July 19, 2011
This Spring, IFP Executive Director Joan Dassin paid a visit to our partner organizations in Mozambique, South Africa and Kenya, where IFP fellows, alumni and staff greeted her with a warm welcome.
As IFP winds down after a decade of fellowships, the trip provided Joan and her African colleagues with an opportunity to reflect on the program’s achievements, and to consider how government agencies and local institutions throughout the continent might adopt IFP practices for use in other fellowship programs.
Joan’s visit was also a cause for celebration; IFP directors in each region were honored for their dedication to the program and its mission, while alumni shared their post-fellowship success stories and social justice work. New fellows who have yet to depart for their academic adventures abroad got an exciting glimpse of what lies ahead.
At a formal dinner with over forty fellows and alumni in Mozambique, Joan received updates on local alumni initiatives. "They are making notable progress in consolidating their Association," she remarked. "As individuals, they are already deeply engaged in an array of issues of great concern in Mozambican society, such as education, women and children’s rights, and HIV/AIDS. It was extremely gratifying to see the range of interests and level of expertise the IFP alumni are bringing to these critical issues."
As IFP alumni associations worldwide build their capacity, the goal is for
members to fundraise, design and implement social justice projects together, as a collective of individuals who share the IFP experience and a commitment to improving the lives of men, women, and children in their communities.
In South Africa, where Joan's week was packed with visits to a number of cities, she found alumni from the Association’s Eastern Region in Durban already working on several critical issues - including the Bulungula Project, an Eastern Cape alumni initiative that received support from IFP during its early stages.
"It’s an extremely innovative, integrated development project that includes a pre-school, an ecotourism lodge and various income-generation projects for the local community," explains Joan. "It was immensely gratifying to see how the seed funds provided by IFP have blossomed into a multi-faceted, relatively large-scale operation that benefits so many people and truly involves community participation." Ms. Rajane Woodroffe, who completed a Master's in Economics at the University of Sussex, U.K. with an IFP Fellowship, is the driving force behind the Bulungula Project, along with her husband and other family members.
Alumni weren’t the only ones to receive special recognition for their work. In Kenya, Fellows-Elect honored Joan and the East African IFP Directors at a regional Pre-Departure meeting in Nairobi, as they prepared for their journeys to an advanced degree. The atmosphere was jubilant.
"The IFP Fellows will play very critical roles in the East African Community," said Professor Chacha Nyaigotti-Chacha, former Executive Secretary of the Inter-University Council for East Africa, and a longtime supporter of IFP. "I remember the various meetings we shared with Joan as she was setting up the program. As I sat in the same room with her again, I realized that her passion is still as great, her commitment to the IFP ideals as strong...
... Our faith was rekindled by the many success stories that the Alumni were presenting before our very eyes."
Click here to view the full IFP East Africa Pre-Departure Meeting Photo Album on Flickr. We also invite you to watch the videos below.
Photos Above:
Celebrating a decade of fellowships in East Africa;
Honoring IFP partner organizations and program supporters;
IFP Fellows and guests perform traditional African dance at the Pre-Departure meeting;
IFP South Africa, featuring distinguished guests (left to right): IFP South Africa Director Louise Africa; Raj Govender, Alumnus & Chair of Alumni Association; Professor Fikile Mazibuko, Chancellor, University of Zululand; Ina Cronje, Executive Council Member, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government.
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While in Kenya, Joan was interviewed for several television programs. Click on the play buttons to watch!