Tanzania, 2014-2015
MCMASTER FELLOW
Jeremy Taylor, Faculty, History - I will conduct a SWOT analysis for Katungulu Bible Training School and the village of Katunguru. The purpose of this project is to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that impact the institution and surrounding community. This project will also help develop deeper understanding of developing community partnerships, gender inclusion, and growth.
MCMASTER SCHOLARS
Jessie Bell, Junior, Early Childhood Education - I plan on improving students' understanding of hygiene and clean water use, along with speaking with women about the importance of parental involvement in a child's education. I will create lesson plans that will be age appropriate, use few materials, and will help the students comprehend the information. In addition, I will be speaking with the women in the conferences about ways to help children be interested in school and engaged in their learning.
Genelle Castro, Senior, Health and Physical Education - I will host a two day conference that includes workshops, with an emphasis on leadership, women's empowerment and different aspects of health.
Emily Denhard, Sophomore, Criminal Justice and Psychology - My project will continue to explore quality of life indicators in Mwanza, Tanzania, and work towards assessing and identifying the needs of communities and groups.
Dava Donaldson, Junior, International and Global Studies - This project addresses the issue of community development in the Tanzanian community of Kantungulu, through the development and use of outside funds. This project will develop, organize, and record the outcome of various fundraising events while maintaining active fundraising website accounts. The equipment and goods purchased with the funds raised will substantially contribute to the overall impact the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity Tanzania team can make, both short and long-term, and will enrich the lives of students and staff of the Kantungulu Training Bible School and the surrounding community.
Ryan Edelbrock, Senior, Psychology - The community needs new microscopes to be able to better diagnose patients with malaria. The low magnification of microscope that the medical center utilizes contributes to many false positive tests which can cause an over-diagnosis of malaria. This is a problem because over-diagnosis can lead to over medication. While in Tanzania, I will distribute microscopes to the medical center, and provide a training on how to use the microscopes accurately.
Katelyn Haydett, Junior, Molecular Biology - Village leaders and community members of Katungulu Bible Training School located in the Mwanza Region of Tanzania have asked for assistance with solving the problem of water contaminants, both chemical and microbial. Through water testing for chemicals such as chlorine, phosphate, nitrate, and ammonia, as well as pH and dissolved oxygen levels, the water quality can be assessed. In addition, the identification of microorganisms such as Leptospirosis will indicate the presence of harmful pathogens that result in intestinal worms, diarrhea, urinary tract infections, skin infections, and genital discomfort. By identifying what contaminants are present at each of the water sources, further water safety and hygiene education can be communicated to individuals to help reduce the outbreak of such diseases and illnesses. With this data, future McMaster Scholars can further implement a water purification system for the village and an estimated 9,000 individuals that depend on these water sources on a daily basis.
Alicia Kalik, Senior, Sport Management - The women of Katungulu Bible Training School have reached out for assistance in gaining valuable education. In order to be effective, a women's conference will be organized to educate them on the specific challenges they expressed: empowerment, entrepreneurship, health education, sex education, and AIDS prevention.
Michael Vanderkolk, Senior, Sport Management - My project will examine quality of life indicators in Katungulu Tanzania in order to match the team's resources with our community partner's needs. I plan to gather data through traditional paper surveys and observation.
