Three people from Metro State will visit Ethiopia later this month to explore opportunities for faculty and students to study and work on projects there.

The three delegates from the College—Interim Executive Director of the Office of International Studies Akbarali Thobhani, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Carrie Besnette, and student Nicole Oudenhoven—will be part of an annual November visit to Ethiopia by the Denver-based Cunningham Foundation.

The Cunningham Foundation, established in 2003 in Denver “with the mission of helping the courageous people of the impoverished areas of Ethiopia to help themselves,” partners with Ethiopians in different sustainable development projects. These include the Hope Bracelet Project, in which Ethiopians make bracelets for sale in the U.S.; Quarters for Kids, in which Colorado high school students raise funds for Ethiopian students; and the Ethiopia Library Project.

“There will be 20 of us total on the trip,” said Thobhani. “We will be exploring opportunities for partnering with the Cunningham Foundation and with local Ethiopian communities.” Other travelers include administrators, teachers and students from area K-12 schools. The group leaves Nov. 19.

“Developing strategic partnerships that allow academic departments to collaborate with and strengthen communities in other countries enhances our students’ educational opportunities and it aligns with Metro State’s mission of preparing students to work in a global society,” Besnette added.

According to Thobhani, the initiative is a result of Besnette knowing Noel and Tammy Cunningham, who established the foundation and wanted to get Metro State involved after having partnered for many years with local K-12 school districts. Besnette, Thobhani and Cunningham Foundation representatives met with Metro State President Stephen Jordan last spring to discuss initial ideas about possible collaborations between the College and the foundation. In August, Besnette and Thobhani submitted a formal proposal to the President’s Office, laying out the rationale for the partnership and the exploratory trip.

The stated goals of the trip are to:

• establish an ongoing affiliation between Metro State, the
   Cunningham Foundation and its affiliate in Ethiopia, Project Mercy;
• create opportunities for Metro State students to participate in
   the projects sponsored by the foundation;
• encourage Metro State faculty to develop service-learning
   study abroad courses involving Ethiopia;
• encourage Metro State faculty and students to undertake
   Ethiopia-related research;
• develop joint initiatives with Regis University faculty and students
   who are engaged in development projects with Project Mercy; and
• involve the Metro State Foundation and the Division of
   Institutional Advancement to develop creative educational
   outreach and fundraising activities to promote Ethiopia projects.

Thobhani and Besnette sent out a call to department chairs to solicit applications from students interested in joining the trip. Oudenhoven, a junior majoring in English, was selected “because she had a great potential to contribute, based on her past community service and her enthusiasm,” Thobhani says.

“I’ve always had a strong desire to go to Africa and the goals of the Cunningham Foundation are right up my alley,” says Oudenhoven, who has worked with the Colorado Aids Project and Bead for Life, an income-generating project for Ugandan women.

Oudenhoven is looking forward to the trip and will explore ways to involve Metro State students in Ethiopian projects. She has already coordinated a drive to collect donations and says she has received many, including thousands of dollars in physics equipment from Doug Howey in the Physics Department.

When the rest of their group returns to the United States on Nov. 29, Thobhani and Besnette will remain in Ethiopia until Dec. 5 to explore the potential for a Metro State study abroad course to Ethiopia’s sites of historic significance. Their itinerary for the final week includes a visit to Axum, Denver’s sister city, where they will meet with the mayor and other city officials.

A list of items needed by one of the Ethiopian schools the Cunningham Foundation supports can be found at http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/todayatmetro/assets/edu_ethiopia.doc. Contact Oudenhoven at 303-910-7634 or noudenho@mscd.edu before Nov. 13 if you would like to donate.