Hope Flies

Reaching New Heights

The introduction of drones was not the only reason why 2018 was a remarkable year in the Villanova-CRS partnership. A record 20 Villanova students received two-month, CRS-related internships. The 15 selected to support work in Madagascar came from nursing, engineering, French, geography and the environment, and business. In the three regions of Madagascar where most of the Villanovans interned, the mix was interdisciplinary.

“In summer 2018, we used an integrated approach to place the students,” says Josh Poole, the CRS country representative in Madagascar. “Students from different majors worked in each of three clusters, tackling the challenges of their respective communities from an interdisciplinary perspective.”

For example, nursing students in the cluster that worked with the Diocesan Development Council of Toliara gathered data on malnutrition and illnesses, such as diarrhea and malaria. The group of students then used their GIS skills in analyzing and mapping geographical data to visualize the findings. “By combining forces, we were able to map which areas had the most problems with which diseases so that local leaders could address these issues and better allocate resources,” Gaby Molina ’19 FCN says.

Julie Greenwald ’19 CLAS documented her work as a CRS intern in Madagascar, from landing in the country for the first time to interacting with local communities to applying her GIS knowledge to assess tree-planting projects that combat deforestation.

Beyond the number of students and the interdisciplinary benefits, Villanova’s partnership with CRS “has reached a high-water mark,” says Dan Griffin, who oversees the partnership for the University. First, an unprecedented number of undergraduates participated in 2018. Second, they got to work in the field with professionals and those closest to each situation. Students didn’t simply tag along.

They applied their skills to the real problems of people whose lives they felt privileged to enter. “The best part of my job,” says Griffin, who served with CRS for 14 years, “is when students discover the compassion and genuine solidarity that motivate the best humanitarian service.”

Being “in the field”—the agricultural kind—was, to the surprise of Zainis Bob-Grey ’19 VSB, the best part of her experience. Zainis was involved with the Saving and Internal Lending Communities, a microfinance program. One of her tasks was learning about farmers’ production processes. She met with local growers and toured the often-swampy farmland. “I think of myself as a tech person,” Zainis says. “But I realized how important it was for me to walk around with and talk to the farmers. It gave me a new perspective on agribusiness.”

Got a Map For That?

Five undergraduates skilled in GIS interned in Madagascar in 2018. Another three stayed stateside, providing GIS support for countries in Africa via CRS headquarters in Baltimore. The demand for students with this knowledge reflects how, globally, the collection, analysis and visualization of geospatial data has become essential across industries for identifying problems, devising solutions and tracking results.

In Madagascar, which deals with food insecurity, natural catastrophes and environmental degradation, GIS can be a lifesaving tool. Villanovans help CRS and the organizations they work with to understand how to use the data they have and which data they should be amassing.

“The map is the starting point to determine how projects can be run and the people better served,” Wagner says. “By analyzing the data, you can see who takes advantage of opportunities and who doesn’t, and then figure out why. Are people not coming to food distribution centers or mobile health clinics because the route is impassable? The road unsafe? The distance too great?”

In 2018, much of the GIS work focused on collecting agricultural data. Trekking through rain forests and across wetlands, students used GIS applications on their smart - phones to map property boundaries so that farmers can more accurately estimate crop yields. As part of a data and statistics team in southwestern Madagascar, Andres Serbia ’19 CLAS mapped a canal and the agricultural parcels that it irrigates. His analyses will be useful in considering the impact of extending the canal to increase rice productivity. “We created data sets that future generations will be able to use for better analysis.”

Other students focused on infrastructure development and natural resource management. Teaming with the ECAR Development Office in Mananjary, on the eastern coast of Madagascar, Julie Greenwald ’19 CLAS used GIS to quantify data from satellite imagery to measure the success of tree-planting efforts, a critical initiative in areas where deforestation has led to ecological crises.

The Villanova students also trained their partners to use GIS analysis and mapping to organize and interpret existing data. For example, the students mapped levels of malnutrition in children ages 2 to 5, as well as the success of investments made by savings communities. They also introduced staff to state-of-the-art software.

Behind the Numbers

From the seriousness of testing drinking water for arsenic—more than half the population lacks access to potable water—to the enrichment of exploring Malagasy culture, Villanovans lived the University’s values. Students collaborated to bring new knowledge to light and worked with local people, joining in efforts to improve the quality of their lives, while respecting each person’s dignity.

“In the lab at Villanova, we would collect data and not think much about it,” says Jamie McGee ’19 CLAS. “But when we were in Madagascar, we saw that these numbers represented kids we were meeting and hanging out with. These numbers showed that their villages weren’t doing well. It made much more of an impact.”

For Barbara Wall, PhD, vice president for Mission and Ministry, helping CRS to promote the common good in Madagascar goes to the heart of what matters to this Catholic and Augustinian university. “We are partnering with an agency of the US Catholic Church in a part of the world that recently emerged from a history of colonialism and poverty,” Dr. Wall says. “Our students and faculty are growing in solidarity with these communities, working together for a more just and sustainable environment.” ◼︎