The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Through Internships, Students Embody CPPA's Mission Around the Globe

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In Bangladesh, China and Washington, D.C., three CPPA students worked this summer to make the world a cleaner, safer and fairer place. Along the way, they learned a lot and served as impressive ambassadors for CPPA.

Jessica Sarno (MPP ’15) interned at Sheva Women and Children’s Welfare Center, an organization in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that uses microloans and educational programs to improve women’s lives and livelihoods. In Washington, D.C., Orlando Cordero (MPPA ’15) worked closely with the senior vice president of international programs at World Vision USA, a global humanitarian group that combats poverty and injustice. And Minah Rathore (MPPA ’15) researched the role of women in the Chinese economy while based at the International Monetary Fund’s Beijing office.

Each student was responsible for very different tasks at very different organizations. But the experiences proved invaluable and eye-opening for all of them.

Take, for example, Cordero, who started at CPPA in 2013 with a background in natural resource management and policy. Over the course of his first year as a master’s student, he shifted his focus to international development, which he felt was a major change in his career goals. This summer at World Vision, he conducted technical research related to agriculture, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene. He then used that research to help develop strategies, policies and guidelines to improve agricultural and resource management sectors in countries where World Vision works.

“My time at World Vision showed me the complex interrelations between the environment, security, development and health,” says Cordero. “I now have an increased awareness that environmental considerations need to be consistently addressed in humanitarian actions if we hope to provide sustainable, holistic relief and recovery.” He adds that he understands much better now how to leverage his experiences and skills related to natural resource management in order to make a broad global impact.

Rathore and Sarno had internships with narrower geographic foci, but their experiences were profound nonetheless. As a native of Pakistan, Rathore says, she has long been aware of gender inequality, but her research at the IMF opened her eyes to a fascinating contradiction in Chinese society: “China happens to have the highest gender equality rate in Asia. So it was interesting to research the steps the Chinese government has taken to ensure this equality,” she says. “However, Chinese cultures tend to favor males, which has given rise to female infanticide and the international campaign titled ‘Missing Women of Asia.’”

Eventually Rathore plans to return to Pakistan to work with nongovernmental organizations as well as government departments to improve the lot of women. When she does, the lessons she learned in Beijing no doubt will enrich her perspective on what is possible: “This paper really helped me understand how the government can spark powerful changes through their policies,” Rathore says.

Sarno was lucky enough to observe this summer how education can change people’s actions. During her internship, she accompanied Sheva employees as they conducted workers’ rights trainings at garment factories. “From CEOs to the assembly workers,” Sarno says, “I witnessed the shift in behavior that happens with the addition of the knowledge of workers’ rights.”

The working conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories received global attention after the April 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building, which killed more than 1,100 people. Sarno says the “ready-made garment sector accounts for over 75 percent of Bangladesh’s exports,” adding that more than 85 percent of the employees in the sector are women. “As such, the women in the ready-made garment sector are of vital importance in the global economy and to the development of Bangladesh, yet they routinely experience labor and human rights violations,” she says. “Sheva provided me the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of local implementation and witness some of the results of these efforts.”

While these three students were spread across the globe, one decided how he wants to make a difference in the world; one realize the profound impact government policies can have on people’s lives; and one saw people’s actions change as a direct result of education. Collectively, they were embodying CPPA’s mission: to realize social change and solve problems for the common good.

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