	SOCI 435 Course – Post Placement seminar and assignments due (exact times TBD)
Sep – Oct 2018	ISL Post-placement reflection sessions and International Development Symposium.

**Please note these dates may be adjusted but will be confirmed prior to offer.

Program Costs

The cost* of this program may be funded by the ARA award. Please see the Awards & Eligibility section for more information. The costs below are per student and are yet to be fully determined, but will be within the following ranges.

Location	Full program fee	Fee with 70% ARA funding
Uganda	$3700 – $4,000	$1,110 – $1,200
Kenya	$3,900 – $4,400	$1,170 – $1,320
Mexico	$4,600 – $4,800	$1,380 – $1,440
Costa Rica	$4,600 – $4,800	$1,380 – $1,440
Bolivia	$3,475-$3,975	$1,043 – $1,193
India	$3,900-$4,400	$1,170 – $1,320

Students applying for the ARA award through SOCI 435 must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those listed under the Arts Research Abroad section.

Be within a qualifying major for the course (Sociology, International Relations, Political Science Major, or students from the Institute of Gender, Sexuality, Race, and Social Justice)

HIST 403: NGOs and Refugees in Uganda

Program Overview

Eligibility Criteria

This program is open to both Arts and non-Arts students who have completed 2nd year (54 credits) by January 2018.

HIST 403 has multiple components

Pre-departure learning program from January – April 2018
Seminars run on campus from January to April 2018
12 weeks of fieldwork in an International Service Learning placement from late May – August 2018
Return seminar and final coursework on campus in September 2018
Re-entry debrief and International Development Symposium on campus in September – October 2018

Course Description

HIST 403 is a 3 credit course that will examine, within an analytical historical framework, the social and health dimensions of refugee movements to Uganda from neighbouring countries, particularly Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Although the majority of refugees to Uganda in recent decades have arrived from outside the country, large numbers of Ugandans have also been refugees, both within their own country and in neighbouring areas as a result of the Ugandan civil war in the mid-1980s. The course will thus view Ugandans as both refugees as well as providers for neighbouring populations. Students will gain a contextual understanding of refugees in the framework of other forms of migration and social mobility within Uganda since 1972. Attention will be paid to the role refugees play in setting health agendas for the NGOs, health conditions in UNHCR camps, the success of NGOs and the Ugandan government in attending to the health needs of refugees, and the challenges of dealing with poverty and health in comprehensive ways in a country within the Global South.

HIST 403 satisfies the International Relations Seminar requirement for International Relations Majors in their final academic year. This course will be taught by Dr. Steven Lee.

Placement Description

As a part of the HIST 403 course, you will be enrolled in an International Service Learning placement. Specific placements will be announced in February-March 2018. Placements go from late May – August 2018. Below are examples of placements previously offered to students in the course:

Uganda

Sustainable Livelihood Development for People Living with HIV/AIDS

Students will collaborate with staff from the AIDS Support Organization (TASO) on a multi-year project aimed at creating a strategy and approach to implementing, monitoring and evaluating sustainable livelihood programs for the purpose of improving overall health. More specifically, students will work on the design of a sustainable livelihood pilot intervention program for a community in Uganda paying particular attention to the context of mobility and migration. The aim of this program is to ensure that the intervention is accessible to those who are marginalized and less likely to access this kind of support within their community.

Uganda

Health & Mobility

Students will work in the community of Lyantonde with the Salama Shield Foundation. Salama Shield is an organization that is focused on community development through interventions in the fields of health, income generation, access to clean water, nutrition, and skills education. Students will work alongside the organization and the health sector to strengthen the overall health system through initiatives such as the development of workshops and educational material on topics such as HIV, TB, malaria and reproductive health. These initiatives will impact other areas such as income generation and safe water activities. These activities are particularly relevant to this community as Lyantonde was the site of the very first known HIV outbreak in Uganda.

Living Environment

You will live with host families in modest conditions. In most cases, you will take public transport to and from your placement.

Program Dates

Date	Activity
Dec 4, 2017	Program application is open and will close when full. Applications will be considered in the order they are received.
Jan – Apr 2018	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions (all successful applicants will be expected to be in attendance at all sessions)
Jan – Apr, 2018	HIST 403 course
May – Aug 2018	12 week International placement including a facilitated workshop approximately mid-way through (exact dates TBD)
Sep 2018	HIST 403 course – Post Placement seminar and assignments due (exact dates TBD)
Sep – Oct 2018	ISL Post-placement reflection sessions and International Development Symposium.

**Please note these dates may be adjusted but will be confirmed prior to offer.

Program Costs

The cost* of this program may be funded by the ARA award. Please see the Awards & Eligibility section below for more information. The costs below are per student and are yet to be fully determined, but will be within the following ranges.

Location	Full program fee	Fee with 70% ARA funding
Uganda	$3,900 – 4,400	$1,170 – $1,320

Students applying for the ARA award through HIST 403 must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those listed under the Arts Research Abroad section.

Be enrolled in a qualifying major for the course (History, Political Science, International Relations, Anthropology)

Environmental Conservation and Design: Costa Rica

Program Overview

Program Description

Costa Rica has over 160 parks and wildlife refuges, which are habitats for many endangered species. Within the country has expanded in recent years making protected conservation areas critically important for species preservation. Alongside this priority is ensuring that local communities have environmentally friendly and secure access to food. Organization partners in the Pacuare community on the Caribbean coast are developing systems to support greenhouses in the community. This community is located on a sandy coastline which has a unique set of agriculture conditions which impacts the variety of food produces locally. This summer the community organization is investing in the development of some technologies, including a biodigestor for fertilizer. Students will be involved in the redesign of an existing biodigester and community education (specifically with school children) on greenhouse technologies.

Our community partner in Costa Rica is Quelonios del Caribe. Students will work on an ecological service project alongside Roberto Solano Cordero. Roberto is the lead biologist overseeing the project. Roberto is a biologist by profession although he also carries titles as an educator among other things. Roberto oversees projects in sea turtle, and other species conservation as well as training and education in the area of sea turtle ecology and biological management. Roberto has also worked for the National Maritime Patrol, the National Coast Guard Service, the Ministry of Education, as well as different associations and non-governmental organizations dedicated to conservation. Roberto has been a teacher, naturalist guide for tourism, environmental consultant, project manager, volunteer coordinator, and youth leader. He strongly believes in experiential learning as it is the best way to gain fulfilling work experience that will help shape future career paths.

Accommodations

You will be staying in the organization’s hostel accommodation.

Program Dates

Date	Activity
Mar – Apr 2017	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions (all successful applicants will be expected to be in attendance at all sessions)
Late June – Aug 2017	8 weeks of fieldwork in an International Service Learning placement
Sep/Oct 2017	Re-entry debrief and public engagement presentation on campus

**Please note these dates may be adjusted but will be confirmed prior to offer.

Program Costs

The costs below are per student and are yet to be fully determined, but will be within the following ranges.

Location	Program Fee
Costa Rica	$2,900 – $3,100*

Rural Water and Sanitation: Appropriate Technology Design and Implementation

Program Overview

Program Description

Bolivia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world with landscapes ranging from forest jungles to dry steppe and salt flats. The diversity also places the country in a uniquely precarious position with changing temperatures and climate change. In turn community organizations are undertaking initiatives to mitigate the impact and support communities that rely on their surrounding environment for their food and water security.

Students on this placement in Bolivia will be working with Oasis Boliviano, a social enterprise just outside the town of Sucre. Organizations such as Oasis Boliviano work with local communities to ensure safe access to food and water while minimizing impact on their own impact on environment. Students will work alongside the organization on community projects that focused on improving drinking water quality in the area and the development of solid waste management strategies.

Accommodations

You will be staying in modest homestay accommodation.

Program Dates

Date	Activity
Mar – Apr 2017	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions (all successful applicants will be expected to be in attendance at all sessions)
Late June – Aug 2017	8 weeks of fieldwork in an International Service Learning placement
Sep/Oct 2017	Re-entry debrief and public engagement presentation on campus

**Please note these dates may be adjusted but will be confirmed prior to offer.

Program Costs

The costs below are per student and are yet to be fully determined, but will be within the following ranges.

Location	Program Fee
Bolivia	$3,100 – $3,250*

Narrative Documentation and Community Development: Uganda

Program overview

The project is in Uganda, with our community partner, The AIDS Support Organization (TASO). TASO was founded in 1987 to contribute to the process of HIV prevention, education, support, and eradication. TASO supports people living with HIV/AIDS at the personal, family, community, national, and international levels. TASO currently has 11 regional offices across Uganda with its head office located in Kampala.

The overall objective for this project is to collect and write narratives of TASO clients in order to accurately represent the impacts of the organization. Your work will include working alongside TASO staff to interviewing identified TASO clients, writing, editing and contextualizing the narratives in a way that best meet TASO’s goals for the project. You will be based at the TASO Mbale regional centre and provide online support to other centres to facilitate the collection of narratives across the organization.

Program dates

Date	Activity
Rolling deadline until March 1st, 2015	Application intake and interviews
~ I week after receiving an offer letter	Acceptance and deposits are due
March – May 2015	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions (multiple – approximately 35 hours in total)
June – August 2015	12 week international placement including a facilitated workshop approximately mid-way through
September – October 2015	ISL post-placement reflection sessions and public engagement event

Please note these dates may be adjusted but will be confirmed before you receive an offer of a placement.

This program will close when full. Please apply ASAP to avoid disappointment.

Leading up to your placement (Pre-departure)

Pre-departure learning sessions take place in the term before you leave for your placement; it prepares you for an intensive International Service Learning experience. During pre-departure you will:

Create a learning & development plan and review with your ISL Advisor
Explore learning topics at regular meetings with your placement team

Accommodations

You will be staying with host families that ISL will arrange through UBC local representatives that work in Uganda. You will live with a community host family in modest accommodations. You will be based in Mbale but may have some short term travel & stay in other towns that have TASO centres. In most cases, you will take public transport to and from your placement.

After you’ve returned (Post-placement)

After you’ve returned, you’ll regroup, reflect and work at unpacking the intensive experience you’ve had. The schedule of post-placement activities includes:

A full day to debrief with advisors and peers (September 2015)
Presenting at an International Development Symposium (October 2015)

Program cost

We expect the program fee to be approximately $4,000. Fees may be adjusted prior to offer and include:

Room and board
Pre-departure learning sessions
Transportation from the airport to your placement**
Orientation in Uganda
Debrief and workshop part way through your placement
Community partner management fee
ISL project management fee

Airfare, visas and vaccinations are not included in the program fee. A return ticket to Uganda costs approximately $2,000–$2,500. You will be required to bring your own laptop.

You will need to arrange your own transportation from the project site back to the airport at the end of the placement.

Application

To apply for a 2015 placement, please submit an online application. Contact an advisor if you have any questions about the program eligibility before applying. The application consists of basic demographic information and essay questions. Set aside at least two hours to complete the application.

Eligibility & Awards

ISL Award – $1,500
If accepted into the ISL program, your eligibility will be automatically assessed for the $1,500 International Service Learning Award. Please follow the link for more information. No separate application is required.

Organizational Planning and Development: South Africa

Program overview

Our community partner in South Africa is Education without Borders, an international NGO that focuses on supporting school age youth in further developing skills and confidence academically, particularly in math and science. This organization was formed in 2002 and seeks to improve educational opportunities and facilities for youth.

Education without Borders’ long term vision is to empower youth through education. They believe that the development of knowledge and skills gives individuals greater control over their lives and more possibilities and choices for their future. Enhanced educational opportunities build communities from within, and facilitate bridging between communities.

The program runs in a township outside of Cape Town, South Africa. You will be working closely with the founders and in country staff of the organization. Examples of possible projects are listed below:

Library Project – This project will be assisting in the transition of library management from Education without Borders to the school administration and new, school-identified, librarian. This project will include strategic and operational thinking about how to effectively manage the transition; research and development of grant and alternative funding streams for upkeep and development of the library, and paying the staff. Other areas of project work may include training the new librarian into new operating system. Ultimately, the project aims to make the library a sustainable program within the school, something that is not common in the area.

In addition to the above project, students will partake in the ongoing library programming such as assisting with the reading and after-school programs which include the African Storybook project. This project aims to develop and foster reading culture by producing literature and documenting traditional stories in local languages.

Community Partnerships – Through this project student will be looking at both strategic and operational plans for extending the organizations reach into the community through the use of partnerships with other NGOs. Students will examine the environment for this initiative by exploring the questions around stakeholder expectations, and strategies on how to actualize the partnerships. Community partnerships are currently among the key activities of the organization and students will be working collaboratively with the program coordinator while working on this initiative. In order to be most effective in the project, it is recommended that the students take part in all aspects of the organization’s programming in order to better understand how the organization runs, and how the partnerships will be most effective. This program will be concentrated in high level organizational and strategic planning with some opportunity for acting on implementation.

In addition to all listed projects, students will also take part in core programs of Education without Borders such as after-school tutoring. Students may also participate in a Monitoring and Evaluation project by supporting the work of a South African institution brought in to externally evaluate the math bridging program.

Program dates

Date	Activity
Rolling deadline until March 1st, 2015	Application intake and interviews
One week after receiving an offer letter	Acceptance and deposits are due
March – May 2015	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions
June – August 2015	12 week International placement including a facilitated workshop approximately mid-way through (exact dates TBC)
September – October 2015	ISL Post-placement reflection sessions and International Development Symposium.

Please note these dates may be adjusted but will be confirmed before you receive an offer of a placement.

This program will close when full. Please apply ASAP to avoid disappointment.

Leading up to your placement (Pre-departure)

Pre-departure learning sessions take place in the term before you leave for your placement; it prepares you for an intensive International Service Learning experience. During pre-departure you will:

Create a learning & development plan and review with your ISL Advisor
Explore learning topics at regular meetings with your placement team

Accommodations

You will be staying in modest host family accommodations. In most cases students will have to take public transportation to and from work.

After you’ve returned (Post-placement)

After you’ve returned, you’ll regroup, reflect and work at unpacking the intensive experience you’ve had. The schedule of post-placement activities includes:

A full day to debrief with advisors and peers (September 2015)
Presenting at an International Development Symposium (October 2015)

Program cost

We expect the program fee to be approximately $3,900. Fees may be adjusted prior to offer and include:

Room and board
Pre-departure learning sessions
Transportation from the airport to your placement
Orientation in host country
In Session debrief and workshop
Community partner management fee
Centre for Community Engagement project management fee

All expenses not covered in program costs are responsibility of the student. Costs not included are airfare, visas, vaccinations, local transportation while in country, transportation from the project site back to the airport at the end of the placement, personal item, and daily incidentals.

Application

Eligibility & Awards

Health and Community Development: Kenya

Program overview

Carolina for Kibera (CFK) is the community partner for Health and Community Development in Kenya. CFK is an organization founded in Kibera (a large informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya). Tabitha Clinic is a community-based healthcare facility that is a part of services offered by CFK. CFK is undertaking a number of health initiatives in the area, including a community-based nutrition program based out of the Tabitha Clinic which is intended to lessen levels of malnutrition in targeted communities. The Tabitha Clinic is undertaking this initiative to scale up the nutrition program to an increased number of communities in Kibera, which will include gathering information to understand current levels of malnutrition, WASH practices, and general views on accessing healthcare. This is part of ensuring effective practices are taken into account, understanding opportunities for education and outreach and lessening the levels of malnutrition in communities that are a part of this initiative. You will work alongside CFK staff based out of the Tabitha Clinic on a particular phase of this initiative will be determined depending on the progress of the initiative upon your start date with CFK.

Students interested in this placement should be ready to work in a community that faces extreme poverty. As change in health and social behaviors take time, students should also be prepared to work alongside the organization with the recognition of this process and the long-term goals, rather than expecting to see immediate change.

This organization works on three major areas of development in the community: Heath, Social, and Economic development. Within these areas CFK runs a number of programs, such as a sports association and economic ventures. Depending on the workload of the project, students may also be able to get involved with some of the other programs.

This placement will require a high degree of initiative and problem-solving – you will be given the vision but will need to work closely with CFK staff to figure out how to work toward that vision, with very few resources. Ideally, you will have some experience in assessment methods coupled with self-initiative and problem-solving skills, and a willingness to learn.

This program is open to all UBC Vancouver students. This project requires specialized knowledge and invites applications from candidates in Food Science, Food, Nutrition and Health, Dietetics, Nutritional Sciences, Food Market Analysis and the School of Population and Public Health.

Program dates

Date	Activity
September 2014 – December 2014	Application intake rounds
1 week after receiving an offer letter	Acceptance and deposits are due
January – April 2015	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions (multiple sessions – approximately 35 hours in total)
June – August 2015	International placement including a facilitated workshop approximately mid-way through (exact dates TBC)
September – October 2015	ISL Post-placement reflection sessions, International Development Symposium and public engagement event

Please note these dates may be adjusted but will be confirmed before you receive an offer of a placement.

Schedule of intake rounds

Date	Application Deadline	Interview Date	Decision Notification Date
1st intake round	September 21, 2014	September 25, 2014	October 3, 2014
2nd intake round	October 26, 2014	November 7 or 8, 2014	November 14, 2014
3rd intake round	November 16, 2014	November 28 or 29, 2014	December 5, 2014
Rolling Deadline

This program will close when full. Please apply ASAP to avoid disappointment.

Leading up to your placement (Pre-departure)

Pre-departure learning sessions take place in the term before you leave for your placement; it prepares you for an intensive International Service Learning experience. During pre-departure you will:

Create a learning & development plan and review with your ISL Advisor
Explore learning topics at regular meetings with your placement team

Accommodations

You will be staying with host families in modest accommodations. In many cases you will need to take public transportation to reach your work site.

After you’ve returned (Post-placement)

After you’ve returned, you’ll regroup, reflect and work at unpacking the intensive experience you’ve had. The schedule of post-placement activities includes:

A full day to debrief with advisors and peers (September 2015)
Presenting at an International Development Symposium (October 2015)

Program cost

We expect the program fee to be approximately $3,900. Fees may be adjusted prior to offer and include:

Room and board
Pre-departure learning sessions
Transportation from the airport to your placement
Orientation in Kenya
Debrief and workshop part way through your placement
Community partner management fee
ISL project management fee

Airfare, visas and vaccinations are not included in the program fee. A return ticket to Kenya costs approximately $2,000–$2,500. You will be required to bring your own laptop.

You will need to arrange your own transportation from the project site back to the airport at the end of the placement

Application

Eligibility & Awards

Social Programming & Community Development: Kenya

When applying please note your preference for the Social Programming & Community Development program.

Program dates

Date	Activity
September 21st, 2014	Final application deadline
October – December, 2014	Orientation and pre-departure learning sessions (multiple sessions—approximately 35 hours in total)
January – April, 2015	12 week international placement, including a facilitated workshop approximately mid-way through
April – June, 2015	ISL post-placement reflection sessions and public engagement event

Program overview

This placement in Nairobi, Kenya is with our community partner Carolina For Kibera (CFK). CFK is an organization established and run in Kibera (a large informal settlement of Nairobi, Kenya). CFK runs numerous programs in and around Kibera which focus on economic development, social support, and health programming in collaboration with a local clinic. Students will work alongside CFK staff on programming focused on the empowerment of girls in the community.

Depending on the workload of the project, students may also be able to get involved with some of CFK’s other programs.

Leading up to your placement (Pre-departure)

Pre-departure learning sessions take place in the term before you leave for your placement; it prepares you for an intensive International Service Learning experience. During pre-departure you will:

Create a learning & development plan and review this with your ISL Advisor
Explore learning topics at regular meetings with your placement team

Accommodations

You will be staying in modest host family accommodations.

After you’ve returned (Post-placement)

After you’ve returned, you’ll regroup, reflect and work at unpacking the intensive experience you’ve had. The schedule of post-placement activities includes:

A debrief with advisors and peers (January 2015)
Presenting at a Public Engagement event (February 2015)

Program cost

We expect the program fee to be approximately $3,800*. Fees include:

Room and board
Pre-departure learning sessions
Transportation to and from your placement**
Orientation in Kenya
Debrief and workshop part way through your placement
Community partner management fee
ISL project management fee

Airfare, visas and vaccinations are not included in the program fee. A return ticket to Kenya costs approximately $2,000 – $2,500. You will be required to bring your own laptop.

*Fees may be adjusted prior to offer
**You will also need to arrange your own transportation from the project site back to the airport at the end of the placement

Awards

If accepted into the ISL program, you will be automatically assessed for the $1,500 International Service Learning Award.

Ecological Sustainability: Costa Rica

When applying please note your preference for the Conservation and Community Development program.

Program overview

Our community partner for environmentally focused programs in Costa Rica is ASVO (Asociación de Voluntarios para el Servicio en las Áreas Protegidas). Costa Rica has over 160 parks and wildlife refuges, which are habitats for many endangered species. With such a large area of the country needing protection, and few resources to support this effort, ASVO was formed to recruit local and international volunteers to assist local leaders in activities in four major areas: control, protection, environmental education, and research. ASVO focuses on conservation projects in Costa Rica’s National Park system, as well as in coastal-marine areas that do not hold any official category of protection from the Ministry of Environment, but that are natural nesting sites for endangered sea turtle species. ASVO works as a bridge between civil society and the protected areas, engaging people in responsible actions in the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of Costa Rica.

You will be working at the ASVO project site in Montezuma, which is a small town located on the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific coast. The Montezuma beach is an important sea turtle nesting beach, but activity on the beach, i.e. bonfires and vehicles, pose a risk to the turtles. The town’s bustling seasonal tourism sector has resulted in an increase in risks to nesting sea turtles and the local economy being heavily reliant on that tourism, making them vulnerable to ‘high’ and ‘low’ season fluctuations.

The long-term priority at the ASVO Montezuma site is to reduce the impacts of tourism on sea turtles. ASVO is currently pursuing an eco-tourism project by developing a social enterprise based in the town of Montezuma. The social enterprise will be locally-administered and offer an income-generating opportunity for residents in the community to be trained, certified and employed as guides on sea turtle night patrols, which will be marketed as eco-tourism. The night patrols will also increase economic activity in the area during ‘low season’, which is concurrent to nesting season, and function to facilitate awareness among local businesses and tourists about endangered sea turtles. This work will be in the later stages of development and your work may include aspects of implementation, further community adoption initiatives, monitoring and evaluation for the effectiveness amongst other duties. Earlier phases included collecting information to determine the management strategy for the social enterprise, liaising with local businesses, and identifying the skills and abilities necessary for the guide training program. Your scope of work will be identified with ASVO head biologist, Roberto Solano, however you will need to demonstrate a high degree of initiative in problem-solving, communication, and collaborating with various stakeholders both in Montezuma and at the ASVO head office. You can also expect to participate in some activities related to the hatchery – building/repairing the hatchery, night patrols, etc. Ideally, you will have some experience, a passion for environmental conservation, self-initiative and problem-solving skills, and a willingness to learn!

Leading up to your placement (Pre-departure)

Pre-departure learning sessions take place in the term before you leave for your placement; it prepares you for an intensive International Service Learning experience. During pre-departure you will:

Create a learning & development plan and review with your ISL Advisor
Explore learning topics at regular meetings with your placement team

Accommodations

You will be staying in modest hostel-style accommodations with other ASVO volunteers. These accommodations are located on ASVO’s project sites, which are located within or near protected areas, beaches, and parks. Some project sites are located within reasonable distances to small towns.

After you’ve returned (Post-placement)

After you’ve returned, you’ll regroup, reflect, and work at unpacking the intensive experience you’ve had. The schedule of post-placement activities includes:

A debrief with advisors and peers (April 2015)
Presenting at a Public Engagement event (May-June 2015)

Program cost

We expect the program fee to be approximately $3,900* Fees include:

Room and board
Pre-departure learning sessions
Transportation from the airport to your placement site**
Orientation in Costa Rica
Debrief and workshop part way through your placement
Re-entry debrief and public engagement facilitation
Community partner management fee
ISL program management fee

Airfare, visas and vaccinations are not included in the program fee. A return ticket to Costa Rica costs approximately $1,000 – $1,500. You will be required to bring your own laptop.

*Fees may be adjusted prior to offer
**You will also need to arrange your own transportation from the project site back to the airport at the end of the placement.

Awards

If accepted into the ISL program, your eligibility will be automatically assessed for the $1,500 International Service Learning Award.