News: Africa

In the first of an occasional series featuring members of the Columbia School of Social Work community who have served as agents of social change, Alexis Meisen tells the story of how the ice cream shop she co-founded in Brooklyn ended up opening a branch in Rwanda. Watch video.

After nearly ten years of running programs in southern Uganda to give AIDS orphans an opportunity to open up their own savings accounts, Professor Fred Ssewamala has reached an important milestone.

As Black History Month draws to a close, we turn to recent graduate Moiyattu Banya (MS’09), a passionate social entrepreneur who specializes in African women’s empowerment, for some inspiration.

Announcing the release of a booklet listing the achievements of nine CUSSW doctoral students, program chair Julien Teitler mentioned their “broad range of important topics, including child obesity, foster care, adult and adolescent mental health, gender-based violence, and resilience among at-risk women in developing countries.”

To all Columbia School of Social Work students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and supporters: A world of best wishes for the holiday season and the new year, from Dean Jeanette Takamura.

Associate Professor Fred Ssewamala has been awarded a five-year, $3.8m grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development to examine the impact and cost of an innovative economic empowerment intervention for HIV-positive adolescents on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

JANE WALDFOGEL, FRED SSEWAMALA, and NEERAJ KAUSHAL have all been quoted or featured in the mainstream media recently.