These Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New, Big Lights Will Inspire You, Let's Hear it for New York...

After long processes of program research, applications, decision-waiting, and deciding, I am set on the next two years of my life: Headed to Columbia University in New York City! I thought I'd take some time to explain the program, my decision, and my future plans/goals...

The Program: Master of Public Administration in Development Practice
The School: Columbia University - School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) (*)

The program is the first of a new network of programs aimed at creating holistic development practitioners. What does this mean? Most people involved in international development are experts in a particular field; however, any development project requires an understanding of many different fields. See the below excerpt from the program's website:

"The field of sustainable development is growing rapidly and facing challenges of increasing complexity,” said Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University.“ Today's practitioners must confront the enormous and interconnected crises of climate change, extreme poverty, epidemic disease, hunger, rapid population growth, and environmental degradation. The new MPA Program in Development Practice will train professionals with the multi-disciplinary knowledge, including the natural sciences, tools and management skills they will need for success.”

Consider, for example, the many areas of core knowledge necessary to effectively address the challenge of combating chronic hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa: Agricultural science is required to understand the biophysical factors contributing to the stagnation of crop yields and the technical solutions that could quickly boost food output and provide a source of quality nutrition in rural areas. Environmental science is required to manage the agricultural land environment and to understand its interactions with climate change. Health science and disease control are required to promote nutrition and labor productivity among farmers and to fight the parasites that contribute to undernourishment. Engineering is required to understand the fundamental infrastructural requirements to support energy, irrigation, storage, transportation, and communications systems. Economics is required to ensure that both farm- and macro-scale policy solutions are economically sustainable and supportive of long-term solutions to the poverty trap. Political science is required to understand the social promoters and inhibitors of investing in rural areas. Anthropology is required to ensure that priorities and innovations are relevant and manageable in local contexts. Management and administration are necessary to promote institutional development at the local and national level, and participatory planning skills are necessary to ensure multi-stakeholder design of solutions. None of these individual areas of knowledge is sufficient on its own to solve Africa’s hunger challenge. All are necessary, and more.

Therefore, again using the website's language: "The MPA degree in Development Practice (MPA-DP) trains aspiring practitioners to understand, develop and implement integrated approaches to sustainable development."

The Faculty:
The MPA-DP program includes top faculty members from various disciplines. The star of this program (and Columbia's Earth Institute) is Jeffrey Sachs, economist, author of many books such as "Common Wealth" and "The End of Poverty," Director of the UN Millennium Project... this Masters in Development Practice program and network (see below) is basically his brainchild. Here is a nice overview of the MPA-DP faculty

In a more general sense, SIPA boasts excellent faculty, both in academia and policy practice. For instance:
-Joseph Stiglitz, economist, author of Globalization and Its Discontents (W.W. Norton June 2001), winner of the Nobel Prize in economics for his analyses of markets with asymmetric information, a lead author of the 1995 Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize;
-Jagdish Bhagwati, renowned economist
-Gary Sick, served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan
-David Dinkins, former Mayor of New York City
-Stephen Sestanovich, former ambassador-at-large and special advisor to the Secretary of State on the New Independent States (NIS) - In this role, he was responsible for the overall coordination of U.S. policy toward the states of the former Soviet Union

Those are just a few that jumped out at me...

So, between location (NYC - global financial center, home to the United Nations, the city that never sleeps), faculty (lots of exciting professors, research opportunities, and lecturers), potential to attract top speakers (lots of Big Names who pass through NYC schedule an engagement at SIPA or one of its affiliates, including heads-of-state, former ambassadors, visiting professors, etc.), and the program (it is exciting to be part of a new [2-years-old] program focused on creating well-rounded development practitioners), Columbia turned out to be the right choice for me. And the name brand ain't too shabby... So I will be spending the next 2 years chasing this master's degree in New York City, with a field internship next summer in a developing country, and then hopefully I will further pursue work on-the-ground in a developing country. Exciting stuff! To all of my New Yorker friends, I look forward to seeing you in late August. And to my friends in the cities where I turned down excellent programs (Chicago, DC, and Atlanta), no hard feelings! SIPA is just the right fit for me. And I will come visit at some point to make up for it... (In less than a month for DC folks!)



(*) = in the Malagasy language, "Sipa" means boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other. I think this is fitting, because as a grad student I may not have much time for a real "sipa!"

Money-Makin', Money- Money- Makin'

Today I was alerted to a Madagascar PCV's project being posted on the Peace Corps Partnership site, searching for money for a reforestation project. While I have worked on a wide-variety of projects, most of them have been small-scale and not requiring outside funding. I never worked with a group motivated enough to prepare a large-scale project, but I would love to have been involved with a project crossing the environment and income-generation interventions. It is a reforestation project that aims to both repopulate the barren hills with trees and use the products from these trees to manufacture essential oil for local sale. So while you have not been able to donate to one of my projects, if all of this Madagascar-focused blogging has made you want to donate, now is your chance: check out this project if you're looking to make a small donation directly to a community development project!

Reforestation and Income Generation in Southeastern Madagascar - Here's a glimpse of the project description:
"This regional project allows interested communities in southeastern Madagascar to develop an alternative source of income through reforestation of degraded pasturelands with ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora), a species of tree whose leaves can be used to produce an essential oil."
and
"The project ... will be implemented in five stages: (1) training of community members to build and maintain tree nurseries; (2) construction of tree nurseries; (3) maintenance of tree nurseries while saplings mature (3-4 months); (4) transplantation of saplings to reforestation zones; and (5) training of community members to harvest leaves, collect seed, and/or manufacture an essential oil."

Pretty cool

Upon further investigation of my fellow volunteers' projects currently looking for funding, I also saw this school rehabilitation project:

School Roofs and Floors in southern Madagascar - here's the money quote from the project description: "Due to the far distances many villages have their own school houses. Unfortunately 31 of these schools don't have the means to purchase all the proper materials for the schools so during the rainy season both children and adults are unable to go to classes. The funds received from this project proposal will go to purchasing the tin roofing material, sacks of cement and nails needed to finish 9 school houses. Each village will be donating wood to help renovate the walls and roof support of their school house, the tools and materials needed to prepare and finish the constructions site, as well as donate their time and services/labor."

You can check-in here from time to time and search for Madagascar projects (or other countries) or search by keyword, project type or volunteer's home state. And as the Peace Corps website states: "Your donation is tax deductible and 100 percent of your contribution goes toward a community project." So you've got that going for you, which is nice... Happy hunting!

Into the Woods

I recently returned from a two week sojourn to my old village, Antanandava, where I worked for two weeks in the Zahamena National Park. I worked with another PCV and the park service on improving trails and campsites in the park. We spent most of our time during these two weeks chopping through trees that had fallen across the path, cutting brush obstructing the trail, and building structures to improve the tourist’s experience (these structures included a bench and a bridge project, all of which were made from only trees, vines and rocks found in the forest). I took some photos of the experience:

Tom, my fellow PCV, and me posing on a hilltop during our hike to the forest (with my old village in the background) ... note the sweet facial hair, crucial for any extended forest trip!

Chopping one of the many fallen trees blocking the trail

Tom and I on a bench we built from logs and vines (no nails!) and showing off our daily lunch, clif bars and gatorade mixes.

And atop the bridge we built across dangerous rapids and rocks at our campsite (again, just rocks, trees and vines)

Into the woods to sell the cow--
Into the woods to get the money--
Into the woods to lift the spell-
To make the potion--
To go to the Festival--
Into the woods to Grandmother's house...

We Gotta Get Out of This Place!

In honor of the Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary, the agency has been publishing all sorts of goodies from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and the 00s. While looking through some of their promotional posters and PSAs, I came across what has to be the best advertising campaign in the history of the Peace Corps... (You can't say we take ourselves too seriously!)


You can see some more at the links below, though they are mostly your warm/fuzzy types that fit the stereotype of Peace Corps (Change the world, save the world, hug a tree(1), have that 'once in a lifetime' experience, etc.). Also, I should remind people that, contrary to popular belief, my departure (Feb 2008) seemed to coincide with making America worse, what with the economic disaster, so expect the markets to rally in June upon my return! (Did I just credit myself with the failure of the American capitalist system? and its future phoenix-like rise? ... )


A Graphic Artist's favorite PC Posters

Collection of Peace Corps Posters


(1) Trees don't always hug back. I speak from experience...