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SWEARER CENTER for PUBLIC SERVICE
SOCIAL INNOVATION INITIATIVE AT BROWN
presents the
2012 CV Starr Social
Entrepreneurship Fellows
25 George St. , Providence RI 02912 • telephone: 401-863-2338 •
http://swearercenter.brown.edu
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Table of Contents
Assured Labor 4
Allen Kramer
BMD Mentoring Program 5
Lily Chan
Broad Street Synagogue Reinvigoration Project 6
Tim Natividad
Community-based Tourism in Vila da Volta 6
Emily Kirkland
Connecting Children with Champions 7
Sidney Kushner
Food Recovery Network 8
Ben Chesler
Gay Nebraska Youth Network 10
Drew Heckman
Health Leads 11
Adele Levine
Health Worker Training in Rural India 12
Karishma Bhatia & Nihaal Mehta
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Hip Hop 4 Community & Culture 14
Pierre Arreola & Emily Goldman
iflip4 15David Ellmann
iTeach 16
Isabel Khoo & Erica Leon
The Jewelry Project 18
Pilar Garcia-Brown
The Kivunwi Youth Project 19
Ian Trupin
Let’s Be Well Red 21
Carlota Pereda Serras & Rajvi Mehta
Market Share Program 23Erin Kelley & Taylor Lanzet
Zanzibar Utilization Project 25
Jayson Marwaha & Han Sheng Chia
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Assured Labor Colombia’sExpansion
Allen Kramer
There are many factors that lead to unemployment,including macroeconomic trends, structural adjustment periods, and frictional “search” time. In developingcountries such as Colombia, which is marked by povertycombined with stark economic inequality, one critical cause of high unemployment levels among low-income populations is thelack of access to fully functioning information networks andformal job-search channels such as the Internet. In Colombia,only about 22% of low-income households have access to theWeb, as compared with over 67% of higher class groups.
However, nearly everyone in Colombia has his or her own cell phone. This creates an opportunity to leverage that access and turn it into a system specificallydesigned for this middle and low-income group.
Assured Labor does just that. The company is a for-profit social enterprise that seeks toreduce the burden of unemployment in emerging markets by connecting low- and middle-wageworkers with jobs using mobile and Internet technologies. The enterprise was founded by CEODavid Reich and a small group of peers in 2008 out of MIT Sloan School of Management. Under their brand, Empleo Listo, they piloted operations in Nicaragua in 2009, expanded to Mexico in2010, and to Brazil in 2011. To date they have registered over 200,000 users throughout the threecountries and have posted jobs by more than 3,000 employers. The business generates revenue by charging employers for hosting the job postings and facilitating the intermediation with the
workers. A critical aspect of the business model is that the workers who receive the job offers donot pay for the service; this reduces one of the major barriers to alternative formal mechanismsof employment.
The impact that Assured Labor creates is largely generated in two principal target groups: theemployers who gain access to more qualified candidates faster, and the workers who are provided with more and better job opportunities. Overall, the principal indicators and variables inwhich there is an expected impact include: users registered and employers posting jobs; jobsfacilitated; reduced costs and time for businesses in employee acquisition; decreased averagetime spent in search between jobs; better quality employment positions. Not all of these variablesare currently assessed due to prohibitive costs associated with measurement.
In order to facilitate the expansion of Assured Labor into the Colombian market, this Starr Fellowship project concentrates on executing key elements in the company’s standard pre-launce process for a new country. Activities leading up to and during the fieldwork in Colombia duringthe summer of 2012 largely fall into five categories: market research; operational research; business & bottom of the pyramid (BOP) strategy; customer development; and businessdevelopment.
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BMD Peer Mentoring
Lily Chan
BeckerMD.org is an online patient community where
individuals can discuss their experiences with BeckerMuscular Dystrophy (BMD). BMD is a rare genetic disease
that involves progressive voluntary muscle weakness resulting in
immobility, cardiac complications, and consequently, a shortened
life expectancy. Since BMD is such a rare disease, patient-to-
patient contact may be hard to come by. Additionally, BMD is
relatively less severe compared to other types of muscular
dystrophy, which sometimes causes not only larger health
organizations to “overlook” it – in some cases, patients themselves
minimize their health issues as well.
Based on my previous long-term involvement withBeckerMD.org, it became apparent to me that while the boards
offered a virtual support group for patients, the lack of longer-term
connections hindered the flow of discussion for many individuals.
The program makes the patient-patient connection more formal so that the time and repeated
interaction necessary to forge trusting relationships may be fostered. The program differs from a
regularly meeting support group because it is more individualized; mentors and mentees would
be paired according to age, life experiences, and other factors. The program aims to go beyond
public-speaking-engagement-type experience sharing, which, while beneficial, tends to be less
personal, and constitutes a shorter-term relationship. Not only would the mentorship program
benefit the mentees directly, but it would also support a group of patients who could become
advocates in many other ways for other BMD patients.A preliminary survey distributed online to BMD patients indicated that nearly all (29 out of
30) respondents were “interested” or “very interested” in participating in a mentoring program.
Furthermore, survey results showed a relatively even split between respondents who were
interested in being mentors and mentees, which proves promising. Additional prior research
includes contacting other patient mentoring programs, my extensive experience with peer
mentoring in my other activities, volunteering at a muscular dystrophy camp, and conversing
with many BMD patients, caretakers, and doctors.
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Broad Street SynagogueReinvigoration Project
Tim Natividad
The Broad Street Synagogue Reinvigoration Project revolvesaround Temple Beth El, an abandoned synagogue on the South Sideof downtown Providence. First built in 1911, Beth El experienced agrowing Jewish community, but as the Jewish population tripledover the next 30 years the community migrated to the East Side of Providence. In the 1950s the temple was sold to another congregation. Six years ago, that congregation abandoned it and ithas sat empty since: a shadow and a shell of what was a vitallandmark of the local community.
In the past year the temple has become subject to weather damage and vandalism. My working partners, Adam Bush and SamSeidel, have negotiated a deal to purchase the synagogue from thecurrent owners. We are working to build a wide variety of partnerships and raise the necessary support to repair the buildingand found a 501(c)(3) organization to steward its use. Through their efforts the Broad StreetSynagogue will take on a new life as a cultural, spiritual, and community space.
Community-based Tourism in Vilada Volta
Emily Kirkland
Vila da Volta is a fishing community of 2,000 people on
the banks of the Jaguaribe River, in the Brazilian state of
Ceara. The town is striking for its beautiful location and for
the immense warmth and friendliness of its people. Still, it is
not an easy place to live. Fish populations have declined
dramatically in recent years, leaving many families without a
reliable source of income.
Over the course of the past nine months, community
leaders in Volta have begun talking about the idea of
community-based tourism – small-scale, sustainable tourism – as
one potential solution. Volta is located only about 20 km from
Cona Quebrada, a major beach destination, which draws more
the 240,000 national and international visitors every year.
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Volta could capitalize on this market, offering day trips and activities like boat rides on the
Jaguaribe, nature walks in the mangroves, home-cooked meals, and dance performance. Trips to
Volta could combine natural beauty with cultural immersion – an experience totally unlike
anything currently offered in the area.
Volta is also located only about 10 km from Coquerinho, a separate community-based
tourism project that draws 400 visitors a year. Coquerinho does not have beach or river access,and Coquerinho leaders have already expressed interest in forming a partnership in order to bring
tourists to Vila da Volta.
Implementing CBT in Volta would require almost no investment and involve almost no fixed
costs. Instead, the CBT initiative could make use of existing assets like boats. Even with only a
few hundred visitors a year, CBT could have a substantial impact on incomes and standards of
living.
In November, community leaders formed an official CBT committee, consisting of
fishermen, women, and youth. They plan to begin receiving tourists from Coquerinho this spring.
Unfortunately, they have not had the time or the financial resources to make some of initial
investments that the project needs, like promotional materials and training for guides.
This summer, I hope to help the CBT committee fully implement community-based tourism
in Vila da Volta. I will arrange for a training session for guides and help with the creation of
promotional materials and the construction of a walkway for mangrove tours, among other tasks.
Ideally, by the end of the summer, Volta will be receiving tourists on a regular basis.
Next November, Volta will become part of the Tucum Network, which is a group of 14 CBT
projects throughout the state of Ceara. Tucum members receive advice, training and access to
small grants from Terramar and Caicara, two NGOs based
in the state capital of Fortaleza. Terramar and Caicara will
thus be able to provide long-term support to the CBT
project in Vila da Volta.
Connecting Children withChampions
Sidney Kushner
I want to begin by introducing you to my friend Steven, an 11-year old boy who could be themost die-hard hockey fan on Earth. Steven and I met at CampOochigeas—a special camp for kids with cancer—andinstantly became friends. As soon as he heard about mysimilar love for hockey, his eyes lit up. Nothing excitedSteven more than talking about his favorite players—to him,they are the ultimate role models. They are his inspiration tonever give up being who he wants to be.
Befriending Steven inspired me to do something big. Inconjunction with professional athletes across the UnitedStates, I launched CCChampions. By connecting local, kind-
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hearted athletes with kids just like Steven, meaningful long-term relationships are created duringthe first six months of intensive cancer treatment. All other organizations in the market focus onthe granting a single wish. CCChampions is the only program that creates lasting relationships,adding a warm stable force to an unstable life.
Currently, CCChampions is working with Major League Baseball Players Alumni
Association (MLBPAA) and its 6,000 member athletes across the nation. The pilot program between the Pittsburgh Pirates Alumni Association and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh isalready nearing completion. With 16 kids and 16 athletes, this first chapter has been moresuccessful than I could have ever imagined. Between the connection that are instantly developedand the smiles that I see on these kids’ faces, nothing excites me more than the opportunity toshare CCChampions with as many kids as possible.
There is no better time to begin this process than this upcoming summer. Through our relationships with the MLBPAA and various hospitals around the country, the connections havealready been made for the development of new chapters, particularly right here in Providence.This summer will be devoted to building a stable foundation consisting of the a team of officers,connections throughout the local community, and a collaborative sharing of new approaches and
ideas to innovatively help kids who have cancer. The CCChampions network is ready toskyrocket, and this summer is without question a turning point in the future growth of theorganization.
Food Recovery Network
Ben Chesler
One out of seven households in Rhode Island are at risk
of going hungry every day, and one out of six children live
in poverty. At the same time, the U.S. produces over 34
million tons of food waste every year, spends 1 billion
dollars just to dispose of that food waste, and recovers only
3% of that food. All of the discarded food sits in landfalls
and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas with 21
times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Ontop of that, we are in an economic climate where donations
to non-profits have dropped dramatically as even the
households fortunate enough to have enough to feed their
own families cannot afford to donate to those in need. The
problem we face is not creating more food, but rather
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getting the food we have to the people who need it most. Solving the hunger crisis will fall to
organizations that resemble trucking companies more than they do traditional NGOs.
In this food landscape, food recovery (also known as food rescue) is a relatively new, viable
alternative to traditional food donations. Food recovery organizations have emerged in cities
across the country, “recovering” surplus food and bringing it to the people who need it most.
From fruits and vegetables on a farm to dented cans in a supermarket, to prepared food in acafeteria or restaurant, the supply of food that can be recovered is endless. We therefore find
ourselves with no shortage of food and no shortage of people who need food. The tricky part is
connecting the food with the people who need it. In Rhode Island, We Share Hope has emerged
as the premier food recovery organization, collecting food from across the state and providing
over 250,000 meals annually to the state’s hungry. With an unrelenting commitment to food
recovery, and a healthy distaste for bureaucracy, We Share Hope has expanded rapidly in the
past two years as they have built up the trust of the state’s manufacturers, restaurants, meal sites,
and pantries.
We Share Hope excels at building community and finding the people who really need food.
Every person, from the CEO of a company donating food, to a homeless person receiving a meal,
is both treated with respect and expected to share in the work of food recovery. Guided by those
principles, We Share Hope has slowly but surely built up the “We,” reinforcing the notion that
the food we recover belongs to the universal “us” and that we all have an interest in recovering
and distributing it. We Share Hope has also thrived at making sure that the recovered food
reaches the people who need it most, even if it means using non-traditional distribution methods.
Through innovative partnerships with outreach workers and emergency shelters, We Share Hope
is able to reach people who might not be served by traditional food banks. Yet despite these
successes, We Share Hope faces some organizational challenges that threaten its sustainability.
The two major challenges that We Share Hope faces are the lack of a sustainable funding model
and a reluctance to take credit for its accomplishments. The two challenges are both separate
and, at the same time, intertwined, a function of the reclusive nature of the organization.Furthermore, We Share Hope is looking to expand to college campuses and hospitals in the
Providence area, in an effort to increase both the amount of food recovered and the efficiency of
the operation.
My own background in non-profit management, as well as my position as a Brown university
student, put me in a place to help We Share Help overcome the challenges it faces. As the
former Chief Financial Officer of a youth-run non-profit, I am familiar with the funding
landscape for NGOs. And as a Board member of the campus-based Food Recovery Network, a
501(c)3, I have knowledge of the workings of a successful food recovery organization.
Furthermore, through my position as a student at Brown University, I have created and, with the
help of the Starr Fellowship, will continue to expand a food recovery program on campus.
With this Starr Fellowship, I hope to continue to expand Brown’s food recovery program as wellas work to put We Share Hope on the path to financial stability. I will use the fellowship
mentorship and trainings to enhance my knowledge of social entrepreneurship principles, and
then I will apply those principles to We Share Hope. I will create a sustainable funding plan for
the organization and I will ensure that it takes credit for its accomplishments, giving We Share
Hope the ability to build up its base of supporters and expand its work in a sustainable manner.
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Gay Nebraska Youth Network
Drew Heckman
National research indicates that gay and lesbian young
people are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide
than their heterosexual counterparts. Those facing physical
isolation in primarily rural, expansive, and conservative
states such as Nebraska are at higher risk. In recent research
by the Midlands Sexual Health Research Collaborative,
almost half of the study population, composed of self-identified
LGBT adults in Nebraska and the western edge of Iowa, had
seriously considered suicide, and nearly one-fifth had
attempted. The researchers also found that “the onset of suicide
ideation … was frequently reported during the individuals’ late
teens or early 20s.” The study offers a final relevant point on
interest for this C.V. Starr Social Entrepreneurship Project:
“A majority of participants agreed thatthe LGBT community in their areawould benefit from an organizationthat could provide communityresources, provide referrals for services, coordinateeducational and social events, and help bring the
community together to increase awareness andsocial justice. However, most indicated that suchorganizations did not exist in their community. Manyindicated a need for such an organization.”
A community need exists, especially for youth; this is a need I would like to address with myC.V. Starr project by enhancing, making replicable, and ensuring the sustainability of a project Istarted two years ago called the Gay Nebraska Youth Network. This project is of capable of improving the quality of life for youth not only in Nebraska, but nationwide.
I created the Gay Nebraska Youth Network in the spring of 2010 as a social group for highschool to college-age gay youth in Nebraska. Originally just an online social space for youth tointeract and share experiences, the group has grown steadily since its creation. At present, theGNYN has nearly 250 members of diverse racial, educational, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and active only discussion board, and group events every 2-3 months. A few other group leaders and I moderate the online discussion board, post relevant education links, makeannouncements about community news, maintain a list of community resources, contribute todiscussions, and plan and execute in-person group events.
The goal of this C.V. Starr project is to build upon the successes of the GNYN to develop amodel for peer-led, youth-focused social groups revolving around sexual/gender identity whichcan be reliably replicated in other locales. This entails making the GNYN more robust,
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financially sustainable, and organizationally self-sufficient. Institutionalization of communityrelationships and response to youth input are critical parts of processes. I aim to condense toknowledge gained from this project into a kit which can be offered to individuals wishing to startsimilar groups. A successful model will connect youth to one another and to communityresources, promote positive psychosocial outcomes, and offer empowering opportunities for
leadership within the young LGBT community. This C.V. Starr Social Entrepreneurship projecthas the potential to save the lives of hundreds of youth who inhabit marginalized, fragmented,and vulnerable communities that face discrimination and prejudice on a daily basis.
I intend to begin an application immediately for specialty license plates. Nebraska allowsnon-profit organizations to design promotional plates which the state then sells to the public,revenues from which go directly to these organizations. This initiative will create a passiverevenue stream for the GNYN and other community groups that work with LGBT youth.Additionally, I would use the funding provided to begin a member recruitment campaign aimedat reaching youth in more rural parts of the state, who currently have no connections to groupmembers, and thus no way of entry into the group.
Health Leads
Adele Levine
Every day, doctors in the U.S. prescribe antibiotics to
families who struggle to put food on the table or are not sure
where they will spend the night. Although medicine alone
will not cure these problems, most doctors do not have the
time or resources to address their patients’ pressing social
needs. In the low‐income Brooklyn neighborhood of
Bushwick, Health Leads has stepped in to break this cycle of
poverty and poor health. Enabling health professionals to
“prescribe” housing, food, utilities assistance, health insurance,
adult education, and other integral resources, Health Leads
trains and mobilizes college students to urban clinics, where
they connect referred patients to community and government
resources. Students follow‐up with their clients regularly,
working with licensed social workers, nurses, physicians,
lawyers, and other clinical staff to ensure that patients access
these benefits and achieve and maintain health.
In 2009, Health Leads New York partnered with the Woodhull Medical Centers’ Pediatrics
Clinic in North Brooklyn to provide critical social services to residents of Bushwick,Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bedford Stuyvesant, and Fort Greene. In these neighborhoods,
between 32 and 46 % of individuals live in poverty, 61.7% self ‐identify as minorities, and 37%
are foreign‐born. Providing simple, preventative referrals to these families fills a vital gap in
patient care, but this system falls apart without patient and provider‐buy in; exploring and
adapting to the existing culture of care in a clinic is critical to a successful Help Desk’s
integration and sustainability. As a newly‐founded site still fighting to establish strong
connections with local providers and families, Health Leads at Woodhull calls for a culturally
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relevant screening and referrals program in order to empower families and enable physicians to
manage health as well as disease.
This summer, I will draw upon lessons from the well‐established and nationally‐recognized
Health Leads site at the Johns Hopkins’ Children’s Center Harriet Lane Clinic to design, refine,
and evaluate a screening and referrals program in the Pediatrics clinic. Incorporating the ideals of
the Family‐Centered Medical Home, this system will increase providers’ and families’awareness our scope of services and streamline the process of identifying parents interested in
working with our program. In addition to outlining a framework for ongoing revision of Help
Desk protocol at six sites nationwide, my research and product will inform Health Leads’
upcoming expansion initiatives to health centers serving low‐income families across the country.
With the support of staff at both Health Leads New York and the National office, I will
access research protocols, program materials, and professional contacts to effectively conduct
focus groups and interviews with parents and providers in the Pediatrics clinic. The resulting
pilot program and evaluation will provides a sustainable and scalable screening and referrals
system; all sites will be able to access and engage my findings via a full report of my progress,
delivered to the National office at the culmination of this project.
This summer, I have the opportunity to strengthen a program that impacts every family that
walks through the doors of the Woodhull Medical Center’s Pediatrics clinic. A culturally
conscious screening and referrals system will engage providers in the overall health of their
patients and empower families to access the services they need. Health Leads’ collaborative
model of community heath has implications not only on the well‐being of individual
communities, but on systemic change in health care in the United States.
Health Worker Training in Rural India
Karishma Bhatia & Nihaal Mehta
The current state of Indian healthcare is desperate. India
ranks among the lowest nations in the world in such
indicators as infant mortality and life expectancy. In addition,
allocation of resources has been widely skewed toward
urban areas, further negatively impacting the health of
rural Indians. Much of the problem can be attributed to
the widespread lack of health infrastructure, especially
deficiencies in skilled manpower. While a wide network
of rural health practitioners (termed PMPs for Private
Medical Practitioners) exists, the majority are poorly
trained and practice medicine haphazardly and
incorrectly. Through our project, we look to begin
transforming this existing network into a legitimate
health delivery system. We will do this by addressing the following problems among PMPs: lack
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of technical skill, lack of knowledge about proper medical practices, inability to be regulated,
and lack of access to facilities.
Our ten-week training program will bring PMPs to the
Somaiya Rural Hospital in northern Maharashtra, about
two hours from Mumbai. The hospital is run by the
Somaiya Group, with which we have partnered and will beworking. At the Rural Hospital, PMPs will work in the
capacity of a nurse or physician’s assistant by providing
primary care. In this way, the PMPs will be provided with
vocational training that will not require expensive or
lengthy classroom courses, currently the only option for
health workers looking to “upskill” themselves.
Critical to the program is the institutional linkage
between the Somaiya Rural Hospital and the Somaiya
Medical College in Mumbai, for our program requires the
resources of the latter. Once a week, for half a day, PMPs
will be taught by medical students from Somaiya Medical
College. These training sessions will emphasize medical
techniques (e.g. taking blood pressure, examining a patient,
etc.) and proper medical practice (e.g. administering
antibiotics sparingly and ensuring patient compliance,
washing hands before and after seeing a patient). This
training will be provided through one-on-one interactions
—including conversations, demonstrations, and observation—between medical students and
PMPs.
In addition, weekly health administration training will be conducted by us. We will teach
how to properly keep medical records and maintain organizational systems. Example topicsinclude when to dispose of expired medication and how to use a patient’s medical history to aid
diagnosis and treatment. Pending an initial feasibility assessment, we will also attempt to
integrate cell phone-based electronic medical records into the training.
Further, we will ensure that the PMP’s work is properly monitored. When practicing
independently, rural health practitioners cannot be regulated and are free to do what they like.
This is especially dangerous given the widespread lack of proper training.By providing
practitioners a facility in which to work, we can ensure that they are regulated while still training
them.
Bimonthly assessments will allow us to monitor the PMPs’ progress. In addition, at the end of
the ten-week course, the PMPs will complete a comprehensive practical examination. This will
both gauge whether true “upskilling” has occurred and will be a way for us to evaluate theeffectiveness of our program.
By the end of the training program, we expect the PMPs to be competent in basic patient
care. Our goal is not to provide exhaustive academic knowledge; years of medical school cannot
be compressed into a few months. Rather, through hands-on training and vocational exposure,
our program teaches the most important aspects of medical care. In this way, we will equip rural
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health practitioners to provide higher quality care. Ultimately, through scaling up of the program
in other rural areas, our goal is to contribute to better health outcomes throughout India.
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Hip Hop 4 Community & Culture
Pierre Arreola & Emily Goldman
This proposal is for a two-part project to implement and
further develop a culturally relevant creative arts intervention
program in an area of high need and to support the capacity
building of a local community organization. The primary
objectives of this project are youth development and community
building. We will be doing curricular development work in order to
construct a leadership and intercultural exchange-focused Hip Hop
curriculum for disadvantaged students. Art programming is often
cut in under-resourced communities due to lack of funding and
effective evaluative measures. Youth in these school districts are
often left without many creative outlets and do not have a lot of
options in terms of positive recreational opportunities. We plan on
implementing our project in the San Fernando Valley in the County
of Los Angeles and partnering with “The GR818ERS (pronounced
great-one-eighters),” a collective of college students and Hip Hop
artists based out of the San Fernando Valley.
Our project promotes social change through community
organizing around nonviolence, community collaboration across
cultural divides, and health intervention. The specific activities that would be supported by the
Starr Fellowship are building The GR818ERS capacity
through curricular and organizational development, thecoordination of community events with The GR818ERS, as
well as the implementation of a two-part creative arts
intervention. The intervention program will be divided into
two initiatives, Social Justice Learning and Health
Intervention through Hip Hop dance. Alongside the creative
arts intervention, we will help The GR818ERS further
develop their approach to better meet the needs of the San
Fernando Valley community by leading GR818 Labs,
creative focus groups that will happen on a weekly basis and will
be geared toward theme-based curricular development.
Our project is innovative as we are working to develop acurriculum that will serve to establish a social justice education
program with secondary health benefits using Hip Hop as the
platform for engagement. Through use of our curriculum
materials, our partners will be able to make a difference in their
communities by educating and collaborating with urban youth in
ways that foster personal well being, leadership and nonviolence.
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Emily Goldman2014
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Our end goal is to work with our partners in Los Angeles and Providence to establish Hip Hop
education programs in public schools with low performance. Through this fellowship and our
continuing collaboration with Hip Hop crews we are working to develop an organization that can
be called into situations of educational distress and urban conflict as a specialist in creative arts
intervention.
iflip4
David Ellmann
iflip4 wants every college and high school student tosupport a charity that they care deeply about. We believe the power of giving publicly will push others to give, and that
young people's passion will light a fire underneath their peers. We want every person to believe that they can join andexpand a movement of global giving that empowers not justthose with access to funds, but everyone who is in touch withtheir beliefs. We want the world's non-profits to feel the power of a young, energized demographic, most of whom will beentering the world of philanthropy for the first time. We want togive young people who are emboldened by their charity a voiceto be heard by thousands, we want to provide a boost for innovative organizations whose funds are waning, we wantyoung people to learn about the underlying problems that create
the need for their charity in the first place. We wantconversations to start about topics that go untouched on mostdays, we want questions to be asked of the efficacy of certain non-profits, we want to bring theworld of philanthropy to young people, and have them confidently enter it alongside their peers.We want to create the first brand that stands for all charities. We want to create iflip4, TheCharitable Brand, the cause for all causes.
We will accomplish this with three main components: a shirt, a website and young people's passion. On the site you will find your charity and flip4 it. This gets you an iflip4 t-shirt, and half the profits from your purchase will go to your charity. Then you will use that shirt and the site asyour catalyst to start a movement to get each one of your friends passionate about their owncause.
A t-shirt makes a statement. It is large and in your face, not small and discrete like awristband or a pair of shoes. We want the shirt to identify you as causal, as someone who isthinking about how to help those in need. We want it to start conversations that would otherwisenever be had about why your charity is essential, and why it matters that everyone has a causethey believe in. We want people to open their dressers and find a shirt that will let them look good while doing good.
The website will become the source for information on philanthropy for everyone who isinspired to learn; it will be a source of inspiration for those wondering if they should flip4 a
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charity at all; and it will be a motivator for those who have already flipped to get others to jointhem. We will profile hundreds of charities in different sectors whose missions we think willappeal to young people; provide articles on the world of philanthropy; and give advice onselecting what to flip4. We will also have buyers create an iflip4 profile.
Facebook is "the social network"; iflip4 will be "the causal network." Your iflip4 profile will
have simple facts about yourself such as what school you go to, where you're from, your friendswho you have connected with on iflip4, etc.; much like the most basic aspects of any online profile. What sets your iflip4 profile apart will be how personalized it is to reflect your passionfor your charity and your success at furthering iflip4's goal of getting everyone inspired to flip4.You will write about or speak about why you flip4 your charity, why its work is moremeaningful to you than any other's; you will be able to track your iflip4 charitable influence tosee how many friends have credited you as their inspiration for flipping for their cause; and youwill see how many people your friends have gotten to flip4 a charity.
Your influence will be graphically represented as a growing evolution chart, as well as a mapof the world to show you how far your reach has stretched. You will be able to connect withfriends from Facebook, with followers from Twitter, and with other people who flip4 the same
charity as you. You will be able to take part in discussion about different approaches to the same problem with peers who support charities that perform similar work to yours, and there will beopportunities to discuss where the problems your charity addresses have stemmed from. You will be able to share what you feel in a public way, and every time you do, you will be rewarded inour gamification model. Each person you influence, each video you upload, each post in adiscussion group will grow your iflip4 influence point total. You will receive different badgesonce you reach different levels, and the most influential people will be profiled on our homepage.
iflip4 will build a network of individuals who are motivated to get friends to flip4 a cause; of campus reps who will create a buzz and launch iflip4 on their campuses; of organizations likefraternities and sororities who will spread iflip4 through their network and compete with rivals tohave the most charitable influence; and of religious organizations, whose commitment to charityand desire to engage young people will aid us in spreading our mission and our brand.
iflip4 intends to create change in a very public manner. We believe that hiding your passionwill not help your charity or any others as much as wearing it, talking about it in person, anddisplaying it online. We want to start a viral movement of caring for a cause within ademographic that is hyper-connected and sufficiently energized to make it happen. We hope theshirt, the site, and the belief of the people who flip will raise millions of dollars for incrediblecauses and create a generation of people who know what matters most to them, who know theanswer to "What do you flip4?"
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iTeach
Isabel Khoo & Erica Leon
ITeach is an established club in Brown University. It teaches
English to a community in Cambodia called Self Help
Community Centre (SHCC). SHCC has 5000 members and
1400 of them go to 3 village schools. Since February
2011, members of the club delivered weekly lessons to
the teachers and students of these schools using,
Skype. By using this service, remote communities have
a regular and constant form of access to learning
English from native speakers. Based on the success of this service, the director of SHCC and its members
have asked ITeach to develop new learning materials
to specifically target work in the tourism and
hospitality industry and tertiary education.
Aims of this Project
(1) Develop industry specific learning materials
The main source of foreign exchange in Cambodia is
tourism, especially in Siem Reap, where SHCC is located.
Siem Reap is the home of Angkor Wat, a world heritage
site, where tourism is forecasted to boom exponentially in
this decade. Based on this perspective and the requests of
the SHCC community, this project aims to develop learning
material specifically for learners seeking work in the
tourism and hospitality industry.
All the universities in Cambodia use English as the medium of
instruction. All reference materials are also in English. In order
for high school students to successfully articulate into higher
education and have a good outcome, the director of SHCC will
work with ITeach to develop learning materials that would
prepare students for entry into tertiary education.
(2) Develop testing toolsITeach developed its own teaching and learning materials
especially for learners in rural communities, as existing
English learning materials available are contextually
unsuitable. This project aims to develop testing tools in order to
provide formal evidence of the effectiveness of the learning
materials and teaching service. Such tools will enable learners to have feedback about their
learning and chart performance and will assist ITeach in seeking sponsors and funding.
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Isabel Khoo
2013
Economics/Political Science
(401) 347-5130
Erica Leon
2014
Religious Studies/Sociology
(760) 554-6831
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Plan of Action
This application is submitted jointly by Isabel Khoo and Erica Leon. Isabel Khoo, the
founder and director of ITeach will coordinate and manage the project. She will do this in
America while Erica Leon, a teacher in ITeach, will travel to Cambodia to conduct local research
and collect data and create the learning materials and testing tools. It is necessary for Erica to
interact with SHCC members and engage in the tourism and hospitality industry in Siem Reap inorder to understand their needs and shape the content of the learning material to make it suitable
for rural Cambodians, where 90% of the population reside. ITeach is already an established
service teaching English to SHCC. This project will build on this service. The new learning
materials and testing tools will be delivered on the same Skype platform, using the existing
ITeach framework of delivery.
The Jewelry Project
Pilar Garcia-Brown
The Secoya are an indigenous community of about 460
nestled in the Sucumbios region of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
For the past half-century, multinational companies have been
uprooting the region for oil and, in the process, have created one
of the largest environmental disasters of the twentieth century.
The Secoya are currently at a crossroads in which they depend on
employment at oil companies and agriculturally destructive
practices for income, yet at the same time are trying to preserve
their lush, bio-diverse home. Many Secoya men currently work for oil companies to support their families despite the fact that
they are helping perpetuate an environmentally harmful cycle.
Options that enable the Secoya to maintain their traditional
lifestyle while also earn a living in the new monetary economy
are nonexistent. The Jewelry Project would allow for women to
engage in the old and important tradition of jewelry making while also earn an income. Last
year, we reached out to women in three different communities to collaborate in The Jewelry
Project by purchasing jewelry outright from them. We have successfully sold much of our
current inventory on Brown’s campus and in two stores, located in Boulder, CO and New York
City. Despite our initial success, we lack the organizational framework in Ecuador to move
forward. I plan to remedy this by helping form the basic structure of a women’s cooperative in
the small town of Sewaya, a community of the Secoya. For four weeks this summer we will be
holding group meetings, creating a system to collect and document inventory, and establishing a
way to streamline communications with Sewaya women so that we can more efficiently place
orders from the U.S. and pay women for their merchandise. I hope that these four weeks of on-
site work will successfully set the stage for a sustainable and, eventually, self-sufficient
cooperative.
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Anthropology
(310) 739-2511
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When we return to the U.S., we will continue our search for markets to sell Secoya jewelry as
well as further develop our marketing efforts. Currently, I have several leads at organizations and
craft stores located across the U.S.—from Los Angeles to Santa Fe to Boston. We will sell the
jewelry for, at minimum, double the price with all proceeds benefitting Esperanza International’s
education fund. This fund will provide university scholarships to Secoya youth. That way, not
only will the women benefit from our purchase of their jewelry, but students will, as well, by thesale of it.
In order for this project to continue past the summer, I plan to recruit two interns who will
travel with me to Ecuador and collaborate on this work. I will involve the
Esperanza @ Brown student group in the fall so that a larger body of people will be involved in
managing the supply and demand aspects of the project. Eventually, I hope to establish The
Jewelry Project as an important initiative for Esperanza International’s work in cultural
conservation, but more importantly, I hope for this project to become a dependable source of
economic independence and support for the women of the Secoya community.
Kivunwi Youth Project
Ian Trupin
In Tanzania, young men and women make up a majority of thecountry's potential workforce, but face unemployment levelsfive times higher than the rest of the population (Haji 2007).This statistic reflects numerous economic challenges facing
youth, including insufficient job preparation and insufficient jobcreation, but also systematic injustices. Youth are regularlydiscriminated against by employers on the basis of gender or age, or areheld back by lack of support for entrepreneurial ventures and aregulatory environment that is discouraging to small businesses (Juma2007; “Roadmap” 2002).These trends have dire consequences for many youth, who findthemselves in a vicious cycle of social alienation, in which they facesocial exclusion that further undermines their prospects for employment(Haji 2007). Asha Juma (2007) adds that unemployment andunderemployment also undermine the future of youth by its associationwith high risk activities, including petty crime, drug abuse and
prostitution.The Kivunwi Youth Project approaches these issues under the theorythat one way in which youth can advance themselves economically, personally, socially, and intechnical skills is by forming a cooperative society or similar association. Cooperatives can helpyouth to increase their income, improve their financial literacy, and gain access to loans (Hartley2011). Furthermore, youth who have participated in cooperatives elsewhere in Africa have alsogained leadership, time management, problem solving and teamwork skills, and increased self-esteem as a consequence of their experiences (Hartley 2011). Since cooperatives are by definition
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COE–Organizational Studies
+255763976312
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democratic, member-controlled institutions, they can help young people grow as citizens byconnecting them with a network of peers, and by providing a civic space in which their voices will beheard and respected (Hartley 2011; Chambo 2007). Finally, youth cooperatives have proven to beeffective organizations for addressing issues and challenges that are particularly relevant to youth,such as HIV awareness (Hartley 2011).The Kivunwi Youth Project will consist of five phases: 1) project introduction and establishment of avision of change; 2) needs and assets assessment and reflection on past and present challenges; 3)trainings and group action plan development; 4) organizational transformation and identification of further projects and resources; and 5) implementation of youth-managed programs. Monitoring andevaluation will be a constant process throughout, and each phase will be marked by certain benchmarks and criteria of success. These phases can be summarized as follows:
Phase I: Project Introduction and Establishment of Change Vision
A general meeting of the members of Kivunwi Youth Group shall be convened to introduce the project to all, and to conduct breakout sessions and interviews in which participants will envision theway they would like their group to be, and the goals they would like to achieve as individuals in thenear and more distant future. T exercise shall familiarize project participants with each other’s
aspirations, and to begin thinking creatively in terms of achieving short and long-term goals.
Phase II: Needs and Assets Assessment and Reflection on Past and Current Challenges
Popular education techniques and group exercises will be used to reflect on the history of the group,what has been done wrong, and what has been done right. Members will think critically, not onlyabout the problems that they see with the group, but about the root causes of those problems, and theobstacles they face as youth and as struggling entrepreneurs. Baseline surveys will more formallyassess group needs and assets. This data will inform the structure and content trainings that Professor Maleko and I conduct at a later stage.
Phase III: Trainings and Group Action Plan Development
According to the needs and knowledge gaps revealed in Phase II, Professor Maleko and I willconduct trainings to increase member’s knowledge of what cooperative organization entails. Thesetrainings will feed into the development of an action plan for group reorganization, and enablemembers to assess different organizational possibilities and to weigh their knowledge of cooperativestructure and principles against their own past experiences and present needs.
Phase IV: Organizational Transformation and Identification of Further Projects and
Resources
In this phase, members will act on the action plan they have created. If they do chose to be acooperative as before, the members must meet to reformulate their cooperative society’s bylaws, andreregister their group under the new cooperative law. This action process will serve both torehabilitate the group formally and to engage its members in taking an active role in the organization.
By being involved at this stage, members will gain a deeper understanding of the structure and purpose of their organization, and will feel a sense of ownership that may lead them to continue toseek to build the organization. This process does not end here, however. Beyond simply reorganizingthe group, the development of member-led projects can ensure that the group is serving the members’needs. At this stage, members can begin thinking about projects that can produce almost immediate benefits, such as capital investments in tools and facilities to improve their production. To supportsuch initiatives, Professor Maleko and I will play a peripheral role in helping members to identifyresources such as loans and grants, and teaching members how to access such resources.
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Phase V: Implementation of Youth-managed Programs
During the final phase of the project, the functionality and sustainability of the
organizational form will be put to the test be implementing the member-led initiatives
chosen by the group. Increasingly, Professor Maleko and I will be pulling back ourinvolvement, and engaging more in evaluation and monitoring than in facilitation of group
processes.
Let’s Be Well Red Carlota Pereda Serras & Rajvi Mehta
While Rajvi Mehta founded and conceptualized the
project ‘Let’s be well Red’’, she will mainly be involvedin the organization and co- ordination of work between
the various organizations mentioned below. She will be in
Mumbai, India for the 1st week to get everything started
following which she will return to Providence, RI, USA. She will
return to India in the last week to help start up the Rajdhan Food
Division of ‘Rajdhan Institute & Trading Private Limited’. Rajvi’s
parents are the Managing Directors of ‘Rajdhan Institute &
Trading Private Limited’ and this company will help in the
manufacture, marketing and supply of the nutritional bar
“GudOats” (details mentioned later). Carlota Pereda worked very
hard to come up with a recipe for the nutritional bar using the
above mentioned ingredients. The product is currently undergoing
taste tests in India. Carlota will be in India for 12 weeks working
on the project- she is the primary on field participant.
Other Alliances
The first step is to create the nutritional bar in large quantities for the project and the Seva Sadan
Society will be involved in the manufacture of the bar.
1. Seva Sadan Society: As a part of providing employment to the underprivileged women, this
institute funded by the government, runs a kitchen and supplies food. For the initial productionof the nutritional bars which will solely be used for the studying the efficacy of our product, Seva
Sadan Society kitchen will be utilized. The next step involves gathering a stable participant pool
and procuring the necessary laboratory set up for testing the hemoglobin levels of the
participants before and post intake of the nutritional bar.
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Carlota Pereda Serras
2015
Biochemistry
(401) 749-3989
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2. Nargis Dutt Chariable Trust: This charitable organization is
under Mrs. Priya Dutt (Member of the Indian Parliament) and
was established in the memory of her mother. Mrs. Priya Dutt
will be helping us gather the required stable participant pool
which will comprise of students and teachers from government
schools and colleges within her constituency (the schools andnumber of participants from each school have been mentioned
below in the project narrative).
3. Family Planning Association of India (FPAI): With 40
branches all over the country and 4 branches in Mumbai, Family
Planning Association of India (FPA of India) is one of the
largest nonprofit, non-political, non-sectarian organizations in
the country. Dr. Janaki Desai, President of the Mumbai branch,
has been supportive of ‘Let’s be Well ‘Red’’ right from its
inception. Not only will FPAI be helping us with gettingparticipants for the project, its laboratory set up will be utilized
for testing the blood samples of the participants. While the above
mentioned organizations will be supporting us with the
necessary man power and equipment, they will not provide us
with monetary funding. By providing the necessary funding, the
C.V. Starr Fellowship will help in making the project a success.
The final step of our project is to start up our own company for the manufacture, packaging,
marketing and distribution of the nutritional bar.
4. Rajdhan Institute & Trading Private Limited: Rajvi Mehta’s parents Dr. Hemant Mehta
and Dr. Pragna Mehta are the Managing Directors of this company with the Certificate of Incorporation registration number- U 80100 MH 2002 PTC138074. For the manufacture and
trading of the nutrition bar for our study, Rajvi Mehta will be initiating the Rajdhan Food
Division of the company. The product will initially be marketed through wholesale sellers in
Mumbai but we aim to make the product nationally available.
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Ravji Mehta
2013
Biochemistry
508-361-6419
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Market Shares
Erin Kelley & Taylor Lanzet
The goal of the Brown Market Shares Program (BMSP) is
to facilitate equitable food distribution by creating apartnership between the Brown University community and
local farmers to promote environmental sustainability,
community health, and strong local economies.
Though informed by the model provided by Community-
Supported Agriculture (CSA), Brown
Market Shares is a uniquely structured food distribution
organization adapted to the needs of a college campus and
operated entirely by undergraduates. Every week, BMSP
purchases produce from local farmers at slightly above
wholesale costs and provides it to shareholders for slightlybelow retail cost. Fueled by volunteers, this system works to
defray costs and ensure access for low-income staff and
graduate students who are eligible to participate in our
subsidized program.
BMSP aims to provide an alternative to the current industrial agro-food system, the practices of
which threaten the health of consumers, the environment, and farm workers alike.
Problems ranging from injudicious pesticide application to dangerous pathogens like
salmonella to soil depletion and excessive waste production plague our food industry on an
enormous scale. BMSP fills a vital role in addressing these issues in the Brown community by
providing access to fresh, sustainably-produced food from local farms. Our on-campus location
is vital for the many students who cannot or do not travel to seek out other sources of freshproduce in Rhode Island, as well as for staff of the university who may face similar cost or travel
barriers. Recently, BMSP has undergone explosive growth. From Fall 2009 to Fall 2010,
significant community enthusiasm for the program was evident as the number of purchased
shares increased 347%. Because our shareholders report that their shares serve as the main
source of groceries for 2 to 4 people, we estimate that our community this fall was composed of
more than 957 individuals. This size represents a significant opportunity to contribute to and
inform the dialogue surrounding local food in the Brown community. However, previous
program development has focused primarily on logistical infrastructure, while the more
ideological aspects of the organization have received little attention.
As BMSP expands to cater to more individuals, now is the ideal opportunity to improve those
ideological aspects by revisiting the CSA principles which are the foundation of the program. As
an organization, we’d like to recommit to contact between the farmer and the shareholder - an
aspect central to most CSAs. We propose to spend this summer bridging the connection between
shareholders, farmers, and coordinators by strengthening the educational component of BMSP.
Our work will be organized around three guiding questions:
• How can we more thoroughly engage with the ideology of our work and allow the
opportunity for shareholders to do the same?
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Erin Kelley
2015
Undecided
(210) 563-9019
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• What can we do to sustain our program’s growth?
• How can we better communicate our goals as an organization while actively soliciting
and utilizing input from all parties involved?
We will spend the summer finding solutions and answers to these questions, guided in that
process by three goals. First, we plan to foster identification between shareholders and farmers to
provide opportunity for ideological investment in the goals of the regional food movement.Second, we will facilitate shareholder engagement with the practical benefits and challenges of
seasonal eating, as well as spur discussion on the underlying reasons for such a commitment.
Lastly, we will improve communication systems to reach a larger audience and effectively
improve the relationships between farmers and coordinators, coordinators and shareholders, and
shareholders and farmers so we effectively promote
learning through communication.
By the end of the summer, we will have conducted
and documented farmer interviews. Compiling this
research will help to bridge the shareholder-farmer
connection. By interviewing our farmers, we can create
an institutionalized pledge that acknowledges why we
are supporting the farmers we do. Thus, we can better
define what’s important to BMSP. Information from
these interviews will be made into artistically designed
farmer profiles that will be distributed through the
newsletter, website, and email. We will also create signs for
market day with each farm’s name to add to the visibility and
transparency of our sourcing. Additionally, we will improve
our communication systems to better suit a growing
community. This means an updated and easy to navigate
website, BMSP institutionalized literature/informationalpamphlets, an increase in informational meetings before
shareholder signups, and improved surveys to better
understand shareholder needs. We will also research and
attempt to facilitate opportunities for shareholder
participation on farms through farm tours and workdays.
We approach this work with different focuses. However, we will be in close collaboration;
we are dependent on each other’s work in the sense that we will both contribute to the other.
Taylor’s work will aim to improve current communication systems and increase visual aesthetic
and overall accessibility of BMSP information. Some ways she will do this are by redesigning
the website and creating institutionalized literature. Further, one of her goals is to increase
transparency within the program and document this research in multiple mediums.
Erin’s work will begin to clarify and develop BMSP’s ideological engagement with the type
of produce purchased. She will research farms BMSP sources from, investigate opportunities for
shareholder engagement on farms, and create a narrative history of BMSP. Ultimately her
guiding goal will be to develop an organizational stance on sustainability. In addition, we will
coordinate Summer Market for its second year, which will offer a platform for feedback and a
forum for new ideas.
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Taylor Lanzet
2015
Environmental Studies
(973) 986-7776
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Zanzibar Utilization Project
Jayson Marwaha & Han Sheng Chia
MED International was incorporated in August 2011 byJayson Marwaha. Prior to its incorporation, Jayson worked ona one-time distribution of donated medical equipment withinthe U.S. worth $65,000. He also began research on the issuessurrounding the poor utilization of donated medical equipmentin the developing world. Since our incorporation, MEDInternational has aimed to expand its services of brokeringdonated medical equipment to places of greater need in thedeveloping world. Seeing as the majority of donated medical
technology currently in the developing world is put to waste dueto underutilization issues, we also aim to bring donated medicaltechnology utilization in recipient countries to as close to 100% as possible. Our Project Narrative outlines how a Starr Fellowship grant for summer of 2012 will help us achieve this goal.
MED International will broker its first international donationto Zanzibar, Tanzania in early 2012. This is a result of a partnership with the government of Zanzibar that Jaysonestablished after meeting with the Second Vice President andMinister of Health of Zanzibar. The donations will support the implementation of Zanzibar’s
extensive Essential Health Care Package, a government-run healthcare system overhaul.However, while donated technology may help alleviate high equipment costs and improvestandards of medical care, it is of no use if the technology is not utilized on the ground. The Starr Fellowship will help us gain a first hand understanding of the barriers to utilization in Zanzibar.Without actually travelling to Zanzibar, we would be highly uncomfortable continuing to broker donated equipment of substantial financial value.While in Zanzibar, we aim to conduct a 3-part project comprised of a qualitative study, aquantitative study and a solutions development phase. The qualitative study involves conductingfocus group discussions and key informant interviews with administrators and health professionals involved with the procurement and utilization process. This phase will give us aninitial understanding of the barriers to equipment utilization.
This will be followed by the quantitative phase, where we administer a survey thatnumerically documents the extent of underutilization and the reasons behind it. The results fromthis quantitative survey will form the baseline for future years to compare their rates of utilization. The final phase involves working with local and international partners to developsolutions to underutilization. These solutions can take place on two fronts: the first front will bean enhancement of our matching process (i.e., accurately matching a facility’s needs withtechnology that addresses those needs) to increase the relevance of our donations to the localZanzibar context. By better understanding the local epidemiology of health facilities and their
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Jayson Marwaha
2014
Human Biology – Health
Structure and Policy
(703) 579-7094
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specific needs, we would be more able to procure equipment that is suited for them, in turnincreasing their technology utilization rates. The secondfront involves working with partners on the ground tomeet barriers to utilization. For example, shouldhospitals require medical technicians to be trained in
maintenance, we will work with training facilities todevelop this relationship. In the lead up to summer 2012,we will preemptively seek out and develop relationship partners that can fulfill these roles. This will acceleratethe process on the ground.
MED International’s commitment to Zanzibar’smedical equipment utilization extends far beyondsummer 2012. In the fall of 2012, we will be refining our matching and procurement processes based on our enhanced understanding of local needs. We will alsomove to offer a wider suite of services that increase
the chances of utilization. This may include greater ties between technicians in Zanzibar and thoseworking for US manufacturers. It may also includesourcing for spare parts and reagents that arenecessary for the continued operation of theequipment. More importantly, MED Internationalwill maintain close ties with identified partners fromZanzibar who can coordinate our utilizationstrategies. It is crucial that we have a local network that can sustain the endeavor after our departure.
Han Sheng Chia
2014
Political Science/Development
Studies
(401) 580-4501
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