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From the Andes to Uganda, from combating the systemic aspects of poverty to ensuring that workers can organize, 2008 human rights interns are all over the world and very close to home...putting theory into practice and creating human rights in action!

Select a continental region on the map below to learn more about 2008 Summer Interns working in a particular area. You can pause the slideshow by placing your mouse cursor over any intern's information, or you can click the Previous and Next buttons to learn more about their internships.

New York, NY

A____ (organization and name confidential)

A____ conducted research on strategies for the protection of the human rights of migrant workers in the Middle East.

Washington, D.C.

Brad Aaron
Machik

Brad worked at Machik which develops cultural mapping and small-business sustainability on the Tibetan plateau. Brad advanced Machik’s mission through outreach to Tibetan diaspora communities and their supporters. Utilizing his previous experience in non-profit organizations, Brad helped to develop a strategic plan for the organization and worked on outreach and fundraising materials.

New York

Aruj Chaudry
Human Rights First

Aruj worked at Human Rights First in the organization’s programs on Human Rights Defenders and Crimes against Humanity. She interviewed international activists for HRF’s new Women’s Human Rights Defenders Program and worked on HRF’s report on the December 2007 arrests of hundreds of lawyers in Pakistan.

Zacatecas, Mexico

Julia Coburn
Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM)

CDM is a transnational workers' rights center dedicated to improving working conditions for immigrant workers in the United States through representation of migrants who have returned to Mexico. Julia conducted interviews with returned migrants and participated in labor rights education and outreach. She also worked on the Bi-national Labor Justice Initiative, a collaboration between U.S. and Mexican labor rights organizations.

Chicago

Leah Endalkatchew
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law is a national law and policy center that works to end poverty through policy development, communications, and impact litigation. Leah worked on the 2008 National Poverty Scorecard, a project of the Shriver Center to evaluate public officials’ responses to and action on poverty issues.

Chicago

Hannah Jacoby

Hannah Jacoby
Chicago Freedom School

Hannah worked with 30 “Freedom Fellows” age 14-16 at the Chicago Freedom School. They took classes on education as liberation and learned to identify and address injustices in their neighborhoods. In addition, Hannah helped each Freedom Fellow make a radio profile of her or his community.

Chicago

Kevin Koll

Kevin Koll
Institute for Church-State Relations

Kevin worked at the National Immigrant Justice Center’s Immigrant Detention Project. Kevin interviewed immigrant detainees, their families and lawyers. He also applied his computer skills to incorporate these stories onto a “detention map” website.

Mexico

Iker Lekuona

Iker Lekuona
Proyecto de Derechos Economicos, Sociales y Culturales

Iker worked in Mexico City with PRODESC, focusing on labor violations in the states of Chiapas and Guerrero. His two main projects included field research and documentation for the ongoing campaign against child labor and working with mining communities to design political strategies to foster corporate social responsibility. PRODESC is part of the Binational Justice Coalition.

Chicago

Jacob Lesniewski

Jacob Lesniewski
Worker’s Rights Center

Jack worked with the Worker Rights Center Network of Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) on a national “wage theft” campaign. Jack assisted IWJ’s network and local worker centers in developing organizing strategies and assessment mechanisms for the “wage theft” campaign’s effectiveness.

New York

Aliza Levine

Aliza Levine,
Housing Conservation Coordinators

Aliza worked on tenants’ rights in New York City at Housing Conservation Coordinators, a community-based organization that aims to strengthen and preserve affordable housing on Manhattan's West Side. She worked with tenants to form and maintain effective tenant associations in rent-regulated buildings, assisted with community campaigns, and supported pro bono legal services for low income tenants.

Mexico

Hector Santana

Hector Santana
El Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador (CAT)

Hector interned with CAT (The Center for Worker Support) in Puebla, Mexico. CAT collaborates with activists, unionists, artists, college students, and lawyers to bring voice to and support workers’ demands for human rights. One of Hector’s primary projects was to investigate human rights violations in the auto-parts plants (maquiladoras) in Puebla.

New York

Vladimir Sreckovic

Vladimir Sreckovic
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children

The Women's Commission is finishing an assessment of their latest project, “Livelihoods” which focuses on empowering refugee women with the skills to foster economic self sufficiency. Vladimir researched policies which affect refugees in both source and host countries. Vladimir interviewed key stakeholders, synthesized the information, and drafted recommendations. The final product will be in a field manual published by Livelihoods in 2009.

Boston

Lauren Vander Pluym

Lauren Vander Pluym
Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)

HREA integrates the framework of human rights into education at all levels by creating curriculum and materials, training activists and professionals, developing policies and program evaluations, and facilitating human rights learning amongst community members, educators, and activists. Lauren researched and selected materials for "the school-wide approach to HRE," wrote for the HREA website, developed lesson plans for NYC school teachers on human rights and the "school to prison pipeline," and assisted with community outreach.

Peru

Kelin Hall

Kelin Hall
Asociacion Civil Labor

Kelin worked with the Asociación Civil Labór on a report on human rights and corruption in the mining industry in Southern Peru. She collected testimony about the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the Southern Copper Corporation (SCC) in Ilo, Peru. As a recipient of the Human Rights Program Radio Training Internship, Kelin recorded audio for use in her research.

Brazil

Joe Herbert

Joe Herbert
Mirim-Brasil

Joe worked with at-risk youth in Recife in Northeast Brazil. He focused on community outreach and youth involvement as part of a Mirim-Brasil project to document the effectiveness of Brazil's Statute of the Child and Adolescent and to advocate policy changes from a human rights perspective. Joe also worked on translating Mirim-Brasil's website into English.

Brazil

Duff Morton

Duff Morton
Center for Psychosocial Attention (CAPS) and Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST)

Duff worked with unlikely partners: a landless farmers' movement and a mental health center in Northeastern Brazil. The mental health center has never offered services in the countryside, and the farmers' movement has never had any help in responding to its members' psychological difficulties. Duff worked to create a coherent and sustainable means of collaboration which hopefully will last after his return to Chicago.

Peru

Heidi Noriega

Heidi Noriega
Capital Humano y Social Alternativo, Peru (College)

Heidi spent her summer with Capital Humano y Social (CHS) Alternativo, an NGO that focuses on children’s rights issues. She worked in Lima on three main projects: a human trafficking prevention project, translation of CHS Alternativo's Website, and fundraising.

Bolivia

Zoe VanGelder

Zoe VanGelder
Unidad Academica Campesina (UAC)

UAC in Tiwanaku, Bolivia focuses on community led development guided by human rights principles. Zoe assessed sustainable agriculture and food security strategies implemented in indigenous Aymara communities in the highlands of Bolivia.

Belgium

Whitney Johnson

Whitney Johnson
Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants

PICUM is a pan-European organization working to secure the rights of migrants in Europe. Whitney applied her skills in policy analysis and her previous work with refugees to two issues: access to health care for undocumented migrants and discrimination-based violence against undocumented children. She worked on a report on these issues and contributed to other PICUM publications.

Slovakia

Lubomir Ondrasek

Lubomir Martin Ondrasek
Institute for Church-State Relations

Martin is interested in the right of all people to exercise religious expression, particularly in countries where religions must be approved or registered with the state. Through independent research, interviews, and consultation with various actors, Martin worked with the Institute for Church-State Relations to create a current assessment of human rights and religion in Slovakia.

Tanzania

Greg Gabrellas

Greg Gabrellas
Lawyers Environmental Action Team

The Lawyers Environmental Action Team has lead legal advocacy for Tanzanians' land rights and corporate responsibility. Greg worked with LEAT in Dar es Salaam to research government policy and to develop human rights and sustainable land use advocacy, particularly in southern Tanzania.

Ghana

Emma Gleason

Emma Gleason
Women’s Initiative for Self Empowerment

Emma interned with the Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment (WISE), a women’s and children’s rights organization based in Accra, Ghana. WISE provides services, counseling, and legislative advocacy for survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Emma planned and executed training programs on public education and outreach.

Ethiopia

Tsion Gurmu

Tsion Gurmu
Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association

The Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association assists Ethiopian women in the struggle to secure full protection of their human rights under domestic and international law. The Association is currently developing means of addressing domestic violence as a human rights issue within appropriate cultural and social contexts. Tsion assisted on a research project to identify discriminatory policies and laws and strengthen advocacy strategies.

Uganda

Heather Hoffman

Heather Hoffman
Center for Domestic Violence Prevention

The Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP) in Uganda works on sexual and gender based violence prevention, intervention, and advocacy. Heather’s work focused on strengthening the CEDOVIP National Advocacy Program, which aims to influence attitudes, behaviors, and policies to prevent gender based violence through national media and advocacy campaigns. Heather also developed a training curriculum for community based intervention strategies.

South Africa

Toussaint Losier

Toussaint Losier
Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaigns

The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign began in 2000 to fight evictions, water cut-offs, and poor health services, to obtain free electricity and decent housing, and oppose police brutality. Among other activities, Toussaint accompanied AEC members on a 28 hour train ride to Johannesburg to attend the hearing of an important case in the Constitutional Court.

South Africa

Laura Rosapep

Lauren Rosapep
Ashoka

Ashoka's goal is to build a critical mass of leading social entrepreneurs to support the creation of a vibrant civil society. Based in Ashoka’s Africa regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa, Lauren supported the development of Ashoka's Fellowship Program.

Liberia

T_________
International Policy Studies, Washington DC/ Green Advocates

T split his summer between Green Advocates in Monrovia and the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. Green Advocates is an environmental and human rights NGO based in Liberia. The Institute for Policy Studies is a multi-issue think tank that supports grassroots campaigns on peace, justice, and the environment. T was a liaison between the two organizations and their U.S. and Liberia-based allies in the Stop Firestone Campaign which fights abuses in the rubber industry.

Lesotho

Nathan Wilmers

Nathan Wilmers
Lesotho Clothing and Allied Workers Union

Nate Wilmers worked with the Lesotho Clothing and Allied Workers Union (LCAWU) this summer. The LCAWU is one of the largest unions in Lesotho. Nate conducted primary research on current conditions in Lesotho’s garment industry, particularly in the wake of the revocation of an international trade agreement privileging Lesotho manufacturing. Nate also provided support for new organizing drives.

Russia

No Interns This Year

India

Gabriel Gaster

Gabriel Gaster
Durbar Mahila Samanwaya

JDurbar is the largest sex-worker rights organization in India. To gauge sex workers’ access to health care and education, Gabriel used his skills in statistics. He analyzed field data on condom distribution and access to health care at STI clinics; his analysis will inform policy and advocacy work.

India

Laura Hodges

Laura Hodges
Anjali

Anjali is a Kolkata (Calcutta) NGO which works to create systematic change in mental health care and treatment in India. Laura focused on advocacy, education, and youth leadership. A recipient of the HR Program Radio Training Internship, she used radio and other media in her work. She helped with researching, writing and editing for Anjali’s publications.

India

Juliana Shulman

Juliana Shulman
Veerni Project

Juliana worked with the Veerni Project in Jodhpur, India, on health and women’s rights issues in rural India. According to their mission statement, “the Veerni Project is guided by the core belief that when women are healthy and educated, they will gain economic independence and make decisions that strengthen their community.” Juliana assessed Veerni’s education and reproductive rights projects in 17 Rajasthani villages.

India

Emily Singer

Emily Singer
Sivananda Rehabilitation Home

The Sivananda Rehabilitation Home in Hyderabad, India runs a free clinic for Tuberculosis and HIV patients. Emily used their records to put together epidemiological studies regarding leprosy and tuberculosis, and assisted in public health outreach. She also helped run educational programs at the SRH AIDS orphanage.

Philippines

Jamie Johnston

Jamie Johnston
Center for Migrant Advocacy

Jamie worked with the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), a Manila-based advocacy group that works to improve the economic, social, and political conditions of Filipino migrant workers and their families. Her work included policy advocacy, research, information dissemination, networking, and capacity building in preparation for the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Manila in October 2008. Jamie also drafted reports on the situation of migrant domestic workers.

China

S______ (organization, photo, and name confidential)

S worked with an LGBT activist group in China, focusing on student organizing, HIV prevention, and LGBT rights. S visited universities and communities to discuss LGBT organizations’ utilization of a human rights framework. S also worked at a summer camp for LGBT teenagers and assisted with social marketing programs for HIV prevention.

China

Glory Song

Glory Song
Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI)

CHAI works in high-prevalence HIV regions of Henan and Xinjiang, China, supplying ARV drugs and with the National Center for Disease Control and Ministry of Health to develop relief plans and to train local health professionals. Glory analyzed and translated field research documents in CHAI’s Beijing office.

Australia & Pacific Islands

No Interns This Year