Provide Volunteer & Internship Opportunities

Objective:  Provide internships and other opportunities for students to witness extreme poverty firsthand and to work with peers, as well as professionals, both in the developed and developing worlds.

Goals: 2008-2009 School Year

1. Lead 1 high school field trips
2. Provide 25 internships
3. Offer 4 fellowships
4. Fund 2 youth-led development projects

 

Alliance of Students Against Poverty (ASAP) believes that it is difficult for many people in the developed world to understand the reality of those living in extreme poverty until they see it firsthand.  Accordingly, ASAP provides numerous opportunities for students to witness extreme poverty through a variety of different experiences, including:

• Field Trips
• Overseas Internships
• Fellowships
• Youth-led Development Projects

ASAP students that show the most commitment and progress toward reaching ASAP’s annual goals are the top contenders for these student opportunities.

 

In addition, ASAP wants to help students network with their peers and professionals in the field of International Development through the following:

• ASAP's Annual Conference
• ASAP’s Online Social Network
• Communications with Leading Development Professionals

 

 

 

 

Field Trips:  These 1-2 week trips are designed primarily for high school students, but may include others that have not witnessed extreme poverty.  The trip will expose participants to extreme poverty and highlight organizations that are working to abolish it.  Trips will usually take place during the summer months, but if there is enough interest, they will also take place during winter and spring breaks. 

 

 

Internships:  Our internship program gives university students the opportunity to spend a summer working with an ASAP partner that is fighting to eradicate extreme poverty in the developing world.  Interns will provide a great service to ASAP’s partner organizations by performing ethnographic interviews of women living in extreme poverty and recording their stories through audio, video, and photography.  Interviews will focus on how our partner organizations have benefited the lives of the women. 

In order to communicate effectively with the clients, each intern will pair up with a local student who will serve as a partner and interpreter.  Throughout the intern’s time in country, he/she will be responsible for keeping a daily journal of his/her experience.  These journals will include the written story of each client, as the intern’s thoughts, feelings, and daily activities.  The client’s stories and media files will be given to the partner organizations to be shared with donors as well as to promote their programs and client success stories.  In addition, ASAP interns will have access to the stories and will be able to share them with friends and family to educate them on the lives of those living in extreme poverty.  ASAP will use the stories and journals collected by ASAP interns on our website to educate and inspire students throughout the world. 

Furthermore, Alliance of Students Against Poverty will use student interns each summer to conduct research on those organizations that have applied for ASAP funding, which will include: 1) a poverty assessment of targeted clients, 2) a social audit of the grantee institution and 3) an evaluation of the project budget and expenditures.  In addition, student interns will monitor and evaluate each of the grantees on a yearly basis.

    

 

 

Fellowships:  Our fellowship program is a 2-3 year commitment for recently graduated graduate students wanting more field experience prior to starting their careers.  The program includes 1-2 years working for an organization in the field and then 1-2 years at the ASAP Central office.  Their experiences and fresh perspective from the field will help ASAP’s awareness-building and fundraising efforts remain relevant.  The overall fellowship experience will hone their recently developed project management, leadership and research skills from graduate school, in preparation for successful careers in International Development.

 

 

Youth-led Development Projects (YLD):  Alliance of Students Against Poverty firmly promotes the principle of youth-led development—supporting community projects devised and implemented by young people under the age of 25.  They are generally grass-roots, small in size, and carried out mostly, but not exclusively, by youth volunteers. 

Through ASAP’s world-wide online network, individual students, as well as ASAP Chapters and Clubs from the developed world, will have the opportunity to partner with individuals and ASAP Chapters in the developing world.  Together they will envision, organize and implement their own youth-led development projects that further efforts in combating extreme poverty abroad. 

Students from both countries will learn invaluable project management, fundraising and leadership skills.  In addition, by creating global friendships and partnerships at a young age, students will be in a better position in the future to bring about meaningful change through these relationships, making them more effective and productive global citizens. 

These projects will be funded through ASAP grants and will be awarded to those most active in the ASAP movement. 

Click here to learn more about YLD. 

   

Annual Conference:  Alliance of Students Against Poverty will hold an Annual Conference each fall, hosted by an ASAP Chapter and the corresponding University.  It will be a time where we celebrate the achievements of individual members, Chapters and Clubs from the previous school year and from Summer Internships and Youth-led Development Projects.  In addition, it is an opportunity for Chapters and Clubs to present their action plans for the year and to aggregate ASAP’s overall goals.  The Annual Conference will also give ASAP members the chance to make new friends and contacts, as well as further develop those created through the online network. 

Through plenary and breakout sessions, organizations from the field and development professionals will highlight their successes and share best practices.  Through the Internship and Career Fair, students will have the opportunity to network with development professionals and make plans for summer internships or employment after graduation.

 

 

ASAP’s Online Social Network:  Alliance of Students Against Poverty has created an online network to bring ASAP members from around the globe together.  It is a place where ASAP members from neighboring Georgetown and George Washington Universities can create new friendships with members as far away as UCLA or Makerere University in Uganda.  It is a place where we share our experiences from the field through photos, videos and blogs and inspire others to have their own experiences.  Finally, it is a platform from which individuals and Chapters can create their own Youth-led Development Projects in the fight against extreme poverty.

 

 

Communications with Leading Development Professionals: In order for students to be the most effective leaders in their fight against extreme poverty, it is important that they learn from and network with experts and leaders in the field of development. ASAP asks partner organizations to provide ASAP members myriad opportunities to do this, particularly through email communication, chat rooms, video conferencing and phone calls. Much of this is accomplished through ASAP’s social networking site: www.asap2025.net