Kate Kirby ’13 (M.A. Global Policy) has posted her first dispatch from Dili, Timor-Leste where she will spend the next 3 months interning with Mercy Corps, an international NGO aimed at “alleviating suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.” Kate is, thankfully, “mozzie-free” (read her post for context) and still “smiley.” As a graduate student concentrating in international environmental policy and sustainable community development, Kate will conduct field research on aquaculture development and assess the potential impact of inland fisheries projects on increasing food security in Timor-Leste. She will have the opportunity to soon meet with government officials and other NGOs to convey the importance of aquaculture and determine how to best facilitate development of this forgotten sector.
You can follow Kate and her fellow SPIA colleagues over the course of the summer as they reflect on their experiences at SPIA Abroad, the SPIA student internship blog. Here are links to Kate’s first reports: