By: Jennifer Kumar
Last week many British and European tour operators announced cancelling tours to Kenya and encouraged those in Kenya to come back as soon as possible.
As yet, I have not heard such an announcement from U.S. tour operators.
Though I have been privy to few discussions regarding the possibility of cancelling study abroad tours to Kenya for this spring 2008 semester, I have yet to hear of formal cancellations.
The situation in Kenya is bad. Bad is putting it lightly. In addition to regional [African countries] refugees in Kenya, Kenyans themselves are now refugees in their own country. Those who are not refugees may not be returning to their normal routines soon as expected. Many schools, colleges and universities have postponed the first day back to class after Christmas holidays. Dates to restart some institutions have been posted, but they may not be set in stone, as one article eloquently stated, "The university management said the security situation would not make it safe for students to travel from their homes to their campuses." (source) In one blog I follow, a housekeeper of an expat refused donations of items out of fear of being looted. People in slums have few possessions, and coming into a slum with bulging bags makes someone a moving target for looters.
When I studied in India, I was in slums two to four days a week. This was in a country that was stable and safe. Like any big city anywhere in the world in slums and 'bad neighborhoods,' one's personal safety is always at risk. Taking advice of my advisers and professors, I was never in harm's way. Now, some are questioning whether to send their children to Kenya for study abroad to work in the slums with the poverty and HIV/AIDS stricken. If the election and it's aftermath had not occurred, then going to Kenya would be quite safe for these activities (as I know they have been going on for years now without reports of harm to aid workers). But, now I am not so sure this can be said.
Of course, guaranteeing a tourist or a student would not be harmed is impossible. However, after carefully assessing current information and predictions from pundits in the area, it is safe to say that going to Kenya now and at least for the next few months would not be a good idea.
Related articles:
Travel Q&A: Take extra precautions in Kenya, UW expert says
Study-Abroad Officials Keep Close Watch on Kenyan Violence
Kenya: Varsities Postpone Opening Dates
Amid Violence, Kenyan Universities Postpone Opening
British Tour Operators Cancel Kenya Holidays
Our ex-askari paid us a visit from Kibera today
Travel Warnings- U.S. Embassy Nairobi
Showing posts with label study-abroad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label study-abroad. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Economics of Study Abroad - Reflections
by: Jennifer Kumar
Reflecting on the current state of the American Dollar, I posted a link to an article from Worldhum.com titled American Expats in Britain Suffer ‘24/7 Sticker Shock’. Since, I have located another article titled The Dollars and Cents of Studying Abroad. In reading these articles and being aware of the ever increasing market for ‘study abroad’ loans, I wanted to share my thoughts on the economics of studying abroad.
I admit years ago (1997 to be exact) economics was the main reason I went to India as a matriculated student rather than a Minnesota MSID exchange student. It was a very competitive program to enter, but I was accepted. However, had to decline later when the tuition rules changed and I was expected to pay twice the amount I was paying per year at my home college (the new total was over US$20,000). So, I did not attend that program and took a different route to India. Within two years, I became the first matriculated student from America to attend Madras Christian College. I also became the first American to graduate from the college with a M.A. Social Work two years after that.
How did economics factor into all of this? Well, rather than pay U of M $20,000 for a one year program that would not give me a degree, I paid $2,000 for a two year stay in India to achieve a Master’s degree. Within this US$2,000, I paid for my full tuition, room and board (three semesters on campus and one as a paying guest), mess (hostel food), in country travel and miscellaneous expenses. Within this budget I lived very well. The fight tickets to India and back were more costly than my degree and in-country living expenses! When I began working in U.S., I came to find out that I really saved a bundle as my colleagues had spent upward of US$50,000 for their social work master’s degrees here in U.S., and were in major debt.
So, economics played a different role for me than today's study abroad students. Today, the toll of economics is set against the fluctuating dollar, which seems to be loosing purchasing power around the world. This encourages students to choose the countries where the dollar can go father for daily living expenses. This may encourage students and colleges to take new approaches to study abroad. Of the many approaches that exist, I will discuss two:
1. Comparing prices based on total amount spent on tuition and living expenses once in country. Quoted from The Dollars and Cents of Studying Abroad, “For Middlebury College students, for example, a year in Florence costs around $37,000; at Santiago, Chile, it's $27,000.” This, of course, is an extreme example, but none the less quite realistic. I know this kind of comparison haunted me in my study abroad choice between India and Japan in 1997. Of course, India won out – and must I add for many other reasons beside economics!
2. New approaches to study abroad that expel the myth that study abroad is a diversion on the path to getting a degree and that Americans have to pay American tuition even in other countries where those expenses would be less. Twinnings programs allow for the smooth flow of academics so that a degree is the final outcome and saving money is inevitable. For instance, Rajagiri College in Kochi India has Twinnings Programs in various subjects and in various colleges around the world. Economics and the promise of a ‘foreign degree’ for many Indian and non-Indian students alike are the selling points. For more details on this see the Rajagiri Twinnings Brochure for economic breakdown – from the Rupees perspective.
Based on this limited discussion, there are different ways of approaching the economic quandary of studying abroad. It may seem that as the dollar fluctuates, study abroad is out of reach. I challenge this assumption because there are so many avenues to study abroad and with enough research and the right mindset there is a good study abroad fit for your academic, professional, personal and economic goals!
Share you experiences or other study abroad economic considerations below.
Note: The link I have found for MSID India appears to go to Jaipur and not Pune. I could not find the Pune program. If it exists, please send the link to me by leaving it in a comment below.
Related Posts/Sites: One list of India Study Abroad Programs
Reflecting on the current state of the American Dollar, I posted a link to an article from Worldhum.com titled American Expats in Britain Suffer ‘24/7 Sticker Shock’. Since, I have located another article titled The Dollars and Cents of Studying Abroad. In reading these articles and being aware of the ever increasing market for ‘study abroad’ loans, I wanted to share my thoughts on the economics of studying abroad.
I admit years ago (1997 to be exact) economics was the main reason I went to India as a matriculated student rather than a Minnesota MSID exchange student. It was a very competitive program to enter, but I was accepted. However, had to decline later when the tuition rules changed and I was expected to pay twice the amount I was paying per year at my home college (the new total was over US$20,000). So, I did not attend that program and took a different route to India. Within two years, I became the first matriculated student from America to attend Madras Christian College. I also became the first American to graduate from the college with a M.A. Social Work two years after that.
How did economics factor into all of this? Well, rather than pay U of M $20,000 for a one year program that would not give me a degree, I paid $2,000 for a two year stay in India to achieve a Master’s degree. Within this US$2,000, I paid for my full tuition, room and board (three semesters on campus and one as a paying guest), mess (hostel food), in country travel and miscellaneous expenses. Within this budget I lived very well. The fight tickets to India and back were more costly than my degree and in-country living expenses! When I began working in U.S., I came to find out that I really saved a bundle as my colleagues had spent upward of US$50,000 for their social work master’s degrees here in U.S., and were in major debt.
So, economics played a different role for me than today's study abroad students. Today, the toll of economics is set against the fluctuating dollar, which seems to be loosing purchasing power around the world. This encourages students to choose the countries where the dollar can go father for daily living expenses. This may encourage students and colleges to take new approaches to study abroad. Of the many approaches that exist, I will discuss two:
1. Comparing prices based on total amount spent on tuition and living expenses once in country. Quoted from The Dollars and Cents of Studying Abroad, “For Middlebury College students, for example, a year in Florence costs around $37,000; at Santiago, Chile, it's $27,000.” This, of course, is an extreme example, but none the less quite realistic. I know this kind of comparison haunted me in my study abroad choice between India and Japan in 1997. Of course, India won out – and must I add for many other reasons beside economics!
2. New approaches to study abroad that expel the myth that study abroad is a diversion on the path to getting a degree and that Americans have to pay American tuition even in other countries where those expenses would be less. Twinnings programs allow for the smooth flow of academics so that a degree is the final outcome and saving money is inevitable. For instance, Rajagiri College in Kochi India has Twinnings Programs in various subjects and in various colleges around the world. Economics and the promise of a ‘foreign degree’ for many Indian and non-Indian students alike are the selling points. For more details on this see the Rajagiri Twinnings Brochure for economic breakdown – from the Rupees perspective.
Based on this limited discussion, there are different ways of approaching the economic quandary of studying abroad. It may seem that as the dollar fluctuates, study abroad is out of reach. I challenge this assumption because there are so many avenues to study abroad and with enough research and the right mindset there is a good study abroad fit for your academic, professional, personal and economic goals!
Share you experiences or other study abroad economic considerations below.
Note: The link I have found for MSID India appears to go to Jaipur and not Pune. I could not find the Pune program. If it exists, please send the link to me by leaving it in a comment below.
Related Posts/Sites: One list of India Study Abroad Programs
Friday, December 14, 2007
Resident of Nairobi Slum Graduates from University of Manchester, U.K.
by: Jennifer Kumar
Question everything. Anything is possible. Dare to expect the unexpected. Take the path less traveled. Go against expectations.
This is the life story of Sammy Gitau, a lifetime resident of one of Nairobi, Kenya’s poorest communities- a slum in the middle of the city. The story of his life is commendable. He has definitely seen times most of us are afraid to talk about let alone experience first hand.
He knew his studies would take him places. Though he has had only few years of formal schooling, he is now a proud college graduate from the University of Manchester in U.K. with a MSc in International Development Project Management (IDPM).
His story teaches us many things. One of the things that it teaches me is that “there are many ways in and many ways out” and some of those ways are far from conventional. I am sure, for instance the University was ridiculed for accepting such a student. After all, plenty of students ‘formally schooled’ and highly ranked also applied. What did the students think? But, the university took a risk on experience over test scores! How novel!
How did Sammy get to go abroad? Being from a slum, how could he afford the travel and living expenses abroad? Over his lifetime (currently at the ripe old age of 35), he has inspired his neighbors and fellow ‘slum dwellers’ to rise up and have better lives. Without studying books, but knowing his community, his people, and his country he created his own community development programs. These programs had international visitors over the years. His superior networking abilities roped in insurmountable international moral and financial support. It was through his track record on the ground, his grassroots effort paid off, literally. Now, to return to Kenya foreign educated at one of the world’s top institution.
So, two days after Kenya’s 44th Independence Day celebration, one of Kenya’s hardest working ‘regular Joes’ has achieved a new freedom of his own for himself and his people. I wish Sammy all the best in using his new found knowledge to enhance his family, his community, his country and his world!
For the entire article, titled From Slum Dweller to Miracle Graduate click here.
University of Manchester
Question everything. Anything is possible. Dare to expect the unexpected. Take the path less traveled. Go against expectations.
This is the life story of Sammy Gitau, a lifetime resident of one of Nairobi, Kenya’s poorest communities- a slum in the middle of the city. The story of his life is commendable. He has definitely seen times most of us are afraid to talk about let alone experience first hand.
He knew his studies would take him places. Though he has had only few years of formal schooling, he is now a proud college graduate from the University of Manchester in U.K. with a MSc in International Development Project Management (IDPM).
His story teaches us many things. One of the things that it teaches me is that “there are many ways in and many ways out” and some of those ways are far from conventional. I am sure, for instance the University was ridiculed for accepting such a student. After all, plenty of students ‘formally schooled’ and highly ranked also applied. What did the students think? But, the university took a risk on experience over test scores! How novel!
How did Sammy get to go abroad? Being from a slum, how could he afford the travel and living expenses abroad? Over his lifetime (currently at the ripe old age of 35), he has inspired his neighbors and fellow ‘slum dwellers’ to rise up and have better lives. Without studying books, but knowing his community, his people, and his country he created his own community development programs. These programs had international visitors over the years. His superior networking abilities roped in insurmountable international moral and financial support. It was through his track record on the ground, his grassroots effort paid off, literally. Now, to return to Kenya foreign educated at one of the world’s top institution.
So, two days after Kenya’s 44th Independence Day celebration, one of Kenya’s hardest working ‘regular Joes’ has achieved a new freedom of his own for himself and his people. I wish Sammy all the best in using his new found knowledge to enhance his family, his community, his country and his world!
For the entire article, titled From Slum Dweller to Miracle Graduate click here.
University of Manchester
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