Western Heads East Remote Internship Projects in East Africa
Tanzania
Mikono Yetu
During summer 2020, interns collaborated with Mikono Yetu staff to collect information on existing kitchens in Mwanza & coordinate to input the information in a mobile app for ongoing tracking of kitchen production and growth. This included developing a survey and coordinating with Mikono Yetu staff liaison to distribute these questions to community kitchens in Mwanza region to map and document existing kitchen locations and their production and sales data via the app technology.
WHE interns developed a Start-up Package, Marketing Plan, Training Booklet and produced probiotic education posters targeting the general public, post-secondary students and young children.
Students from the School of Advanced Studies in Arts and Humanities (SASAH) joined the interns in June to consult with Mikono Yetu regarding website design and social media strategy to promote their services and products, including capacity building with web-based skills.
St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT)
WHE interns conducted training with SAUT students on Fiti yogurt production and probiotics, developed a business plan, inventory tracking, bookkeeping, opening and closing procedures, and developed a leadership handbook. As a self-sustaining ‘learning lab’ on campus, the SAUT Fiti kitchen has the opportunity for community engaged learning projects from all faculties (business, marketing, hospitality, etc.)
Education for Better Living Organization (EBLI)
Student interns developed a report and a marketing plan for EBLI regarding the use of the biomass briquettes produced by the organization, called KuniSmart which are environmentally safer and better for health. A health impact report was provided about health implications associated with traditional fuels (charcoal and wood) in comparison to KuniSmart. This will assist with business development, future marketing and community education while addressing the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). The marketing plan includes community awareness and defined market segments. The projected ended with the accumulation of data about environmental safety and health, but did not develop strategies applicable to the Mwanza/Tanzanian context.
Rwanda
In May 2020, in collaboration with Living With Happiness Icyemezo (LWHI) & Rwanda Mother’s Team (RMT), WHE interns worked with community partners, University of Rwanda faculty and students to launch a community yogurt kitchen in Kigali with beneficiaries of the organizations as the founding members.
The group adapted existing promotional & training materials to a Rwandan context, met with organization volunteers & beneficiaries via Zoom, & created relevant operational materials. Additionally, they liaised with the University of Rwanda students and Didier of the Dietic and Nutrition program to work towards obtaining an importation license and bureau standards approval for yogurt production and sales in the community. The students developed and implemented a training program for yogurt production so that the local women’s group was able to successfully produce the Fiti probiotic yogurt. The intern group produced a one-year business plan to guide the growth of the start-up kitchen.
Kenya
Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi (AKUHN)
Project 1
One intern conducted a comparative analysis of COVID-19 preparedness of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi with the University Hospital Network (UHN) and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center (Sunnybrook) in Toronto, Canada based on the information available. The purpose of this comparative analysis was to document best practices in Ontario, Canada and suggest how these may be applicable in a Kenyan context.
Project 2
A second intern, using Kenya’s healthcare system and population characteristics, created a model projection for the next six months of COVID-19 cases in Kenya and made recommendations for the Aga Khan University Hospital’s preparedness to be used for future consideration.
