My name is Miriam Correia and I am a Master of Public Administration student. I have been awarded the Peace Fellowship with The Advocacy Project (AP) for the summer of 2021.
The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their stories, strengthen their organizations, take action, and mobilize new support. They invest in people and communities that respond to threats with courage and innovation.
As a Peace Fellow, I will be offering my knowledge and experience to help with producing two catalogues for their Sister Artists project and their Quilt program. I am very excited to be using what I have learned in the MPA program so far in a program that advocates for others internationally!
Some of these startups include:
Mama Masks in Gulu, Uganda
Working with a donation of $1,100 from AP, Mama Cave (photo) 36 – a single mother and tailor with limited mobility – has trained four other women to produce Mama Masks. They have since made 1,100 masks. This is managed by the Gulu Disabled Persons Union.
Soap in Mali
AP has made two transfers totaling $600 to Aissata Toure, a professional soap-maker and leading member of the Moussou Kalanso women’s group in Bamako. Aissata is well known to AP, having worked as a trainer between 2014 and 2018 on the program for GBV survivors funded by the German government. Working with several young women displaced from the north – and observing the government’s guidelines on masks and social distancing – Aissata has made 2,496 bars of soap. This is managed by Aissata Toure.
Face Masks in Nepal
On April 11, AP transferred $250 to Sarita Thapa, leader of the Bardiya cooperative of family members of the disappeared. Since April, Sarita has made 200 masks for a local clinic. Masks are now so easily available that the cooperative has decided to focus on making Tiger bags. This is managed by the Network of Families of the Disappeared Nepal (NEFAD).
Financial & Nutritional Support in Kenya
In April, AP transferred $700 to three local Kenyan women leaders in Nairobi, Caren, Stella and Christine, who had led the successful Woman’s World Quilt project at the ICPD25 conference in November 2019. Stella is a senior manager at the Tandaza Trust in the informal settlement of Kibera. The Trust used its donations, including that from AP, to reach 224 needy families, supply 9 families with food for a month, and provide sewing kits for nine women who had participated in the Women’s World Quilt project. Karen’s group used their funding to make and sell cushions in the Kangemi settlement. As restrictions begin to loosen in Nairobi, the women have asked AP to support a new quilt project. This is managed by the Tandaza Trust.
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“The Master of Public Administration program prepares students to be servant leaders who can solve community problems and improve the effectiveness of programs in both the public and nonprofit sectors globally. Ms. Correia is an excellent student who will be able to utilize the skills gained from courses such as Grant Writing, Performance Measurement & Management, and Organizational Behavior to serve in this new fellowship role.” says Dr. Patricia Birungi, Director for the MPA program.
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