The Schull Yang International Experience Award, supported by Joseph Schull (BA ‘82, MA ’85) and Anna Yang (BCL, LLB ’88), helps undergraduate and graduate students gain first hand international experience related to their fields of study. The award provides full or partial funding to assist students with tuition, travel, and other expenses related to their international experience. The Schull Yang International Experience Award is part of the McGill International Experience Awards. For more information, click here.
The Internship Offices Network is pleased to announce the selected McGill student for the 2018 summer internship at CAMFED, and recipient of the Schull Yang International Experience Award.
Asha Bittenbender, BA English and Political Science
Asha Bittenbender is a second year student pursuing a joint honors degree in political science and theatre. Her degree programs have included work on social dialogue with indigenous peoples of Canada as an element of transitional justice. This summer she will intern with CAMFED - the Campaign for Female Education - working to eradicate poverty in Africa with the support of female education and empowerment. As a development intern Asha will develop and manage international sources of funding, including the online lending platform Kiva. She hopes this internship will familiarize her with the role of the non-profit sector in reparative development, and prepare her for her future in international human rights law.
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I am a third year student pursuing a joint honours degree in political science and English (drama and theatre). Over the course of my academic work I have developed a specialization in transitional justice and anti-colonial studies. My experiences growing up in the developing world have motivated me to pursue a career in international justice in post-conflict situations. I continue to explore these themes as they apply to Indigenous populations in North America via my involvement with political theatre at McGill, and media clubs and services at the university, such as TV McGill.
With the internship at the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), I sought to learn about the role of development NGOs in the Global South, particularly in a post-colonial context. The CAMFED model provided an ideal opportunity to intimately observe how NGOs can contribute to the growth and stability of developing communities and countries. While immersed in a professional environment, I learned about the supporting role filled by partners in the developed world.
CAMFED supports girls in five Sub-Saharan African countries through secondary school by means of direct scholarships, local partners, and the support of previous CAMFED scholars. This year they celebrate their 25th anniversary, and count 286,918 girls directly supported with secondary school scholarships. Their model focuses on a sustainable, community-led approach that puts girls’ education within a community’s reach. Their post-graduate alumni network connects young women and entrepreneurs across the continent, and makes available to them crowdfunded lending opportunities via the online funding platform Kiva.
As a development intern at CAMFED, I supported the development of new sources of funding for projects in Africa. I created bi-weekly summaries of new donor opportunities, and prepared reports on opportunities we had decided to pursue. My research incorporated reporting on current international policy on girls’ education, and literature on the political, social, and economic impact of investing in the same. Throughout my internship I reconstructed and streamlined the pre-existing CAMFED USA donor database to better contain this information in the future. As the Kiva intern, I prepared the profiles of CAMFED alumni seeking loans for publication on the crowdfunding website. The process included photo and copy editing over the course of collaboration with the Africa national offices.
My time at CAMFED USA was highly rewarding and very educational. I was able to observe the day to day process of running a multinational NGO, as well as the unparalleled impact the work made on the ground. My research activities contextualized CAMFED’s work in the issue area of girls’ education, and far beyond. Due to the role of girls’ inequality at the root of collective disenfranchisement, investing in girls’ education provides a solution to political instability, social inequality, poverty, and even climate change. As I participated in strategy meetings and grant preparations, I enjoyed learning about the importance of diverse approaches to development, and their interconnected effect.
As an English and political science major I enjoyed applying my research, analysis, and writing skills in the process of constructing reports, often on policy and international law. The autonomy my position required allowed me to utilize my problem-solving skills I have honed in leadership and crisis-management positions at McGill. Most critically, however, I had to rely for the first time on academic communication skills in an international professional environment. It was a pleasant challenge to collaborate with national offices in Africa and supervisors in the UK. When constructing the donor database or revising the intern handbook for future use, I took pleasure in adapting my work style to best serve the organizational culture. I was able to permanently contribute to the organization in a manner that will prove useful.
My CAMFED internship has greatly influenced my perspective on non-governmental development, and the crucial role it plays. Development beyond state and international aid provides longevity to projects where it is crucial, and in multi-stakeholder partnerships that make the development permanent. I will now approach my career aspiring to work in international policy with sensitivity to the importance of non-governmental development, and a confident understanding of how the field functions.
The Schull Yang International Experience Award contributed to my cost of living in San Francisco, without which I would not have been able to accept an internship at CAMFED USA-Kiva. I am sincerely grateful to you, Mr. Joseph Schull and Ms. Anna Yang, for your generous provision of this opportunity. It has shaped my path forward and enriched my experience at McGill. My most sincere thanks to you both.
