Summer Fund for Undergraduate Research in Africa
The HASAN Summer Fund was established in February 2001 to defray the costs of summer research in Africa by undergraduate members of the Harvard African Students Association (HASA). The primary aim of the Fund is to facilitate the acquisition of research skills and experience by HASA members at a critical stage in their professional development. Secondarily, through the Fund, HASAN hopes to increase awareness of African issues on Harvard’s campus; this is achieved through seminars the Fund Recipients give upon their return to campus as well as the possibility of publication of the work as a senior thesis.
The Committee on African Studies at Harvard University reviews the research proposals, selects the best one, and administers the Fund on behalf of HASAN. Generous donations from HASAN members have provided the needed support for this Fund for the past 3 years. Amounts raised so far have been as follows:
· Summer 2001 - $1675
· Summer 2002 - $1735
· Summer 2003 - $2070
· Summer 2004 - $1615
· Summer 2006 - $2290
Donate today! We are seeking donations from 100% of HASAN members as well from other sponsors in order to be able to support more students in the future. All donations are tax-deductible in the U.S.
Want to Apply? Eligibility is limited to HASA undergraduates.
Click here to apply at the CAS Web site.
Fund Recipients
HASAN Summer Fund Recipient 2004
Itumelang (Tumi) Makgetla is a Social Studies concentrator in the class of 2005. With support from the 2004 HASAN Summer Fund, Tumi was able to travel to South Africa to research trade policy in the clothing sector for her senior thesis.
Tumi's academic interests are in political economy and development studies. At Harvard, she has been involved with the Harvard African Student Association, the Harvard AIDS Coalition, the Harvard African, Gumboots Dance Troupe, Harvard Wushu Club (co-manager) and the Harvard South African Club (co-president). She attended high school in South Africa and her family currently lives in Johannesburg, where she plans to return after graduate school.
HASAN Summer Fund Recipient 2003
Shakirah Hudani was a member of the Harvard College Class of 2004 with an academic concentration in Social Studies. In Summer 2002, Shakirah conducted general research on the Gacaca court system in Rwanda with a group from Harvard College. This group was able to establish an extensive network of connections with NGO workers, government officials and researchers. For more information on the 2002 project , please visit: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~socstud/rwanda/index.html.
With support from the 2003 HASAN Summer Fund, Shakirah was able to continue her research in Rwanda for her senior thesis for which she focused specifically on the intersection of religious discourse and the Gacaca process. She delved further into her research by working with both governmental and non-governmental practitioners focusing on the transitional justice system. She also continued the observation of specific Gacaca courts started the previous summer, examined the workings of religious discourse in Gitarama, Kigali and Kibuye prisons and cachots (local detention facilities that have been the greatest sites of religious activity) and conducted interviews with various religious and governmental leaders.
Shakirah states that her experience in Rwanda left an indelible impression on her of the multifaceted challenges of reintegrating society and addressing conflict from an academic perspective. It also reinforced her interest in focusing on Africa in her future studies in Political Science. Shakirah is from Kenya and was a member of HASA during her graduate years.
HASAN Summer Fund Recipient 2002
Alfa Tiruneh was a Government concentrator in the Class of 2003. She received the 2002 HASAN Summer Fund for thesis research in Rwanda. Alfa is a native of Ethiopia. Her thesis topic was “The Relevance of Traditional Conflict Resolution Mechanisms to Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in Modern African Societies: A case study of Rwanda’s Gacaca through the lens of an Ethiopian counterpart, Guma.”
Alfa was part of a group of six undergraduates who traveled to Rwanda to examine its innovative Gacaca system of courts. Gacaca is a countrywide system of community-based courts designed to address the cases of the 120,000 prisoners still awaiting trial on genocide charges. Implications of this process range from its social effects in Rwanda to its contribution towards the worldwide search for methods of post-conflict recovery. For more information about Alfa’s summer research experience, click here for article in the Harvard University Gazette or click here for article in Centerpiece, the newsletter of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.
Alfa was an active member of HASA throughout her four years at Harvard. She was HASA Co-President from 2001 to 2002 and was also involved in the planning of HASA’s annual cultural shows and 25th Anniversary Celebration. She is currently working on establishing a foundation to implement microfinance strategies to alleviate poverty in urban America.
HASAN Summer Fund Recipient 2001
Shamiso Mbizvo graduated magna cum laude in Government at Harvard College, in the Class of 2002. Her major sub-fields were Comparative Politics and International Relations, which allowed her to engage in a multi-disciplinarian study of Sub-Saharan Africa. She was the first recipient of the HASAN Summer Fund in 2001 for thesis research in Zimbabwe, her native country. Her senior honors thesis explored the role of Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court in establishing and defending liberal democracy in independent Zimbabwe. Specifically, her thesis sought to explain the present crisis between the Executive and the Judiciary in the context of the Court’s post-independence, democratic legacy.
She was awarded a Radcliffe Traveling Fellowship for a six-week photography and documentary project on post-colonial immigrant communities in France. She was a Chris O’Hiri Memorial Scholar, and in her senior year was named a Pforzheimer Public Service Fellow.
Shamiso was an active HASA member while at Harvard College. She performed in three of HASA’s annual shows, gave an informal presentation to HASA on the current land seizure crisis in Zimbabwe, and represented HASA at a forum on tensions within the African Diaspora, hosted by the publication, Diversity and Distinction. While at Harvard, Shamiso also performed in the debut performance of the play, Deep River by Professor Braxton. Shamiso is currently a member of HASAN.
