Factsheets created by students in African Development Issues class

Posted by CMU Staff | Friday, February 27, 2015 @ 12:00 AM

Students in the Fall 2014 African Development Issues class ended the year by reflecting on what they learned. Their professor, Dr. Ruth Rempel, asked each of them to choose a topic from the course that they thought was interesting and important. She then asked them to turn that topic into a factsheet—a form of writing that many development organizations use to communicate with the public. This pushed students to translate development concepts and experiences into terms that would communicate outside the university, and to practice organizing information into an effective factsheet. Many of the students picked an example of successful innovation—whether with water storage, mobile phone, use or social policy.

As student Gurpreet Dhillon said, “I knew I wanted to showcase African development in a positive light. For too long the general public has had a negative perception of the African continent.” He noted that when he first heard about sand dams in class “I was blown away.” Christine Izere chose to write about social protection policies to illustrate the increasing role that African governments, rather than external donors, were playing in African development. These are some of the best factsheets submitted, doing what factsheets are supposed to do—informing people about important initiatives in a short, accessible way.

Sand Dams
By Gurpreet Dhillon

Water. Naturally, safely, and affordably. An innovative project that provides more water, to more people.

Sand dams are a cost-effective method of water collection and are constructed by members of the local community. They are usually built in rural, arid, and semi-arid areas, where infrastructure that allows for accessible water is scarce but rainfall is common.