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SII

 

SAFAR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP FELLOWSHIP

 

The Safar Social Entrepreneurship Internship provides a $3,000 award to one student who chooses to spend the summer working as an intern with a humanitarian organization or project grounded in the entrepreneurial principles of innovation, impact and sustainability. Applicants will be asked to substantiate their project design and proposals with research and personal experience, as well as validation and support from context experts and community collaborators.

 

Internship Requirements:

  • Brown undergraduates students who are returning to Brown in September '09 (May '09 graduates are inelibible)
  • Students may not receive compensation for this internship from the organization or from any other Brown university source.
  • Internship must be full-time work (40-hours per week) for a minimum of 8 weeks during the 2009 summer.
  • Awardee will submit a reflective essay (1,000 - 1,500 words) about their internship that describes what they did during the internship; what skills or knowledge they developed; and how the experience informs their academic or career interests.

 

Application Process:

  • Applications must be received by Thursday, April 2 at 5:00p.m. Application form should be sent by email to: Alan_Harlam@Brown.edu (Download form)
  • Letter of support from the organization sponsoring / hosting the internship should also be sent by email to Alan Harlam or by fax 866-274-8075. Letter must state that internship is unpaid; confirm the start/end dates and expected time commitment; provide an overview of the duties you will be asked to perform.

 

SAFAR FELLOWS

Helen Lamphere ’08 spent her summer conducting research for the New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH). Although Helen initially felt unqualified for the work at hand, in the end she completed two reports, one of which concerned the nutritional quality of food in NYC food pantries. Her director proudly circulated this report to politicians and government food providers, remarking, “It’s not every day that a college student can change the way 1.2 million people eat.” (Helen's Essay)

Inspired by her freshman Community Health class, Anna Ninan ’09 undertook a summer internship with CARE, an international nonprofit dedicated to alleviating poverty. Anna worked at a small healthcare clinic in Ecuador, where she assisted with medical exams and helped spread HIV/AIDS awareness. Having returned, Anna recalls, “This has been yet another piece from my puzzle of figuring out just how I can give back to a world that has given me so much.” (Anna's Essay)

Serena Yu ’05 applied for an internship for the New Life Home Trust, a Christian orphanage that works with over 1,400 children through shelters, feeding outlets, schools, and educational sponsorships. Serena traveled to a small orphanage in Kenya where she helped to improve the lives of several HIV infected orphans by acting as a care giver, HIV counselor, and researcher. Throughout Serena’s trip, she was challenged both physically and emotionally, but ultimately learnt that “true job satisfaction comes from making a positive, genuine, and visible difference to someone else’s life” (Serena's Essay)

As a pre-medical student with aspirations of working with underserved communities, Victor Francis Sta. Ana ’03 earned a summer internship with the Council for Health and Development at a clinic in the Phillipines. Victor performed field research, gathered data during health missions, and interviewed patients in order to gain their opinions of the Phillipine health situation. As a result, Victor earned invaluable insight on how the disenfranchised view the socio-economics and politics that impact both the healthcare system and their very own lives.

Diana Denham ’04, a Development Studies and Latin American Studies concentrator, traveled to Guatemala where she worked for Casa Xelaju, a socially responsible educational institute that facilitates projects relating to health care, education, women’s cooperatives, and human rights. Diana taught public health courses at several schools and also researched the connections between environmental and personal health. Diana’s internship helped her realize that “working with people whose voices often go unheard or are ignored” is undoubtedly the direction she wishes to push her future career.

 

ABOUT ANUJA KHEMKA '02

Ms. Khemka graduated in May 2002 with a B.A. in Business Economics. Since graduating, she has worked with Goldman Sachs in their Private Equity Group and in US Institutional Sales covering Large Corporate clients in the US, Canada, and Latin America. Since 2006 she has worked within the Goldman Sachs Foundation covering the Entrepreneurship Education and Leadership Portfolio and in 2008 joined the 10,000 Women team. As a social entrepreneur, she has been the US Fundraising Chair for Door Step School where she led efforts to launch two mobile Schools-on-Wheels. She is also an active supporter of two NGO's in India, Prerana and Prayas.

The Safar Social Entrepreneurship Internship was founded and is generously funded by Ms. Khemka based on an independent study she did with Professor Hazeltine during her time at Brown. Her vision for the Safar was to support student journeys (Safar means 'journey' in Hindi) as they pursue their callings.