1. Community based Issues–Are the issues (i.e. girls education; trafficking etc.) that you are interested in addressed in the program?
2.  Field based or classroom based–Ideally you want to be living and interacting as much as possible in the community you are studying or volunteering in.
3.  Study or Research—how much support is in place locally to facilitate your study or research project
4. Local Language immersion and instruction should be a strong component of the program
5. Accreditation—Of course it’s ideal to receive college credits for your time and work while abroad.

As we build out the Call to Action section of our website we will categorize various study abroad programs with these attributes in mind.  Again, please give us feed back or let us know about any firsthand experience you have had in study abroad programs so we can grow our support for those who want to take this path.

I find these numbers a shocking reminder of how insular our country is today.

However, as I traveled around the country promoting the Women Empowered project I found many college and high school students were coming up to me after my presentation and asking how they might get involved.  I began to realize that these students could be a significant source of support for empowering women and girls in the developing world.  For the most part they didn’t have much money to donate but wanted to volunteer their time.  The students who had traveled abroad let me know how much their trips that involved some form of community service had “changed their lives”.  

Of course the most personal way to contribute is to volunteer time.  University students who are not yet tied down with family obligations and mortgage payments are ideal candidates for this type of involvement.  It’s an excellent way to broaden perspectives and get an experiential high by giving to something outside of oneself.

In 2009 I decided to expand and reconfigure the Women Empowered exhibition and website to, among other things, reach this younger demographic by including multimedia pieces and an expanded call to action that offered many more ways to get involved.  I want the exhibition and website to inspire student participation—to make it easy for students to become advocates and to provide resources that would allow them to find study abroad or volunteer programs that focused on the issues faced by women and girls in the developing world.

I’m looking for organizations that have programs that allow university students to take a semester abroad and work with local organizations that empower women and girls.  It would be ideal if the program were structured so the student could choose their specific area of interest (i.e. maternal health, micro credit, girl’s education, child trafficking, etc.)  It would be even more ideal if the student could receive credit toward their degree for their time abroad.  SIT –(School for International Training) is a good example.  If anyone knows of organizations with programs like this I would be so appreciative if you let me know.  I want a list of resources to accompany my website and exhibition Women Empowered as it travels to universities to help students that want to get involved with these issues.