Ambika Goel

India

Ph.D. candidate, Mechanical Engineering (Biomechanics)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Thesis: "Low Cost Drug Delivery System for Osteoarthritis". I am working on developing a low cost nanoparticle-based drug delivery system for treating osteoarthritis. My research interests lie in understanding drug transport within cartilage to help develop a delivery mechanism to administer drugs with minimal cost and complexity.

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and Children
Born into a family of doctors, I grew up watching my parents provide medical care to some of India’s poorest populations. Their example made me passionate about education and serving the poor. Working with women and children in poor areas, I raised awareness of health issues and helped improve health care. I also worked with a hospital to distribute free medical supplies in underserved area. While these endeavors were extremely gratifying, I realized that they did not lend themselves to scaling up. I decided to maximize the impact of my efforts by delving deep into science and engineering to develop sustainable low cost treatments for diseases that most afflict underprivileged populations.

Personal details
I earned my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Delhi in 2006. I moved to the United States to continue higher studies and completed a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT in 2007. I spent the next three years working in the medical device industry for a large contract manufacturer as well as an oral healthcare startup to gain relevant field experience before returning to MIT for my PhD.

Career Plans
My current research focus will enable me to achieve my goal of starting my own company in India to provide low cost healthcare. India and many other developing countries are medically underserved. For such a company to be sustainable, it will have to provide a low cost product yet remain profitable. I firmly believe that it is possible to bring affordable, yet effective, medical products to the masses through constant innovation, cost conscious engineering, and creative health insurance models.

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Batool Fatima

Pakistan

Ph.D. candidate, Public Health (International Health)

Boston University, School of Public Health, Boston, MA

Thesis: "Gender Differences in the Demographics, Accessibility and Utilization of Mental Health Services for Depression in Karachi, Pakistan". The findings of my dissertation will help demonstrate the huge gap in the availability of and the barriers to access to mental health services for women. The thesis will also show that inadequate mental health services are detrimental for women's physical health as well as their children's. This inadequacy pushes them towards further disability, and their lack of empowerment increases their vulnerability to exploitation.

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
My commitment to empower women started while providing psychotherapy services to women. I realized that very few women could get treatment due to lack of mobility, financial independence and empowerment. I started raising awareness in communities; worked on postpartum depression research; and, to increase access for women, wrote proposals to integrate mental health with primary health. I also wrote a proposal to train nurses in basic mental health care. In addition, I helped include stress management in antenatal health care.

Personal details
I am a clinical psychologist with experience in research, training, strategic planning, management for development, human resource development in mental health, HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. I have a master’s in clinical psychology with a post magisterial diploma and clinical work for an M. Phil./Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Karachi University, Pakistan. I am also an alumna of the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education and an active fellow of the International Institute of Education’s Leadership Development for Mobilizing Reproductive Health.

Career plans
I will use these findings for further research; to advocate for program changes in the health system to improve access to mental health care for women; and to help incorporate women’s mental health coverage into health insurance.

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Consodyne Mukama Buzabo (BFSFCU-Grantee)

Uganda

Master's candidate, Transformative Arts (Arts and Eco-Therapy)

John F. Kennedy University, Oakland, California

Thesis: "Suggested Treatment Model for Healing and Reconciliation of Former Child Soldiers and Their Families in Northern Uganda, Using the Arts and Eco-Therapy". The purpose of the thesis is to identify a socio-emotional treatment model (using music, art drama, story-telling and writing) to help former child soldiers and their families deal with the traumatic and psychologically disabling effects of the war.

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and Children
I am an activist and member of "Invisible Children," a non-profit organization that uses film, creativity and social action to end the war and restore peace and prosperity in northern Uganda. I am also a facilitator for "Traveling Postcards," an NGO that empowers women and girls to become catalysts for change in their lives and in their communities, as well as to connect, inspire, and bring awareness of humanitarian inequities that still face women and girls today. I am a board member and mentor for the M-Lisada Orphanage in Uganda. I also volunteered as a facilitator at "In Movement," a nonprofit organization in Uganda that promotes expressive arts as a tool for empowering disadvantaged youth, unlocking vast potential for personal growth and transformation.

Personal Details
As the daughter of a freedom fighter and a founder of a national orphanage, I am following in the footsteps of my parents. They taught me that my life is not my own, but a gift to be lived in service of others. They educated me in the best schools in Uganda for both my primary and secondary education, and I completed my bachelor's degree in industrial and fine arts at Makerere University, in Uganda. This is my way of continuing my parents' legacy. 

Career Plans on Program Completion
I am currently discussing with "In Movement" the gaps in their program, as I hope to continue working with them on my return. They plan to open a center in northern Uganda, and I hope to be a part of that. I also hope to be able to teach other facilitators in the organization. I plan to use the findings in my thesis to come up with tools that can be incorporated in Compassion International's programs as well as in programs of other organizations that deal with disadvantaged and vulnerable women and children.

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Elizabeth Beatrice Namazzi

Uganda

Ph.D. candidate, Curriculum Studies

The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Thesis: "The Influence of Cultural Practices on High School Students' Perceptions of the Spread and Prevention of HIV/AIDS and Its Implications for High School Curriculum and Instruction in Uganda". The thesis is an interpretive case study employing phenomenographical, ethnographical, and quantitative data collection methods to assess and analyze the influence and implications of cultural practices on the curriculum and on students' perceptions of the spread and prevention of HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and Children
My teaching experience in northern Uganda during the period of prolonged waves of political insurgency, barbarity, and terror, which subjected women and children to extreme and inhumane forms of abuse as well as their confinement in Internally Displaced Peoples' Camps (IDPs), forms the basis of my passion to help children, young girls, and women. The Convent, where I lived, sheltered and cared for women and children during the years of insurgency. I helped women and offered support to children in child-headed households, a consequence of insurgency and HIV/AIDS.

Personal Details
I am a member of the religious family of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church, Lira,Uganda. I earned my BA in Education and MA in Educational Management from Makerere University, Kampala. My childhood experiences living among different ethnic communities provided me with special opportunities to interact with different people from diverse cultures.

Career Plans on Program Completion
On completing my Ph.D. in 2013, I will return to Uganda Martyrs University to resume my university responsibilities, including teaching, research and service to the community. I will also continue to work with children in child-headed households and to promote girls education. The outcome of my thesis will, I hope, inform ongoing curriculum reform in Uganda.

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Eman AbdElrahman Ahmad Abu Sabbah
(Leila Zlaoui Memorial-Grantee)

Jordan

Ph.D. candidate, Nursing Science (Women's Health)

University at Buffalo, State University of NY, Buffalo, New York

Thesis: "The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Reducing Suffering among Abused Jordanian Women". To date, there are no studies investigating appropriate interventions for victims of abuse in this region to help them to improve the quality of their lives. The study will examine the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on levels of depression, levels of stress, and types of coping strategies among abused Jordanian women, who have moderate to severe depression. Increasing women's awareness of the consequences of continuing abuse will enhance their ability to make decisions and resist abuse.

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and Children
I have participated in reproductive primary health projects and volunteered in health education for women & girls in underserved areas in Jordan. The aim was to educate them about breast self-examination and its importance for the early detection of cancer, and to increase awareness of family planning methods. Moreover, my decision to focus my dissertation and my whole program of research on abused Jordanian women who suffer depression is a mark of my commitment to serving the needs of women in my country.

Personal Details
I have a B.Sc. in General Nursing and an M.Sc. in Clinical Nursing from the University of Jordan. Over the last nine years, I gained clinical experience from working as an RN in the maternal and pediatric oncology department, and as a lecturer for undergraduate nursing students at the University of Jordan. My experience in caring for women prompted my interest in teaching maternal health courses, and also influenced my decision to obtain a Ph.D. in this area.

Career Plans on Program Completion
After completing my Ph.D., I intend to pursue an academic position in the University of Jordan where I will devote myself to teaching as well as continuing my research to improve the status of women. I would like to volunteer at centers that provide care for abused women, as well as for mass media and legal awareness campaigns. I plan to collaborate with NGOs to help lobby politicians at the national level to institute policies that empower women.

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Fafanyo Asiseh (Sukriye Karaosmanoglu-Grantee)

Ghana

Ph.D. candidate, Development Economics (Health Economics)

Washington State University, Pullman, Washington

Thesis: "Influence of Culture in the Spread of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Sub Saharan Africa" - The study will consider how sexual culture affects the transmission, treatment, and prevention of treatable and untreatable sexually transmitted diseases. It will examine the impact of changes in cultural norms and the influence of education on these norms.

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and Children
In Ghana, I started an initiative called "change for change" to help educate children and youth. The initiative's first project provided school supplies to over 500 children in Adaklu, a village community in the Volta Region. I have also been involved in efforts such as the provision of free medical care service to communities. I served as a volunteer at the YWCA in Washington State University and am President of the School of Economic Sciences Graduate Students Association at the University. I have been involved in the sustainable campus move out project, an initiative which seeks to reduce wastage on University campuses by collecting slightly used or unused items that might have been thrown away and donating these items to organizations such as the Salvation Army, food banks etc.

Personal Details
Growing up in Africa, I always admired and was motivated by women who served in various leadership positions and were engaged in occupations that were previously predominantly male. I want to be a mentor to young girls in Africa, motivating them to pursue higher education and fields of study that they previously thought they could not excel in. I want to see young girls and boys in Africa grow up to assume exemplary leadership positions and also contribute to the region's development.

Career Plans on Program Completion
I would like to work in a research and teaching institution in Africa, where I can mentor students in their academic and leadership pursuits. Additionally, I would motivate them to be more interested in the development of Africa and the world as a whole by becoming good leaders and effective researchers. I also plan to commit to volunteering opportunities for furthering the education of girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Finally, through my research on health issues globally, I hope to present my research findings at both national and international conferences as well as have them published in various journals. I also hope to contribute to the formulation of policies that will lead to improvement in global health.

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Itzel Adriana Sosa Sánchez

Mexico

Ph.D. candidate, Sociology

Laval University, Quebec, Canada

Thesis:"Meanings of the Body, Sexuality and Reproduction within the Framework of the Medicalization Process: a Case Study in Central Mexico from the Inersectionality Approach". The purpose of the study is to produce relevant qualitative evidence useful to policymakers, activists, and NGOs for improving women's rights, reproductive and sexual health needs, and access to health services..

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and/or Children
As a social researcher, I have been involved with research and research-based interventions for gender equity and sexual and reproductive rights in Cuernavaca, especially for adolescent girls and women. As a Red Cross volunteer, I participated in children's vaccination programs, preventive health campaigns, and literacy programs directed at children who could not attend school. I have also been conducting workshops and developing training programs for high school teachers and students on sexuality and gender equity, dating violence, and sexual and reproductive health.

Personal Details
The lives of my classmates in marginalized neighborhoods of my city, as well as the history of flight and survival of my mother and my grandmother have greatly inspired my professional aspirations as well as my commitment to promoting social justice and gender equity.

Career Plans on Program Completion
On my return to Mexico, I will work as a researcher and teacher and continue my involvement with different NGOs. I believe in the power of transformation and the multiplicative impact of teaching and research.

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Lin Shi (Charlotte Conable-Grantee)

China

Master's candidate, International Affairs (Economic and Political Development)

Columbia University, New York, New York

Thesis: "Causes, Dynamics, and Consequences of the Challenges Facing Chinese Migrant Children in the Context of China's Rapid and Imbalanced Growing Economy"

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
I have more than six years of experience in providing health care and basic education to Chinese migrant women and children. I will continue to play a proactive role in community activities to help improve their lives.  In 2010, I co-established a community service center with a retired high school teacher to create an active hub of change for poor migrant children. We offer basic pre-school education and a range of activities such as the popular Weekend Care Program. Thus far, more than 80 poor children have benefited.

Personal Details
My grandmother taught me to look up to people others looked down upon, because we are not so different. My grandmother's memory imbued in me, at a much younger age than most, a strong sense of social responsibility and morality, which gives me tremendous courage to achieve my objectives.

Career Plans on Program Completion
I plan to establish a large-sized NGO (with the support of local government) in Heibei Province offering pre-school education and basic health care for hundreds of migrant children. In the long run, I want to become a public servant (e.g. in the government) to propose and help effect the passage of laws for educational and public health improvements for millions of migrants.

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Nuning Suliasih Purwaningrum
(MMMF 30th anniversary-Grantee)

Indonesia

Ph.D. candidate, Global Gender Studies (Women, Migration and Citizenship)

University of Buffalo, State University of NY, Buffalo, New York

Thesis: "Developing a Legal Roadmap to Ensure the Well-Being of Women and Families in Mixed-Nationality Marriages in Indonesia". This research studies a comprehensive socio-demographic profile of women in mixed-nationality families and the existing legal obstacles facing these families. It also explores the possibilities for drawing a legal roadmap as the basis for policy formulation in Indonesia.

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
I have been involved in organizing and working as an advocate for thousands of women in mixed-nationality marriages through direct intervention, research, and political advocacy. To support this advocacy, I frequently published opinion-editorials in Indonesian national newspapers, and published my research in a book "Women and Law" (translated) that is used as a reference at 75 law schools in Indonesia. As a political activist and lobbyist, I was frequently invited to hearings at the Indonesian House of Representatives and became a reference and a source for the media on issues of mixed-nationality marriage. The culmination of my advocacy and political work was an amendment to the Indonesian Citizenship Law in 2006 in which my policy recommendations were adopted. This amendment allows women in mixed-nationality marriages to pass on their citizenship to their children. The reform saved thousands of children from deportation, allowed them to attend public schools, and saved thousands of families from disintegration and financial bankruptcy.

Personal Details
I hold a BA in Japanese letters and an MA in women's studies. I publish using my married name, Nuning Hallett. I received a Fulbright Scholarship and a Presidential Fellowship from the University of Buffalo for my doctoral studies. I have been invited to serve as a lecturer at my alma mater on completing my master's degree.

Career Plans on Program Completion
On completing my Ph.D. program in 2013, I will serve as a full-time faculty member in the Women's Studies Graduate Program at the University of Indonesia. I will resume my advocacy with more than 4,500 women and serve as a gender expert in a government department or in the Indonesian House of Representatives.

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Salmatta Abiodun Ibrahim

Sierra Leone

M.Sc. candidate, Geology (Hydrogeology)

Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

Thesis: "Groundwater/Surface Water Interaction and Mapping Recharge Areas in Sierra Leone". The purpose of this research is to look at water balance, understand the interaction between ground water and surface water, locate recharge and discharge areas, trace contaminants, and develop tools and methods to help manage aquifer recharge to improve both water supply and water quality.

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
After graduating, I served as a teacher and helped develop an Integrated Science textbook which served as reference material and textbook for secondary schools. I then worked for six years with ActionAid Sierra Leone, as a development and community based worker, planning and implementing rural development projects in northern Sierra Leone and Guinea. Following the 1999 invasion of Freetown, I worked with communities in the west of the country that were badly hit by the war to design a Single Parent's Project for abducted girl mothers and ex-combatants and helped design an income-generation scheme for displaced women in communities that relocated to Guinea. After becoming a Master Trainer in entrepreneurship development, I helped form the EXCEL Association and Center for Sustainable Promotion and Enterprise Development (SPEED), a business NGO set up to train women and youths as entrepreneurs. I then worked with communities at the Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance to make law accessible to rural women and to eradicate discriminatory laws against women and girls.

Personal Details
I was born and raised in Freetown. My father, a driver, valued education for girls. Being the eldest and a female, I was the first in my family to attain an advanced level certificate and to graduate with an honors degree. This has helped me serve as a role model and a challenge for my peers. I taught at my alma mater, worked for an international NGO and moved to the Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance and the Department of Geology, Fourah Bay College. My job included designing legal projects to be implemented nationwide, training communities in the law, lecturing, and taking students on field excursions.

Career Plans on Program Completion
After my return to Sierra Leone, I shall continue to lecture at the University, commence my Ph.D. program and at the same time participate in water-related projects, particularly those that meet rural water needs. My long-term goal is to encourage the recruitment of young women into the geology profession to promote national development and stability in Sierra Leone.

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Síglia Pimentel Höher Camargo

Brazil

Ph.D. candidate, Education (Special Education)

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Thesis: "Teaching Play Interaction initiation through Visual Scripts to Children with Autism in Inclusive Settings"

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
Since my undergraduate program in Brazil, I have been involved in activities to improve the quality of life of children with disabilities and of their mothers. I have worked in projects that focused on the cognitive and emotional faculties of low-income children with disabilities and offered their mothers a free opportunity to share experiences and issues about their children. I have also worked with physicians and nurses in a public hospital to provide psychological support to low-income pregnant women with HIV as well as pregnant women whose babies were pre-diagnosed with disabilities.

Personal Details
I was born and raised in Brazil. My family always had a very tight budget, but my parents worked hard to ensure that my sister and I were able to study and build our own futures. My mother and my husband came from poor families that could not provide a formal education, but they overcame loneliness and hunger to write their stories in a different way. Their story motivates me to overcome my own limitations and those imposed by my gender and socio-economic status and not to give up on my dreams.  Having worked in college with children with disabilities and their families, I became more confident of my desire to continue an academic career and advocate for these children who are marginalized in our society.

Career Plans
After concluding my doctoral program, I plan to get a position in a public university in Brazil as a professor and researcher in the area of applied behavior analysis, an area where few professionals have worked. I intend to continue studying development disorders and, with the skills gained, to help children with autism and other developmental disabilities to find a productive place in the school system, their families, and society.

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Truelove Simangele Mkhwanazi

South Africa

Ph.D. candidate, Education (Education Leadership & Policy Studies)

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Thesis: "How Teachers in Formerly Disadvantaged Schools in South Africa, Envision and Engage in their Professional Development". Scholarship in developed countries that identifies the core features of high-quality professional development lends support to complex reforms in teacher education; yet it does not reflect the context of developing nations, nor does it capture the teachers' views on their own professional learning. My research will explore what hinders, and what could enhance, teachers' professional development and their efforts to improve student learning. Adapting existing research on professional learning and combining it with field-based research and critical policy analysis will reveal what support teachers need to address these challenges as well as provide an avenue for increasing teachers' voice in policymaking.

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and/or Children
All my working experience has been with children, particularly  female students. For 12 years, I taught in township schools where young people face all kinds of problems magnified by poverty. A common challenge is teenage pregnancy and a high probability of being infected with HIV/AIDS. I developed a passion for motivating young girls to prevent these dilemmas. I initiated awareness programs that encouraged and motivated young girls to value education and aspire to use it to change their communities. In addition, the bulk of my work as an educator to date has been with teachers, most of them women, who serve as role models and stewards for the next generation.

Personal Details
I have a bachelor's degree in Education earned in South Africa, and a master's in Education (Special Education) from the University of Washington, Seattle. I was born and raised in a rural village and all my educational experience took place under apartheid. During that period, families and communities played a big role in motivating their children to value education because they believed strongly that it would open closed doors. My grandmother who raised me was uneducated, but she identified my potential early in life and instilled in me the belief that I can go places if I have education.

Career Plans
On completing my Ph.D. in June 2013, I plan to return to South Africa and join institutions that undertake research and research-based programs to promote education and skills development at the individual, institutional and systemic levels. Teaching in academic settings and continuing educational research as a university scholar is another possibility.

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Weiwei Chen

China

Ph.D. candidate, Education (Special Education, Disabilities and Risk Studies)

University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California

Thesis:"Perception of Inclusion by Stake-Holders in Rural China". By particularly looking into how parents (or other major caregivers) of children with disabilities and their teachers view inclusive education in one of two piloting school sites in southwestern China, I expect to understand their beliefs about the education of such children, what they need to sustain their inclusion, and how those beliefs and needs might change as the inclusion of their children/students proceeds.

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and/or Children
The findings from this project will help children with disabilities to be better supported and to gain meaningful benefits from inclusive classrooms. Meanwhile, their placement in elementary schools will greatly free their mothers (if they are the caregivers) both from the need to center their daily activities on the children, and from the stress of discrimination by others who regard them as bad parents. 

Personal Details
I started my academic career from an interest in linguistics, and used to serve as an English teacher to college students. After four years of teaching, I went to Europe to study clinical linguistics, which was focused on looking into language types produced by people with difficulty in language and speech processing. Upon being conferred a Master's degree, I came back to China and began teaching children with autism and receiving their parents consultation for two years. Deeply tied into the lives of those families, I felt the urge to do researches for them. Therefore, I arrived in the United States with a desire to bring back the most advanced teaching techniques and research methods for my future use in China.

Career Plans on Program Completion
On completing my doctorate, I plan to start my career in China as a researcher, either working at a resource center affiliated to certain special education schools or at a university. My aim is to conduct as many studies in China as possible to lay the groundwork for inclusion to take off in the country.

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Albertina Maitumeleng Ntho-Ntho

Lesotho

Ph.D. candidate, Education Management, Law and Policy

University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa

Thesis: "School Principals Mediating change: The case of religion in education". The study will interview school principals with different levels of education, from diverse schools all over the country, and with diverse leadership backgrounds. The principals will participate in their private capacity, not as spokespersons for their schools.

Demonstration of Commitment to Women and/or Children
As a primary school teacher for thirteen years, I became a role model for the children in my care, my colleagues and the school community. I coordinated twelve mentors in UP's mentorship program at the faculty level, as well as the Lesotho International Student Association (LISA) committee at UP. I managed to save the life of a Mozambican baby whose parents were about to abort it and to convince the women around me that it was time to remember our common humanity, regardless of religion, race, gender and nationality, by contributing the little we had to clothe the baby.

Personal Details
I was born, raised, and married in Mokhotlong, a remote, mountainous district of Lesotho. I married as a teenager and had three daughters during the first five years of my marriage to a husband with seventh grade schooling. I worked as a primary school teacher for 13 years (five of these as an unqualified teacher). I have a B. Ed. (Hons) degree; a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Management and Leadership; and an M. A. in Education Management, Law and Policy. Inspired by my husband's love, care, and support for my continuing education (though he himself is not as educated), I am now in my first year of doctoral studies. I am proud that I overcame the challenges faced by teenagers and young women in my community and managed to secure my marriage up to this stage. I am also proud that I will be the first (and the only) child in my family of five, and the first woman, mother, and primary school teacher from my community to hold a doctorate  and to receive a scholarship from the MMMF.

Career Plans
After completing my degree in 2012, I plan to get back to Lesotho. I hope to establish and manage a program in Mokhotlong to educate girls as well as the community about "human rights" and to train and empower young women to voice their views, take charge of their own lives in using contraceptives to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies, and to say "no" to unprotected sex and child labor. I also plan to secure funds for children and young women to further their studies and enable them to realize their potential and fulfill their dreams.

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Gcinaphi Emily Mabuza-Sikhondze

Swaziland

M.Ed. candidate, Mathematics Education

University of Pretoria, South Africa

Thesis: “Teachers' Practice of Learner-Centered Approaches in Mathematics”. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the views of high school mathematics teachers on learner-centered teaching, the extent to which such teachers implement learner-centered approaches in their classrooms, and the nature of the challenges they face.

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
I volunteered after school hours and over weekends to teach mathematics to students from different schools who fell behind in their classes. I also found ways to help students who could not afford school fees to stay in school. I am currently sponsoring the education of an orphaned girl child. She is now in form 4 at Swazi National High School.

Personal Details
I grew up in straitened circumstances in a family of twelve children. My parents were determined to give their children an education, even the girls, despite the taunts of their neighbors. However, my parents' struggles were rewarded as six of us are now in professional jobs. After graduating in 1988 with a B.Sc. in mathematics and chemistry, I began teaching high school mathematics and science. I had hoped to pursue studies in pharmacy, but when a scholarship was not forthcoming, I decided that I enjoyed teaching mathematics enough to pursue education as a career and enrolled for a post-graduate certificate in education. In 2006, I was promoted to the post of deputy head teacher. In 2008 I was nominated by the Ministry of Education to pursue a master's degree in education. I completed my B.Ed. degree from the University of Pretoria as a pre-requisite, and then went on to study for the master's in mathematics.

Career Plans
I hope to secure a job with the Ministry of Education as an Inspector of Mathematics, which will allow me to deal directly with mathematics teachers and to be in a position to share my experiences with the teachers and encourage them to use the learner-centered approach.

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Goodness Chioma Aye

Nigeria

Ph.D. candidate, Agricultural Economics

University of Pretoria, South Africa

Thesis: "Technological Innovation and Efficiency: Implications for Productivity Growth, Inequality, and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria". The study aims to identify the policy environment that would best enhance farmers' access to improved technology and production practices, lead to improved efficiency and productivity outcomes, and eventually reduce inequality and poverty in Nigeria. As experience shows that women have little or no access to production technologies, the study places special emphasis on gender issues. To ensure that policy conclusions are not biased, the thesis uses a consistent methodology.

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
I strongly believe that education empowers women and young people. In support of this belief, I joined a team that organized free literacy classes in my village for youth preparing to enroll in secondary or tertiary education. During my service with the National Youth Service Corps in Jalingo, in northern Nigeria, where almost none of the women and children knew how to write or speak English, I organized voluntary literacy classes for poor young children. I also taught fellow women corps members the way of God, the virtues of industry, and an awareness of HIV/AIDs. Even now, I teach children, especially girls, in my local church to adopt good lifestyles and pursue path ways to academic excellence.

Personal Details
My upbringing, the struggles for daily living, and the challenges and limitations of life, developed in me a passion and zeal to fight for the cause of women. This is the reason I promote gender equality in resource allocation and decision making. I obtained my B.A. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, and my M.Sc. from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Career Plans
On completing my studies, I plan to return to Nigeria to resume lecturing and gender research at the University of Agriculture in Makurdi. I will make sure to provide quality education to the students through innovative teaching techniques and materials. I plan to participate in developing and implementing agricultural policies that are pro-poor, and to ensure, in particular, that women farmers in my community have access to improved technologies and other support services that enhance productivity and reduce poverty.

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Gracious Madimutsa

Zimbabwe

M.A. candidate, Community Development

University of Pretoria, South Africa

Thesis: ”Knowledge versus Behavior in Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT)”. This research project, which will analyze people's responses to VCT services in rural communities in Mutoko, Zimbabwe, will try to find out about people’s awareness of VCT, HIV, and AIDS and their attitudes towards  HIV testing.

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
In January 2009, I began to volunteer at Mother of Peace Community, an orphanage set up in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. I had the opportunity to provide counseling services to these children, train them in life skills, and inform them about HIV/AIDS. This experience gave me the opportunity to learn about these children and understand their plight. I also came to appreciate the efforts of the church women who carried the burden of childcare at this institution, to help with their chores, and to counsel them when the need arose. Caring for children from different backgrounds is a challenge and my counseling skills played a major role in encouraging women to soldier on.

Personal Details
I grew up in a family that values education. I too have a strong desire to be educated and make a meaningful impact on women and children in my country. Attaining the master’s degree in community development will be a big stepping stone to achieving my dreams of being somebody in my community and changing the lives of other people. I am very passionate about my research on HIV and behavior change, because I believe that if the impact of HIV/AIDS can be reduced, many development problems will become manageable and the burden on women and children will be reduced. I am very grateful for the MMMF scholarship because it will go a long way towards easing my financial problems and will help me realize my dreams.

Career Plans
After I graduate, I hope to find a job in Zimbabwe primarily involved in development research, so that I can both add to existing knowledge and make a positive impact. By the time I finish my program, I will be well informed and better equipped to start a program that focuses on empowering women and children.

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Ivy Rukasha (MMMF 30th anniversary-Grantee)

Zimbabwe

M.Sc. candidate, Medical Microbiology

University of Pretoria, South Africa

Thesis:“Characterization and Drug Resistance of Trichomonas (T.) Vaginalis in Clinical Isolates”. My aim is to find the link between HIV and T. vaginalis. I will also investigate why more women than men present more symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and why the response to treatment differs among individuals.

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
For my master’s thesis, l am working solely with HIV-positive women. STDs in Africa are devastating and an embarrassment for women who are often rejected and divorced for diseases that, more often than not, they did not bring into the family.

Personal Details
By observing my teachers from a young age, l realized that educated women attain a better life, and that educated women are assets to their families, friends and communities. As my teachers have always emphasized, "To educate a women is to educate the nation." l resolved in my heart to study and improve my life at whatever cost. Although the funding of my education has been a problem, year after year, it is amazing how things have worked out for me: l have managed to progress from one stage to another with the help of various scholarships, well wishers, and family. I think this is because I have always had a goal. My motto was and still is: At every stage of my education l will do my best, since l do not know whether I will get funding for the next stage.

Career Plans
I would like to work at the University of Zimbabwe as a researcher/lecturer on diseases affecting women. l am planning to finish my studies in 2012.

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Oluwatoyin Adewunmi Adeleke

Nigeria

Master’s candidate, Public Health

University of Cape Town, South Africa

Thesis: “Maternal Mortality and Quality of Antenatal and Postnatal Health Care Services in Northern Nigeria”. My thesis will assess the quality of existing obstetric health care services and identify the barriers that impede access.

Demonstration of commitment to women and/or children
I have been actively involved in field work to train women of childbearing age to manage diarrhea; UNICEF peer educator training of adolescents on HIV prevention and reproductive health; and volunteering for indigenous women’s organizations.

Personal Details
I enjoy community outreach, playing the keyboard, singing, and creative writing.

Career Plans
On completing my master’s, I plan to return to my home country to strengthen existing socio-economic opportunities (such as entrepreneurship, small and medium scale enterprises) available to women in selected communities. Key strategies will also include working with existing health organizations to advocate for the right to health, health promotion, and education.

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