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Peace Scholar Sam Aucock working in East Timor
RI Peace Scholar from our District 9270/Pmb East Peace Fellow, Samantha Aucock is presently in East Timor working as the Field Director for the Carter Centre Parliamentary Election Observation Mission, having just finished the University based section of her Masters. Rotary International and Bradford University approved that she could undertake this mission. It is a 6 week program and finishes in mid July.
She has done exceptionally well with her Masters, finishing in the top 5 in all assignments and overall gaining a 1st Class Result for the Course Work of which there are over 100 students registered. This has not come easy as she has had to work very hard to achieve this result having been out of study mode for many years, but those that know her are aware of her drive and enthusiasm for anything she tackles, only 100% is good enough for Sam!
Samantha is extremely grateful to District 9270, Rotary International and the Foundation for what has been done for her, she says the Year at Bradford University has been the best thing she has ever done, in fact the best Year of her life! Her personal growth and development have been enormous.
The support and encouragement that she has received from her host Club, Sowerby Bridge and host counselor, Ian Slim, have been phenomenal. They have been there for her every inch of the way. Apparently she has developed wonderful friendships with some of the Rotarians during her stay. The lecturers at Bradford University have benefited greatly from her wealth of hands on experience in the field of conflict, as they have all the theory but not the practise.
As her main interest has always been on the gender issues surrounding women, she has decided to change direction somewhat from the field of Conflict for her dissertation and will be returning to South Africa late July for about 6 weeks to complete the research and field work for her Masters Thesis. This will be a critique of HIV and AIDS in South Africa with a gendered approach.
She will be researching the subject of the disempowerment of women culturally and the bias towards men as she feels this needs full exposure, right down to the latest Government Policies. According to Sam, other than the present political state of the world the next pressing thing is definitely the AIDS issue, so she will be consulting with the Carter Centre and the United Nations on her findings and obviously the powers that be here in South Africa.
So hopefully her "brain power" and her Peace Fellowship might ultimately see her return to our shores to benefit our/her fellow South Africans.
Article kind courtesy of Di Holderness, Rotarian, RC Pmb East
Submitted - 23 Jun 2007
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