(Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe)
As part of Fordham’s International Peace and Development Travel Scholarship Program, two Fordham IPED students, Ms. Siria Maniam and Ms. Savita Pawnday, are spending the Spring and Summer of 2001 in Zimbabwe interning with Catholic Relief Services (CRS). CRS is the official relief and development agency for the US Catholic community.
Siria, a citizen of Malaysia, earned a B.Sc. from Lewis Clark State College and an M.B.A. from Washington State University. Prior to her enrollment at Fordham, she worked as a Project Implementation Associate in the UN Office for Project Services in Kuala Lumpur. As part of her graduate studies at Fordham, Siria did a UN internship in Geneva and a French language immersion program in southern France. Upon graduation she hopes to work as a project manager with a non-profit international development organization in Africa.
While in southern Africa, Siria has been responsible for conducting several technical assistance workshops in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Savita, an Indian citizen, is a graduate of St. Xavier College in Bombay where she also did volunteer service as a teacher to underprivileged, slum children. Through her work in India and her studies at Fordham, she has nurtured a concern for those who have the least among us. Upon graduation from Fordham, Savita hopes to work in emergency relief work.
While in Harare, Savita has been extremely useful in assisting in the regional planning efforts of Catholic Relief Services in the southern African region.
Both Savita and Siria have continued the work of previous IPED interns by helping to develop a network of institutional supports that will allow church based organizations concerned with issues of justice and peace to have a larger voice in various public policy forums. The development of civil society has become a key theme of Fordham’s International Peace and Development Scholarship Program.
(Catholic Cathedral, Harare, Zimbabwe)
The International Peace and Development (IPD) Travel Scholarship Program provides IPED students with a valuable work experience that they frequently need to pursue their careers. The IPD Travel Scholarship Program also promotes Fordham’s Jesuit tradition. Dealing with issues of justice, equity and people in need goes hand in hand with Fordham’s mission as New York City’s Jesuit University.
(From left to right: Sister Maria, Catholic Commission on Justice and Peace, Namibia, Mr. Daniel Deng, CRS Program Manager; Prof. Henry Schwalbenberg, Fordham; Ms. Siria Mania, IPED Intern; Mr.Gordon Simango, Coordinator, Catholic Alliance for Justice and Peace in Southern Africa; Ms. Savita Pawnday, IPED Intern; and Fr. Jose Luna, Justice and Peace Department, Catholic Bishops Synod of Southern Africa)