IIP Placements in Sierra Leone
Energy for Opportunity
Locations: Freetown and Makeni, Sierra Leone
Energy for Opportunity (EFO) is a not-for-profit organization working to improve livelihoods in West Africa through the provision and installation of clean, sustainable, photovoltaic, electricity-generating infrastructure. Their strategy is to develop innovative ways to promote the use of renewable energy across the region with an emphasis on both solar installations and solar training projects. EFO’s work addresses the need that comes with a large proportion of the world’s population lacking access to modern forms of electricity, a problem that is particularly acute in West Africa, home to some of the least developed regions in the world. IIP interns will be based in EFO's offices in Freetown and Makeni and will work on a wide variety of areas relevant to EFO's work, including socio-economic research, project monitoring and evaluation, community training, report and proposal composition, publicity and solar power installations. IIP interns must be comfortable living in a rural African setting with basic amenities and must have previous research experience and strong writing skills. This placement is ideal for IIP candidates with interest in anthropology, engineering, development studies, or the social sciences. Prior travel experience in Africa is a must. Note: Placements for this internship are for a minimum of 10 weeks long. Two placements were created for International Internship Program (IIP) interns. View a Powerpoint presentation (.pdf) by a past intern.
Wellbody/Global Action Foundation (GAF)
Location: Kono District, Sierra Leone (located six hours east of Freetown near Guinean border)
Wellbody (formerly Global Action Foundation) is a non-profit organization modeling community-based health programs from its primary care clinic in rural Sierra Leone. It is based in. Its comprehensive community-based programs evolved from serving amputated civilians and children under five to include people living with HIV and adolescents. Working with Wellbody offers the opportunity to become familiar with the operations of a small but growing global health NGO. Spending a summer in rural Sierra Leone offers the opportunity to witness the reality of poverty, hear first-hand stories from colleagues and locals in the post-war setting, and learn what it is like to work in the global health world. IIP interns will conduct research projects in the Kono District, which involves a combination of field work, data collection, and analysis. Multiple positions are available and are suitable for students in different concentrations including but not limited to anthropology, epidemiology, science, social science, economics, and other quantitative backgrounds. Available projects range from HIV adherence and stigma-related research, mental health interventions in the amputee population, economic analysis of the wealth distribution in the local community, reproductive adolescent health education, and advocacy in schools. IIP interns are welcome to propose projects of their own before, during, or following the internship. As research coordinators, IIP interns will assist in the design, implementation, and evaluation of field research and first-level analysis. In addition to their research projects, interns will spend time in the clinic and shadow doctors and nurses, assist in the pharmacy, laboratory, health outreach program, or scanning room. All experiences combine clinical, administrative, and epidemiological responsibilities. IIP interns are expected to communicate regularly with local and overseas supervisors and evaluate their experience at the end of each month. Four placements were created for International Internship Program (IIP) interns. Katie Hsih '10 and Chris Yarnell '10 wrote blogs while they interned at the Global Action Foundation in Sierra Leone during Summer 2009.
This internship is offered in partnership with the Program in Global Health and Health Policy and can be used by GHP juniors for completion of the GHP Summer Research Requirement (please check the appropriate box on your application). View a Powerpoint presentation (.pdf) by a past intern.