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Worldwide check-ins from Civic Initiative alumni during the COVID-19 epidemic (part 3 with continuing updates)

Mike Hannahan, director of the UMass Civic Initiative, asked alumni last week about how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting them and what they were doing to take care of themselves during this unprecedented time across the world. Here are there responses, categorized by country.

The responses are to two questions: How has the coronavirus changed your life? How are you taking care of yourself?

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Iraq

Greetings from Baghdad. I am an Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP) alumnus from 2015 and currently working as a medical doctor in the emergency room of one of Baghdad biggest hospitals, a hospital that provides (along with another smaller hospitals) medical care for approximately 5 million people! The hospital was so crowded before corona as usual, and when the first corona case was reported in Iraq, we were in alarm and we knew that things are going to change! Because we know our government and its limited resources.

We were waiting the first case to be reported in our hospital carefully, looking at any patient in the ER and expecting them to be a corona patient, but since we are in a war against that tiny evil, it came to us from where we didn’t expect! And old man in the cardiac care unit whom denied any travel history and was admitted 6 days ago started to deteriorate, despite of the proper management and care, unfortunately we lost him the day after! Then, his relatives confessed his being at Iran a couple weeks prior to admission and that explained everything!

We sent samples for PCR and the results came positive the day after! We were shocked! Because 21 doctors 6 nurses and patients nearby him were in direct contact with that man! Half of the hospital staff went to quarantine! Luckily, I wasn’t among them but continued working extra time to keep the hospital serving the people in need. Days after that, most of the cases in the ER were respiratory cases and many of them were corona positive! Among them, a woman came in late stage of the disease and died at the same day she was admitted, her body is still in the hospital and today is her 15 days without been buried! She did not have burial or sorrow ceremonies like any other, and this was inhumane! 

Those days in the war against corona virus revealed another enemy that is more aggressive than the Corona itself! The illiteracy! People didn’t commit to quarantine! Suspected cases are leaving the isolation units! And finally, a highly suspected woman whom her husband refused to isolate her and threatened me with punishment if I put her in isolation! And the next day revealed that she was positive and the police put all the family in the isolation units.

And here i am, writing this in my 25 days at hospital, standing against corona that will be vanished in months, and illiteracy which will last longer. 

Egypt

So we can all see that coronavirus has affected a lot of people's lives. From my point of view it came to teach us, to let us more aware about what we were having and what we were doing but now we are all at our houses trying to stay safe.

My life has stopped. I was working then the company changed the policy to work from home but now we are all in an open vacation not working, not getting our salaries, not doing anything. At first in the organization I was working in, we were trying to spread awareness through making online campaigns and live sessions but even now no one is working.

Also I was planning to visit the US this summer. I wanted to check on with the people that gave me the best experience during my previous experience in SUSI program. I wanted to come in June then to spend the 4th of July. But now I don't know if I will be able to do that or not. Besides that, I was going on an exchange program to Portugal but the airports stopped working 12 days before.

Now I'm staying at home, trying to find online jobs but because of the poor internet connection it is not easy nowadays. I'm learning Spanish now, and trying to learn Tango. What I really want to focus on now is to discover and explore myself more. In addition to try different and new things.

So now, I'm always staying at my home to be safe. I just go out if something is urgent, and I go out using gloves, masks, and alcohol. And after coming back before entering the house I take off my shoes outside, then go to wash my hands and use the alcohol again, then putting all my clothes in the washing machine separately.

Wish you a peaceful & healthy life. Stay safe.

Argentina

Strict quarantine since March 20, no school for my daughter since March 16th. We are both confined. I'm working from home, but fearing I may lose my job if this situation continues. I have just left my apartment twice to buy some groceries at local shops around the corner. I have not seen my family or friends who live in the same city, since March 15th, the day before the first regulations were started by the federal government. 

How are you taking care of yourself? Following the rules, practicing social distance. 

Pakistan 

It's a hard time for health workers. With increasing numbers of patients, not only their care but self-prevention has become a challenge. With all this, it's been a reminder to rejoice little things in life and not take normal daily routine for granted after the fight against COVID-19 is over. This has made me more thoughtful and grateful in life. I could really use some fresh air and a long walk when all this is over soon, hopefully. And a face-to-face chit chat over a coffee with my friends. 

I'm following the prevention guidelines thoroughly and making sure I will never be the reason somebody gets it. That's the responsibility falling on all of us and we must play our part.

United States (from a member of the Civic Initiative staff)

The coronavirus has completely changed all of my plans for the spring of 2020. First and foremost, I thought I would be spending this week recovering from the jet lag of a two week trip to Islamabad. I also envisioned myself having plenty of time in the warm weather to visit all of my favorite spots in the Pioneer Valley before I move away from Amherst for the foreseeable future. However, as my mom keeps reminding me, "Change the way you look at the things, and the things you look at change." Though life is not going according to plan, I am super thankful to have this time with my family. My brother, sister, and I are all quite close to moving away from our childhood home permanently, and it has been years since we all lived together under the same roof! 

With the extra time in my schedule, I am trying to solidify some healthy habits in my life. Aside from online school, I aim to do something physical and something creative every day. Some days I take my dogs for a walk and then read a book. Other days, I go for a run and come home to work on my doodling/sketching skills. It is cool to be able to spend my time on activities that normally fall to the bottom of my list of priorities.  

New Zealand

We have all been in a total national ‘lockdown’ for a week. Only people working in essential services are allowed to move around, the rest of us are confined to home except to go shopping, the Dr. or for neighbourhood walks. People over 70 are not even allowed to go to the grocery store. My mum and mother-in-law are both stuck at home, on their own. Police are out and about questioning people’s movement, which is very weird, but currently accepted by the population as necessary. The rate of infection is still going up every day (we are at 650 today) and they expect the numbers to keep going up for another 7-10 days. All travel in and out of the country has been suspended and our national airline is now running 5% of its previous scheduled flights. New Zealand’s economy is very heavily dependent on tourism, foreign students (especially from China and India) and dairy exports. The first two have completely stopped, and look to be suspended for a year or more, so the NZ economy is going to be very badly hit, with huge redundancies. The government (we have a left-wing one at the moment) has provided income assistance for everyone made unemployed by the virus and mortgage support for people who would otherwise lose their homes. These measures will soften the blow but not stop hardship.

Like everyone else our family (my husband, 17-year old son and me) is confined to home and will be for another 3 weeks, although word is that the government is thinking of extending it for another 2 weeks after that. I’m not sure what will happen when we all come out again. Maybe the government will stagger things across the country so that the health services can cope. All schools and universities are shut so we are all learning how to teach and learn online. 

Watching how the virus is affecting Italy, Spain, the US, the UK is shocking, and these countries have huge health care resources. Wishing all friends and other alumni and their communities all best wishes for getting through this pandemic!

Pakistan

The government imposed a partial lock down and authorities have restricted non-essential travel. I have not stepped out of the home for the last 6 days but I have set timetable for myself, which includes official work from home and other co-curricular activities such as cutting grass in lawn and playing badminton with my family members. It’s pretty hard to work from home in this challenging time as there's no way to avoid all interruptions from your family and visitors. Many in our area are taking the COVID-19 lightly and are not following the government guidelines. For them, it’s business as usual. Sometimes your family will interrupt you—like if your kid just got hurt. Sometimes, due to lack of human interaction I feel loneliness and I miss the gathering of colleagues and friends but we hope we will soon overcome this crisis and will be able to start our routine life.

I’m following the government guidelines of social distancing, staying at home and health & hygiene. I have also started healthy diet by taking more fluids to boost my immune and to be ready to face the COVID-19.

Pakistan

I have five daughters and son, all are adult and students. All public and private schools are closed since Feb. 2020. My children are staying in home, which is the first time and long time staying at same time in the home. These months are usually yearly examination time. All children are preparing for examinations, but the government announced all schools and universities will be remain closed until May 2020. Now children are busy in cooking, sewing, stitching, online learning. and video films with whole family.

I am also dependent on my salary. We have no money to spend on future food expenses. Today, the government is announcing that conditions are going be worse day by day.

As a social worker, my community members, and daily wage earners which are living near to me are calling me and want finances and food for their families. I am telling them that the government is doing some planning for them. I have also given technical support to poor people to register for an online portal because 70% of daily wage earners are uneducated and they have no facility of internet. So, I am trying my best with their registration with government.

Pakistan

The spread of pandemic COVID-19 has made sure that we won’t be seeing the world like we were used to before. Nothing is going to be same as before. We will encounter new challenges, down-sizing, recession of financial positions.

But, every recession is a beginning of a new rise. We may learn a life worth-living with a totally changed perspective, vision, re-shuffling of priorities, new ways of living, interacting and working. In order to contribute towards social responsibility, social distancing is the least you can do for yourself and for the others! Keep distance! That’s the only way you can protect yourself and others from this pandemic! Stay Home! Stay Safe!

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Worldwide check-ins from Civic Initiative alumni during the COVID-19 epidemic (part 2)

Mike Hannahan, director of the UMass Civic Initiative, asked alumni last week about how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting them and what they were doing to take care of themselves during this unprecedented time across the world. Here are there responses, categorized by country.

The responses are to two questions: How has the coronavirus changed your life? How are you taking care of yourself?

###

Iraq

I am studying for a master’s degree in translation and now we are taking online lectures. In Iraq, everything has stopped. The government and many intellectual citizens are doing their best to prevent Covid-19 from spreading more by educating people to stay home, and showing people how important it is to help each other in these hard times.

Pakistan

It has given me time to recalibrate my relations with my family and think about what is the most important thing in life for me and try to prioritize that in my heart.  I am spending more time with family and being more kind, tolerant, and careful in my actions because I feel coronavirus was sent to teach me just that.  Because of corona, our college is closed, it has affected us badly. I had some other activities to do, but because of corona the activities were postponed. Because of corona it seems like everything is stopped. The hotels here are closed too. But, for students, it's a hard time. In Swat Valley, the annual examination of students has been postponed and it affected them badly. The daily life routine has been changed now because of corona. 

We are following the instructions of the government, we wash our hands, and use a face mask. We are at home and hoping for some good news soon.

Iraq

I'm a junior doctor now, which means my colleagues and I will be running Kurdistan's emergency rooms. That puts us at the front line against coronavirus. We are the first line of contact and we've received little personal protective equipment (PPE). I've received a single N95 mask to use for 2 months. There's a serious lack of PPE here. Coronavirus has changed everything. Personally, I had planned to visit my fiancée in Baghdad. She had planned to come over for Newroz. I haven't seen her for 4 months. Her employment is delayed indefinitely. Our party is also delayed. Hope you are doing well. It makes me really sad to see the USA's numbers day after day. Please take care & stay safe.

Benin

There are 5 people affected by the coronavirus in my country, but the situation is under control. The government has taken some urgent measures to prevent the spreading of the disease. The universities, churches, and some public places are closed. I am obliged to stay at home with my family.

Pakistan

Coronavirus has brought an economic crunch to our country. It has affected the lifestyle and fear of death have prevailed in our ambiance. People are securitized due to curfews and lockdowns. We are in fear of constant life survival. A lot of people are canceling their special occasions like marriages, birthdays, social gatherings and even shopping areas and cinema theatres are closed.

I am taking care of myself through properly washing/sanitizing and not touching/shaking hands/meeting anyone with unsanitized hands. 

Argentina

In Argentina, all non-essential activities were canceled; teaching will resume in April 2 (on-line), and people should stay at home until that date (administrative decision of the Federal Government). All my relatives are just fine and confined to their homes. Our only concern is that we're expecting a girl (5th month pregnancy). She will be named "Malena", and Natalia (my wife) needs to be properly controlled. Next week, we'll see with our physician how do those controls are going to work during the quarantine.

Pakistan

I am working from home nowadays in Karachi as the majority of the offices are closed here. We have restricted our movement outside the house. We wear masks if we go to supermarkets. Sanitizers have become part of life. We’ve learned to wash hands regularly after every 15-30 mins. I have made sure I have some fruits every day including Vitamin C. Every now and then there’s something happening around the world and this is just one of them. May God keep us safe and our families healthy & happy. 

Cameroon

COVID-19  has greatly impacted the way Cameroonians live. Although being a decentralized unitary state, everything is still pretty much centralized and we live with a lot of fear. Communication is not fluid as local governments only work following the central government line of action and authorization. Things as urgent as information emanates from the central government and this takes time. We rely more on private and foreign media to get up-to-date information on COVID-19. 

The prime minister read out a list of measures issued by the government. This included shutting down of the entire academic system from kindergarten to universities. So we are at home. Online education is impossible to institute in my context so all the students are home. Bars, restaurants are to close from 6pm. We are worried that the measures are not sufficient. So my family has adopted our own measures to stay at home and only open our doors to venture out to any public space if it is extremely necessary. We do it with a lot of caution (handwashing regularly, using hand sanitizers and washing the clothes we wore out, as soon as we get home.)

Daily life is getting challenging as a spike in prices of common commodities is at a record high. We live in so much fear and it is worrisome. We pray that this thing gets over ASAP so life can become normal. It is challenging living this new normal indefinitely.

Pakistan 

Coronavirus has changed our lifestyle because we can't use hand sanitizer or wear masks after the virus spread day by day in our country we try to avoid unnecessary contact and avoid going out of home for 15 days

Rest in home is better than Rest in peace.

Pakistan

How has the coronavirus changed your life? To be honest, a social entrepreneur the current COVID-19 affected the online business, as I am a CEO. Pakistan is already ruined. But, we the freelancers, bringing dollars to Pakistan is affected much. Because most of the people are already diverted towards COVID-19.

Now the virus is global. This is not about just 2020. We will see this virus again every year just like the Congo virus, dengue fever. My life routine is the same, I can't miss gatherings, cousins and hangouts. 

Laos

During this time is a very hard situation in every country around the world. Right now in Laos we have two people who have COVID-19 but I am still worried because I live nearby the border with Thailand and we have a lot of labor workers come back to my home town, more than 4000 people.

Coronavirus is changing my life a lot because I live with fear and worry about events. We stay at home together, we need to protect ourselves and people at work and family life. Right now, I am working at home and not going out. We work online which is very effective for the economy, because food and things get more expensive.

Right now I have to take care of myself by doing exercise, avoid crowds, washing hands and I will learn to accept this situation. When I go outside, I always wear a mask. This is my report from my hometown, Savannakhet, Laos. I hope this situation will be better soon.

Pakistan

Paused every activity of everyday life.  Staying home, self-quarantine, protecting myself and family, avoiding gatherings, and maintaining a social distance. It has changed the way we behave now into a cleaner healthier way. We have to wash our hands very often, do physical distancing with friends, neighbors and office colleagues. It has made us work and learn from home now. It’s been 8 days we do this and still a week to go. Not sure when it will be over and it's not getting better as confirmed case increased every day and death rate is at 9 percent due to the virus after the first case announced on March 2. The instruction to stay home for 14 days has not been fully obeyed by the citizens. They still hang out in cafes or restaurants. I’m sad and angry. The gov't must make it an order with sanction than an instruction. 

Staying at home and locking it down. I’m doing all work and school from home using technology. It really helps with internet! Read books, play with kids at home to cheer them up. They are getting bored and miss the school. Watch good movies in computers or gadgets. Sometimes, I do art and crafts with kids. 

Pakistan

Well, we are at complete lockdown due to increasing cases of Covid-19. Around 803 cases have been reported in Pakistan and 353 particularly in Sindh. People were taking it as a joke and I came across really educated people saying that if it’s written then we’ll die. I know that too but that doesn’t mean you go & commit suicide. It’s really nice of Sindh govt, Mr.Murad Ali shah has taken the decision for complete lockdown. I just hope & pray things get better now. As all educational institutions, private and govt offices everything is closed. Pakistan is already suffering through some terrible economic losses and now this. We are an undeveloped country and we cannot afford Covid-19 like other countries in the world. 

Vietnam

Since the coronavirus outbreak in my country, we have been encouraged to work from home, which causes some inconvenience, especially in communicating with other colleagues and accessing the database. It's really hard to buy face masks and hand sanitizers in my country now. One of our social projects for local students this summer is likely to be canceled since the students may not have summer breaks.

Currently, I'm working from home and trying to maintain a healthy diet. Social distancing does not seem easy in my country so most people choose to stay home all the time. I'm refraining from going outside as well (I don't really like it). I'll try going outside in the next couple of days for some fresh air.

Nepal

We got the second case of coronavirus in Kathmandu last Sunday, she is in treatment in hospital. The first case was some three weeks back who recovered. Now, the government has announced a complete lockdown of Kathmandu, except of essential services and supplies. We are more alert on safety these days. The situation is under control. 

Pakistan

My town District Multan is the gateway to 15 districts & 4 Divisions of Punjab Province. Recently Punjab Government has established one of the largest quarantine centers which is nearly 8 kilometers away from the city area and more than 1500 pilgrims are staying there.  Due to this government action, people are now living in a panic condition and Punjab government announced lockdown from 24th March to 6th April 2020. So in this situation, we are spending our time at home, even as we are a donor-dependent organization so we worry how the projects and jobs can continue.

We are trying to make social/physical distances with people, eating healthy food and living in an environment that is hygienically safe and sound.  

As a social activist, I think we should build contacts and networking with the communities who have recovered in this situation.  A stress-free motivational campaign should start and any initiative should be taken for poor communities so that their livelihood needs can be accomplished.  

Greece

The biggest change that has stepped into my life is that due to travel restrictions I can't reunite with my family, as I work in Thessaloniki (Greece) and my family lives in Sofia (Bulgaria). I don't know when travel restrictions will be lifted. My daily schedule hasn't changed much: from my apartment to my workplace (the university which is shut but still allow staff members to visit their offices) and the other way around. What has changed is that all socialization takes place through "technical means of communication" and that I guess can make you feel lonely.

Iraq

We’re staying at home, no school and no gatherings for now. We only go out to buy food or anything necessary. It has already been two weeks of quarantine. We are trying as much as we can to share awareness and follow safety guidelines by wearing gloves, masks and using hygiene every now and then. Although the cases are increasing, I’m hoping for everyone to be safe, and thank you for asking.

Pakistan

This is an unprecedented time and everything is up in the air. We all have learned about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and we know, perhaps more than any other profession, that students who are worried or scared are not receptive as learners. We, too, are subject to Maslow’s Hierarchy. It’s not just for children. At this moment our safety is threatened. I am trying to give myself grace, understanding, rest and dropping the expectations for a while. Taking my foot off the accelerator. Taking care of my security and safety needs, mentally and physically through social distancing and enjoying Netflix after online classes.

As an educationist, life has changed in a matter of weeks in regards to how students are educated. In the past two weeks, there are multiple announcements starting from school closures to social distancing to cancellation of exams. The coronavirus pandemic has changed how millions around the globe are educated. We are conducting online classes for our high schoolers and sent learning activities to the rest of the students through emails and our parent app. I am holding my faculty meetings through Zoom staying in touch with them, helping keep their spirits up during the school closure, appreciating their hard work in regards to distance learning.

I hope and pray that the world is free from this pandemic soon and we resume regular routine work.

Pakistan

I am a resident of Karachi located in the province of Sindh, where most of the coronavirus cases have been reported to date. As I am writing this account, we’re entering the 2nd day of a 15-day curfew imposed by the provincial government for the controlling the spread of COVID-19 disease. I work as a full-time news correspondent for Independent Urdu, Pakistani edition of The Independent UK. Since the day Sindh government imposed a ban on public gatherings, which was almost one week back, I had to cancel or postpone all of my field assignments including interviews, digital video shoots and important press conferences. I always work from home but it never felt so restricted because every now and then I had to go out for some assignment but now we have entirely digital methods for maintaining the quality of our content. 

Being a reporter it is my responsibility to keep my readers and viewers informed but in these circumstances but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Since the day I heard that the number of cases has crossed 20 in Sindh, I have restricted my movements. My family and I are extremely cautious and take all the necessary precautions. We haven’t met any relatives or friends since then, all interactions have been on phone. We only go out for groceries. Moreover, I have been more than active with my work peers since the rest of the people have also shifted to a work from home policy so it’s essential for me to be easily reachable at all times. As for the habit of socializing and dining out since I am quite outgoing, I have shifted to a video call policy with my friends and get creative in the kitchen for all my cravings. 

Spain

Confinement in my mini flat, working from home.

Pakistan

As we live in a third world country, Covid-19 has affected us badly in terms of health and education. All the educational institutions are closed and my students don't have any facilities for me to reach them and teach on-line. Most of the students don't have smartphones and internet connections at home. Secondly, we face a very different situation regarding health facilities. People can't take Covid-19 test and use expensive medicines because of this shutdown. China was facing the coronavirus, they fought it and they won. In Pakistan, we have ignorance, different ideas, religious differences, bigotry, and so many other things. I don't know what will be the end result. So it's hard for us to win this war against coronavirus.

I am mostly staying at home and taking care of the family. Washing hands and wearing masks (Very hard to find masks in the market). Nobody did any Covid-19 test in the family as this test is very expensive and one has to travel to Peshawar or Islamabad for this test.

Pakistan

I was supposed to be working in Lahore and Islamabad. When things started getting out of control, I was immediately called back to the head office and a day later was asked to work from home. Since I work in the pharma sector, my work revolved around meeting doctors and briefing them on on-going projects and conducting interviews. That has come to a complete halt   

I came back and self-isolated for five days away from family as my parents are elderly and in the most at-risk group but since I didn't show any symptoms I am now mingling with them but haven't left my apartment in seven straight days now. It's not a fun place to be in but I know it is the only way to take care of my parents and other vulnerable groups around me.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

Worldwide check-ins from Civic Initiative alumni during the COVID-19 epidemic (part 1)

Mike Hannahan, director of the UMass Civic Initiative, asked alumni last week about how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting them and what they were doing to take care of themselves during this unprecedented time across the world. Here are there responses, categorized by country.

The responses are to two questions: How has the coronavirus changed your life? How are you taking care of yourself?

###

Italy

Locked at home under "house arrest" on my own. No contagion, at least no symptoms. Family split, I am in Lombardy, the most dangerous place in the world, sister in Lisbon, parents in Taranto. E-teaching is a nightmare, always working in front of the computer.

Going out every 2/3 weeks to buy food, wearing gloves. No face mask, I can't find them anywhere, putting a scarf on my nose and mouth, like a far West outlaw man.

Argentina

Today we are in a complete quarantine, we cannot go out, unless we go to the market or the pharmacy. We have to be in our homes, not going to work or we could go to prison. It's complicated but it's a sacrifice for a good cause.

We cannot complain if we are at home with food and internet. It's hard but not impossible, it could be worst.  We don't have to forget that is the only way we could help to stop the virus. Just stay at home. We are not being asked to go to war, to risk our lives, we are being asked just to stay with our family. Call your friends if you miss them, call your boyfriend, but do not minimize what you could cause if you go out of your house.

 Turkey

Materially not much, I and my family are in good health, but mentally I am devastated by this development. As a professor of international relations, I observe very extraordinary/unusual developments and cases in my country and the world at large. I ask and wonder about many consequences of this coronavirus problem, which I call it as humanity's ontological war against the virus and the nature in general. In this respect we in Turkey also have extraordinary measures and policies: schools and universities are closed; distance learning started first time; travel, meeting, entertainment, even shops and many other places are restricted or closed. In short, our life is getting miserable and scary like in the "American horror films"! 

The first and the most important thing is that I and my family isolated ourselves from society and even our larger family connections, locked into home except for shopping. But, thanks to classical and social media such as Twitter, we are strongly engaged with the external world, learning things about and sharing my views with the world. Consequently, we are living in a strange world in many ways: coronavirus threatens us, but we struggle against, definitely defeat it. 

 Hungary

I am distancing... It is a state of emergency from March 12th in Hungary. The borders are closed for foreigners. More and more of the clothing, furniture and similar stores are closing, except for pharmacies, grocery stores, gas stations and tobacco shops. People can still go to work (if they are not in home office). My university switched to remote learning. However, we don't have clear rules for distance learning. So, I basically preparing informative slides with helping docs and video lectures in Camtasia (6-10 minutes each).

I was like a person in the joke: on the first day, I found a woman on my couch. (It turned out that she's my wife. She is nice.) More seriously, I am working from home. Luckily my wife, too. Our kid's kindergarten is closed since Monday (16th). So we are together. Since it is not mandatory yet to be in our homes, I try to take a walk every day. If I see somebody then I go to the other side of the street. We are cooking every day and in general, we try to have a daily schedule. The life is pretty much the same as it was in Yugoslavia/Serbia during the NATO bombing in 1999. A daily schedule could help a lot to get back in normal when this 'shutdown' is over.

 Pakistan

You may know, I am Resident of Internal Medicine leading to specialty now at HMC Peshawar, one of the prime teaching hospital, at the capital city of our province Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. I am actively involved in the health policy and advocacy for doctors’ rights as well. Currently, I represent the Provincial Doctors Association Khyber Pukhtunkhwa as official spokesperson and Member Executive council.

I am part of Corona (COVID-19) Combat Team of my hospital and Provincial policy board. The aim of both of the above is to contain the disease and treat the already affected ones. I was very instrumental in the process of devising a policy and now to accomplish what has been planned to combat this highly infective and deadly virus. In short, I am among the few to face and fight this pandemic in the front lines. 

How am I taking care of myself? The answer to the above question is simple, our government doesn't have many resources. The PPE's (Personal Protection Equipment) are missing. There are a very limited number of masks, goggles and protective gowns available. Most doctors are working without any protection. One of our doctors just died today at Gilgit, Dr. Osama. Our President of Association is isolated in quarantine as he dealt a patient suspected case of the virus with a positive travel history of China which later on come out to be a positive case after PCR testing. Many doctors are exposed due to the non-availability of PPEs. Yesterday, I did a press conference and demanded the Provincial government to provide PPEs to all the health staff working in the ERs and OPD clinics.

 Australia

I'm currently living in Sydney, Australia. One month ago I started to work as a Program Coordinator at Generation Australia, a non-for- profit that trains unemployed people to get jobs. Since last week all trainings were switched to on-line learning. So I work from home and all the students study from home. Apart from that, Australia has closed its borders for all people who are not Australians. So if I go out even to see my family back in Argentia, I won't be able to get in again anytime soon. That would mean losing my job. 

I wash my hands very frequently and try to avoid crowded places and taking public transport.

 Pakistan

The coronavirus is turning out to be surprising us with a new challenge every day. The government is saying numbers increasing day by day. For a person who has to work to earn, the uncertainty and now the lockdown is making her/him thinking how s/he will be managing things for the future. The lockdown is said to be for 10 to 14 days, but experts are suggesting that it can be prolonged to months and even for a year. The biggest challenge we are facing is uncertainty, no one knows what to expect and what to plan for the coming days which surely can be predicted as very challenging.

I personally am looking into and following the guidelines shared by the WHO, which starts from regular handwashing, not touching face and avoiding public places as much as possible. I am looking forward to social distancing, self-isolating myself and with my family until the situation becomes normal again.

 India

I as teacher and responsible citizen was always telling in classrooms and talks outside for years maintain personal hygiene...keep ur surroundings clean...wash hands whenever u have to eat anything...but most of the people in India doesn’t bother unless some epidemic breaks out. After that, its life as usual...spitting, urinating, keeping surroundings unclean are common sights on the roads here... No government can do anything if people in that society doesn’t have self-health discipline. I as warden and vice-principal saw that 1000 students under my control are asked to vacate hostels 2 days back and come back on 31st March. Told the students not to join weddings and festival gatherings...warned them not come with some virus when they return to campus later this month

As I am a sportsman too, maintain the utmost health discipline from the beginning. I must thank my parents for this. Alternate days tennis...mask when I go out...wash hands as frequently as possible as water is a scarce resource in our country.

 England

I am in London as I moved here 2 years ago but as you know all my family and friends in Turkey hence, it was a very hard decision for me to choice staying here...It has changed my life a lot already. My husband and I are working from home now. We tried to stay at home as much as we can even before the government advice. I am still frustrated with Boris for his very late decision to close schools, bars, pubs ext. I am a face-to-face major gift fundraiser, therefore, now we need to find out new ways how my role can evolve with the current situation.

In terms of taking care of myself, as I said we go out only for a walk or market shopping. Thank God, we are healthy and due to at-home physical activities, having enough sleep and ext. I feel good physically. However, it is challenging to keep sane and calm mentally.

I am terrified to get a coronavirus as NHS is not capable of taking care of any patients and we are expected to get well at home. Also, I am very concerned for my family and friends since the rates in Turkey is also increasing rapidly. At last, having thought of losing them and not being able to see them again is killing me, that's my biggest fear at this moment. Other than that I am fine writing my dissertation, working, cooking, painting at home to keep myself busy.

 Iraq

We registered more than 200 cases with 17 deaths and the spread is getting serious in our country, so there was a curfew forced by the government so we are staying home and that was so boring at first. I used to go out like every day and this is a big challenge for me to stay home. We have to adhere to our own benefit and the bright side is we are spending much more time with our families, so it won't be worse than catching the infection.

Some measures I'm taking to protect myself and family is by encouraging them to stay home, using some chemicals to fumigate the house, and when I go out for necessities I use good protection with face mask and gloves and using alcohol frequently.

My final word is to encourage everyone to stay home and enjoy what's in your houses, you will be surprised with the things you can do in your place.

 Finland

Finland is in lockdown since 18 March 2020. I am in self-quarantine since 14 March after arriving from a one week trip to Belarus back to Finland that day. I live with my husband in Joensuu, Eastern Finland where epidemics have not hit as yet. However, we are moving to our new flat in Helsinki 30 March which is now a stressful and exiting situations in the present circumstances.

In Finland there is a strong suggestion to stay at home and reduce all social contacts. So, we live quietly and go for walks with our dog twice a day. Shops are open normally and in Finland the globally exceptional emergency supply work supports the trustworthy situation with foodstuff and pharmacies in such time of crisis (we are proud for that!).

My daughters are students and staying in their homes in Helsinki region. High Schools and universities are closed down and all people who can do distance work. So, all kinds of challenges and solutions for distance work and supporting those alone at home without face-to-face contacts are important at the moment.

The present lockdown is issued till 13 April. In Finland first death due to Corona took place yesterday. We have 500 reported Corona cases at the moment. The most serious concern is about those over 70 years old.

 Cameroon

Although there is no nationwide lockdown, we are advised to stay at home, and to go out only if it is compulsiry. We had  a very busy first semester. I reduce academic activities.

May God make us safe.

 Pakistan

Watching the death toll rising around the globe has made me realize, how even at the peak of technology and billions of dollars at our disposal. To fight mother nature head-on is something we cannot do in one day.  The virus is spreading exponentially in our country and it is sad that only a few hundred thousand are taking it seriously, while millions are making fun of it. This has made me take on another challenge which is to teach and aware people of the dangers of this virus. As our majority of the population is Muslim, we live our religion, so I am trying to relate the awareness with the Islamic concepts. Hopefully, by teaching through social media will benefit some and creates a chain reaction.

This is a global crisis and must be tackled with everything a human can do.

Be safe everyone, be helpful and empathetic.

 Pakistan

Indeed this pandemic is a colossal test for the self and our collective character. Amidst the gloom of rising Covid-19, it’s understandable that every single person on this earth can be affected by it. It has a multidimensional impact at individual, national and international levels. This epidemic has changed my thinking patterns and make me more conscious of the philosophy of life. It is affecting my personal, professional and academic life. Actually, I was busy in the data collection of my postgraduate thesis; but unfortunately, I have to stop it. No doubt, it’s a challenge for “humanity”, the current situation is depressing and alarming but the indomitable human nature can deal with it. At the individual level, I am trying to isolate myself and my family; also, I am following all the authentic instructions by international(WHO) and national agencies(NIH) because, “health is wealth”. As a responsible community we should have to take serious precautions about this natural call. This is the crucial time to reflect back critically on ‘ourselves’ (self-purification) by evaluating the purpose and meaning of life. Hopefully, we will defeat this health war wisely, the required input from every policy stakeholder can act like a safety-chain for the entire human community. However-in proceeding years-it is clearly evident that there will be a neo-social   change in transnationalism and the domestic policy arena. 

 Indonesia

This global pandemic has certainly changed my daily routine. My workplace has been conducted work from home regulation to protect the employer from the events. My works have been much in their field, where I need to work with stakeholders and community, but this situation changed our plan. Though it is hard to still conduct some work with the community since we prevent to do face to face activity, but this moment we gave a try in initiating an online platform. In how we teach people to occupy current technology. There are still many challenges as it might not effectively work with a community who were never exposed or experienced any technology. At this moment, I learn about the technology gap as well.

On the other hand, this global pandemic also got me to learn about such a complex system in dealing with a global pandemic. I learn to see the gap in the socio-economic class dynamics in the ocommunity. Moreover, to see the systematic failure in addressing the issue. It has never been this concerning to see the vulnerable groups (elders, disabled people, women, low-income family, etc.) would be the ones who got the most severe impact of this event. As a civic society, we might be so aware about this issue, but we don’t have much ‘power’ to create such a significant change in dealing with this virus. But, I see the crucial courage to push people in power through advocacy to take such an important action and commitment to make sure that everyone could be treated fairly during this emerging situation.

I am trying to have healthy lifestyle. I consume more vegetables, fruits and a balanced diet. I do regular workouts. Reading and listening to music for my free time. And I am trying to focus on my works too. It is a bit overwhelming to keep reading the news and update, sometimes it has been too complicated and frustrating. In this very uncertain situation, it is good to balance what I need to know and when to stop scrolling Twitter.

 Pakistan

I was at my university when I got to know about the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our class finished before its usual time and we were asked to leave our class room quickly. When I came out of the room, we were informed that the university was closed for 15 days because of the coronavirus outbreak that has infected several people across Pakistan. It was very shocking for me because I was living my usual life. I was unaware of the occurrence of such an unexpected deadly virus causing a huge loss to humanity. We were overloaded with assignments, case studies, readings etc. I did not know anything about the pandemic at all or its horrendous effects on other countries. When I googled Covid-19, I felt so dreadful looking at its adverse effects in China, Italy, Iran and other countries.  The most frightening part was how it spreads fast among people and now most of the world was suffering from it. The unsympathetic, horrific coronavirus changed my life as it brought so much uncertainty, confusion and worry with itself.  Realizing that the virus has no vaccine or cure until now makes me so anxious and nervous. I spent last week constantly dreading about the future of the humanity. I am concerned about all the countries where so many people are illiterate and they are not aware of the seriousness of coronavirus and how lethal it could be to humans. I feel as if my life has become immobile. Amidst the chaotic situation, I cannot think about my future plans, dreams or goals. As a working woman, I used to work 8 hours as an English language instructor in a college and I would take post-graduate classes in the evening. Now, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I am practicing self-isolation which made my life so dormant and passive. I miss my colleagues and friends. We cannot hang out like usual anymore. The news channels constantly update us about the rising number of coronavirus patients and how the situation is getting worst throughout the world.  Mostly countries despite trying their best are experiencing worst circumstances. The situation is strange, stagnant, desperate and hopeless but realizing how China successfully came out of it gave me hope.  Nowadays, I am focusing on how I can spread awareness regarding the coronavirus technologically. I am sharing and spreading coronavirus precautionary videos, voice messages, photos, text messages with people and groups. I miss my life before the coronavirus outbreak but I am concentrating on how I can help people amid the pandemic. My life and concerns have totally changed during the coronavirus outbreak. I have started focusing on the need of the hour which is to follow all the safety measures and to provide support to people through spreading awareness about safety measures and guiding them to be compassionate during this challenging time.  I am trying my best to act as a responsible citizen and human in order to contribute my share in controlling the coronavirus outbreak.

I keep on washing my hands after every 20 to 30 minutes. I am more conscious and attentive when I go out for doing some inevitable tasks. Initially, I used hand sanitizer frequently but they got finished in the market which was troublesome. I ordered gloves for myself and now I use gloves whenever I go out. Furthermore, I have been using a mask for pollution and seasonal allergy so wearing a mask during the pandemic is not something tough for me. I started practicing self-isolation the day I got to know about precautionary measures which all of us have to take during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Self-isolation which was boring at first as I used to be out till evening before the COVID-19 pandemic for work and evening classes. Now I spend most of my time reading, watching movies, playing indoor games, article writing, praying and working on my assignments. These activities keep me busy and I do not feel pessimistic or gloomy due to this sudden lifestyle change which was greatly depressing for me at the start. I am trying my best to act with complete responsibility as it does not only concern my life but many others too. We all have to try to break the chain in order to stop the spread of coronavirus. If we follow the precautionary measures, we can win this fight against this global pandemic. The restraint that we practice during this chaotic pandemic will help in restoring human life as it was before the coronavirus outbreak.  

 Iraqi Kurdistan

My city and all Kurdistan is under lockdown now. Because of the nature of my work, I am still allowed to go to work at my hospital, but pretty much almost all other non-essential businesses are closed. I hope this doesn't become the new normal.  

I try to not go out and stay at home unless I really have to. At work, we take the necessary measures. All the doctors, nurses and hospital staff have to use personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves.

 Argentina 

The quarantine has affected us all at a personal level, but the economic effect is also very significant. Work opportunities are more scarce and the near future seems complicated in that sense.  Although what worries me most is how this will affect the people who depend on the informal economy.  Governments from all over the world have to develop policies to support marginalized groups in this context. It is easy to shelter in place if you can fill your fridge, it is more difficult if you can't.

Besides following the publicly known instructions, I am also wearing a mask when I go buy groceries. Some say it protects you better from the virus and some say it doesn't, but everybody agrees on the fact that it is good for not spreading it. You never know how it will affect you or even if you have it without showing symptoms yet. 

Ecuador

How has the coronavirus changed your life? Well, the university closes all installations and send students and professors to home. So, right now I am working at home and trying to fulfill all my duties until the beginning of the next semester. Besides by an order of the authorities, remain at home is compulsory and one just can go out to obtain supplies and medicines.

Since last Thursday I remain at home.

 Australia

A few minor things such as football season being suspended, travel bans, pubs and cafes being closed, and limited availability in supermarkets of some things such as rice, pasta etc. Major disruption has involved the University of Tasmania stopping all face-to-face teaching (tutes and lectures) and lecturers transitioning to fully online teaching. Things will change in Tasmania when either a government decision to close schools is made, or schools make the decision independent of government.

I’m socially isolating and following advice about hygiene. I’m still going for a bike ride when I can to keep myself healthy

South Africa

COVID-19 has redefined my pattern of social interactions among peers. It has placed restrictions on my movement and keeps me at home and my desk. Unnecessary visits discarded and concentrate more on my research. Nevertheless, it has created an atmosphere of fear and panic. It is a time that has drawn me closer to God and sharing the gospel with friends. I explore the social media platforms to encourage people to put their trust in God in the face of a raging pandemic.

I take care of myself by improving personal hygiene and maintaining my food habits. I keep social distance having restricted my movements and contacts with people.

 Ethiopia

I am deeply saddened by the death and suffering of thousands of people across the world. Here in my country, Ethiopia, the spread of the virus, according to official figures, is limited to a handful of people who contracted it while abroad. There is no report of domestic transmission so far. Nevertheless, schools are closed for two weeks (we are now into the second week) and classes are suspended for university students. As university instructors, we are supposed to help students study while at home but the problem is that we do not have the necessary preparations to do that. Though the spread of the virus is very limited the global situation is hitting the country very hard. The country is very dependent on exports and imports in the countries seriously affected by the virus. So, there is a shortage of important supplies such as sanitizers, alcohol, face masks and food items. So, people are turning to traditional ways of preventing epidemics. In fact, as we are yet to suffer from the spread of the virus, we are going to see the real reaction of the people in the immediate future.  Our thoughts are with those who are suffering from the virus.

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Pakistan 2019: Karachi, the last stop

The final stop on the Pakistan 2019 tour was the southern port city of Karachi. Pakistan’s largest city and home to approximately 20 million people, Karachi never ceases to buzz and move. This was a stark contrast from the relatively quiet nature of Islamabad.

As occurred in previous years, Karachi was once again the site of a workshop for the Balochistan University Partnership Program (BUPP). This workshop marked the last event of BUPP which started in 2016 and hosted 38 participants in Amherst in 2016 and 2017. Balochistan is an historically underserved province and for the purposes of this entrepreneurship education-focused BUPP program, an area ripe for development and progress.

Read about the Summer 2017 program. 

Read about the previous Karachi meeting for BUPP.  

For the January workshop, 60 students from three universities (Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS); Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University and the University of Balochistan) attended two days of instruction and group interaction.

Mike Hannahan started the first day by discussing a brief history of BUPP. He also asked how many of the students had heard a talk by an American. Three people raised their hands. After a networking activity by UMass Civic Initiative Program Manager Becky Howland, Ken LeBlond and Dana Henry gave several presentations similar to their SUSI presentations including personal branding, cross-cultural communications and design thinking (also by Ms. Howland).

The second day of the BUPP workshop started with a talk given by program alumns Aftab Alam and Rehan Khan, both professors from BUITEMS. They delivered a presentation called the Importance of Exchange. This presentation focused primarily on Aftab and Rehan’s personal experience when they came to UMass as part of the 2017 BUPP group. It stressed how much people learn as a result of exchange programs, how to go about applying for them, and how much of an impact they can have on you. The participants asked numerous questions, as they all expressed interest in eventually travelling to the U.S. one day. This last group of BUPP did not get to travel to the U.S. as a result of the program, so their questions focused more on applying for future exchange programs.

Karachi was also the third and final SUSI reunion of this trip. As he did with the SUSI student leader groups in Lahore and Islamabad, Dr. Hannahan took feedback from the Karachi group about how to best harness the expertise and energy of alumni while breaking out of the groups that have understandably formed in program year’s cohort. Hannahan posed the idea of a private virtual or digital platform where alumni could connect and share resources. Suggested outcomes of such a platform were team grant applications, networking within industries and a simple, convenient means to keep in touch.

Outside of the workshops, Ken LeBlond, UMass Donahue Institute marketing communications manager, re-connected with the Phool Patti truck art group. The UMass Civic Initiative first met Phool Patti in Karachi in 2014 via an introduction by the U.S. consulate. In Amherst, Massachusetts last summer, Phool Patti artists Ali Salman Anchan and Haider Ali painted a local bus while on a large American and European tour. In Karachi, Mr. LeBlond met with the artists about their current projects, as well as ideas for using the Amherst bus as a rolling art exhibit.

The last full night in Karachi was cause for celebration as we connected one last time with our alumni for dinner and dancing.

The next day, our last in Karachi, the UMass team and its full support group met one more time to reflect, say thanks, and say..

 “Until next time, inshallah…”

Pictures and videos from the trip can be found here.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

UMass reflections: Jesse Tucker

Above all, the takeaway for me is that as different as our countries may be, and the situations and societies we find ourselves living in, we are always more alike than we would ever have thought. People, though complex and ever-changing, remain just that, people. Borders and distance can only alter that so much.

The Civic Initiative has given me a new look into the power of interpersonal and cross-cultural communication. It’s not just the relationships I make that are important, but it’s what I take from that relationship and spread to others. I like to think this is the case for everyone connected to the Civic Initiative. I have a global and cultural outlook on life, and for the rest of my life I want to continue to make these relationships, and to continue, if nothing else, to share stories with people from different walks of life.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

UMass reflections: Brooke Lochiatto

My name is Brooke Lochiatto, and I am a senior at UMass Amherst studying political science. I have been involved with the Civic Initiative since October of 2016 when I met the students of our Young South East Asian Leaders program. In the summer of 2017 and 2018, I became a mentor and then a team leader on the Study of U.S. Institutes program for Pakistani student leaders. 

The experience of working with SUSI changed my life completely. Though I often struggle to put into words how much this experience truly means to me, I know that my stories and photos are changing the hearts and minds of the people in my life. My parents, siblings, relatives, friends, and teachers have a new perspective of Pakistan now. Instead of focusing on the things they read in the news, they are now paying more attention to the memories I share on my Facebook wall or the stories I share when we are all sitting around the kitchen table.

I am eternally grateful for the friends I have, the memories I have made, and the insight I have about the world. Because of this experience, I will never stop exploring people and the places they come from. I will use this knowledge and perspective in all that I do.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

UMass reflections: Sean Jackson

My name is Sean Jackson and I have worked with the Civic Initiative for a number of years now, first as a Civic Ambassador in SUSI 2017, and then as a Mentor in SUSI 2018.

Working for Civic these past few years has meant the world to me, and expanded my mind in ways I never thought possible. While it has given me significant work experience and taught me values of leadership and cooperation, it has most importantly helped me form some of the most valued personal relationships of my lifetime.

Being able to help facilitate these academic sessions this past January and reconnect with my close friends and colleagues in their home country was a beautiful experience for me, and brought me even closer to those I had come to know so well on my own college campus during the summer months. I immediately felt at home around the people I had come to know so closely over the past years, and the memories I made on this trip will stay with me for the entirety of my life. I hope to return again, and know I will continue to foster the connections I have made over these past years of my life.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

Peshawar: In the heart of Khyber Pakthunkwa (KPK) province

UMass Civic Initiative Director Mike Hannahan and UMass Donahue Institute Marketing Communications Manager Ken LeBlond traveled from Islamabad to Peshawar for the better part of two days to connect with program alumni and to visit educational institutions.

The two were hosted by Hacan Awan, an alum of the American Political Development (APD) program at UMass. Mr. Awan is the coordinator of the Masters of Public Administration department at the Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences) in Peshawar. Dr. Hannahan and Mr. LeBlond met with leadership at IMSciences to discuss future collaborations and also took a tour of the campus. They were also joined by Abdur Rehman, a UMass SUSI alum who is currently the logistics coordinator at the Center for Public Policy Research, located at IMSciences.

The next day, Dr. Hannahan gave a foreign policy lecture to students at Islamia College in Peshawar. Islamia College was founded in 1918. Fun fact: a painting of Islamia College is featured on the 1,000 rupee bank note.

After lunch with Manzoor Ahmad, APD alum and professor at Abdul Wali Khan University (Mardan), Hannahan, LeBlond and Awan visited Quaid-e-Azam School. The school is boys-only and serves middle and high school age students. Dr. Hannahan gave a lecture and took questions from the crowd of over 100. They visited Quaid-e-Azam school on invitation from ILIPE program alum Mehsood Shah. 

The school’s name, “Quaid-e-Azam”, means “great leader” and refers to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founder.

Before returning to Islamabad, Hannahan, LeBlond and Awan took a walking tour of the old city, including Sethi House Museum, the Gor Khuttree archaeological complex, Tehsil Park, Bazar Kalan and the Sir Cunningham Clock Tower.

Pictures and videos from the entire trip can be found here.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

Islamabad: Capacity building for Civil Service Organizations

A brand new program for the Civic Initiative, “Strengthening Civil Society Organizations”, is a U.S. State Department funded program partnering with the Institute for Rural Management. The program’s goal is to “improve the organizational capacity of Pakistani civil society organizations while improving ties between Pakistan and the United States through programming that highlights shared values and promotes bilateral cooperation”. Civil society organizations, commonly called nonprofits in the U.S., deliver a wide range of services in fields ranging from health and education to environment and humanitarian assistance.

The program consists of several stages. The first consisted of two days of workshops in Islamabad. Ken LeBlond, marketing communications manager for UMass Donahue Institute discussed communications planning. Dana Henry, director of UMass Donahue Institute’s Organizational Development and Learning Solutions discussed cross-cultural communications. Effective communications was led by Saadia Qureshi, a 2014 alum of the Civic Initiative’s Instructional Leadership for Pakistani Educators programs. Ms. Qureshi is based in Lahore and provides trainings to many institutions across Pakistan.

On the second day, Ms. Henry provided workshops on developing employees and managing change within organizations then Becky Howland, Civic Initiative Program Manager, talked about design thinking and developing grant proposals.

The second stage of the program will involves a series of workshops this winter and spring in Islamabad run by IRM with curriculum developed in tandem with UMass Civic Initiative.

The third stage of “Strengthening Civil Society Organizations” will take place at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in June 2019. The CSO representatives will continue their education in strengthening organizational capacity. This stage will last four weeks and will include representatives from IRM. A final program stage will occur back in Islamabad in the fall of 2019.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

Islamabad: The nation’s capital

The second stop on the 2019 Pakistan tour was the capital city, Islamabad. Officially called the Islamabad Capital Territory, it was built in 1960s as a planned city and took over from Karachi as the national capital.  It has just over 1 million residents which places it in the top 10 largest cities in the country.

The UMass group was invited to visit the Pakistan Parliament building for a tour and tea with the Honorable Qasim Khan Suri, Deputy Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan. The UMass delegation discussed the trip’s mission, in particular the Balochistan University Partnership Program. Mr. Suri expressed his interest in continuing a relationship between higher education institutions in Balochistan and UMass. The visit was covered by the “The Nation” newspaper.

The Civic Initiative also continued their workshop and outreach activity, this time focusing primarily on the alumni of the Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) Pakistan Student Leaders program. The Civic Initiative has run this program annually since 2010. Approximately 70 alumni attended the workshop in Islamabad.

After a general question/answer feedback session with Civic Initiative Director Dr. Mike Hannahan, Dana Henry, director of Organizational Development & Learning Solutions at UMass Donahue Institute, kicked off day one with an interactive session on cross-cultural communication. The session not only focused on cultural geographies that cross international borders but also on the rich cultural tapestry inside Pakistan. Particular attention was paid towards building awareness of cultural norms and how they impact how people work together in a business context.

Ken LeBlond, marketing communications manager for UMass Donahue Institute, then led an interactive session on personal branding for the job market. He emphasized that the professional image or “brand” that you project to would-be employers and networks should be consistent, confident and credible. However, as one’s interests change their brand should be updated accordingly. After Mr. LeBlond finished, the workshop adjourned for the day.

The second day continued with a morning session on “Leading Change”. Ms. Henry discussed how to create a roadmap for change within an organization which included gaining trust and buy-in from leadership as well as jargon-free messaging about the desired change.

Being the center of public policy and politics for Islamabad, the visiting UMass group also took advantage of the proximity of many alumni of the SUSI American Politics and Political Thought program. Alumni are primarily political science professors and researchers from across the world. Several of these alumni are located in the greater Islamabad area and Dr. Hannahan accepted their invitations to speak with several groups. These included separate discussions with faculty and students at Riphah International University as well as a roundtable discussion with members of the Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR).

Pictures and videos from the trip can be found here.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

UMass reflections - Mike Andrick

“Being a mechanical engineering major I had a lot technical work experience, but had limited cross cultural communication skills. Thus, this type of work was very new for me, and I was nervous. Looking back, i see that my nerves were a result of ignorance and a lack of understanding. My nerves quickly dissipated upon meeting the participants, and the program ended up being a learning experience for me in so many ways. Merely by living with participants and spending time with them, I learned so much about Pakistani culture and history. I left the program eager to work another program the following summer.

“The most profound impact ILIPE had on me was that it made me really think about my passions and what I really want to do in my life. This was because the participants had such a strong drive to teach. Whenever i found myself in an academic session I was so impressed with how the teachers also wanted to learn and improve their teaching skills. They would take criticism, ask questions, and discuss their approach to teaching with each other. Consequently I realized I was not always fully investing myself in my engineering work. I decided that I would try harder, take more risks and try new things.” 

See pictures and videos of the trip here. 

[umassdonahueinstitute]

UMass reflections - Kelsey Derouen

“I have been so lucky in regards to finding work that allows me to meet new people from new cultures constantly. I have been allowed to travel to see more of my amazing country, as well as traveling internationally and allowing my friends from other countries show me their home and culture first-hand. Coming to Pakistan for the first time, I wasn’t really sure what to expect or how I would be perceived but I knew that as long as I was with my friends, everything was going to be okay. 

“This trip has gone above and beyond whatever expectations I held. Visiting three major cities (Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi), I have had people that live in all of these places now show me around and take me to cultural sites, their homes, their universities, and even their classrooms. It has brought my work with the Civic Initiative full circle and I strongly believe that a dual exchange or follow-on workshop is integral to the success of any international exchange program. 

“ILIPE has grown into a very successful network of educators and administrators working to make a change within a country that faces opposition for change within the education system. I would love to see this program progress and see just how big of a network we can create, and just how strong the people within this network will become.”

See pictures and videos of the trip.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

Lahore: Alumni outreach

Concurrently, a workshop for the Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) Pakistan Student Leaders program was led by Becky Howland, UMass Civic Initiative Program Manager and Dr. Mike Hannahan, UMass Civic Initiative Director. Together, they led sessions on evaluating success in grant applications, design thinking, cross-cultural communication, and influencing for impact.

While in Lahore, Dr. Hannahan gave lectures on U.S. domestic policies’ influence on foreign policy at the Government College University and the University of Punjab.

The UMass group further connected with program alumni by traveling wit them to the Lahore Fort, the Badshahi Masjid (mosque) and other city locations.

Pictures and videos from the trip can be found here.

[umassdonahueinstitute]

Lahore, Pakistan: Teacher training

The first stop of the 2019 Pakistan tour was Lahore, the largest city in Punjab province and the second largest city in Pakistan.

Dr. Rebecca Mazur, UMass Amherst College of Education, led a two-day workshop with alumni from the Instructional Leadership Institute for Pakistani Educators (ILIPE) program. The alumni came from across the country to discuss progress in their efforts implementing leadership principles in their schools.

It was first day that the 2014, 2016, and 2018 cohorts met altogether in one setting since a January 2018 summit in Islamabad. The central idea of this summit was to break down the “separate entities” of the 2014, 2016, and 2018 groups and come together as “one ILIPE family”.

The day began by giving the participants the chance to speak about their experiences in Amherst, MA and the impact the program had on since returning home. This was especially interesting for the 2014 participants, who were in Amherst almost five years prior and have had the most time to try and implement new learning methodologies into their teaching practices.

The rest of the day was focused on the five principles of constructivist learning theory:

1. Posing problems of emerging relevance

2. Structuring learning around primary concepts

3. Seek and value student point of view

4. Adapt curriculum to student needs

5. Assessment in the context of learning

The main takeaway from this discussion was that ILIPE helps teachers become more confident in their teaching, these new teaching methods allow students to become the captain of their own learning, and that the teachers must not get unmotivated upon returning home when they face resistance from their school administrators or even fellow teachers.

Day 2 of the ILIPE training began with Dr. Mazur discussing personalized learning communities (PLC’s) with the group. PLC’s were a new addition to the ILIPE program starting with the 2018 group of participants. A PLC is a network of teachers who discuss problems they face in their schools and classrooms with each other to find possible solutions. They often come from different backgrounds and have different issues to address.

After the group discussed the PLC, Dr. Mazur concluded the session by explaining that the main goal of the summit was to decentralize each of the individual ILIPE groups, and create a grand network. Through this network, the participants have fellow teachers who teach different subjects, teach at different schools, teach different grades, etc. This means that they have a diverse group from which to exchange ideas and create PLC’s. The participants immediately started conversing with each other and making professional connections. They were eager to pursue these connections in the future and seemed grateful to have such a vast network of like- minded individuals to discuss ideas with.

See pictures and videos of the trip here.

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Pakistan 2019

In January 2019, a team of 10 from the UMass Civic Initiative and UMass Donahue Institute traveled to several Pakistan cities as a continuation of several U.S. Department of State funded programs. The trip was led by Dr. Mike Hannahan, director of the UMass Civic Initiative and a lecturer at the UMass Amherst department of political science.

In the following days, blog posts will cover each of the trip’s stops in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Karachi. 

For those interested in learning more about Pakistan, please see this previous blog post.

Descriptions of the programs:

Balochistan University Partnership Program (BUPP): Funded by the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. The program has brought 20 professors and 20 of their students from three universities in the Balochistan province to UMass Amherst to learn about management science and entrepreneurship. This program began in spring of 2016 and ends with the 2019 conference in Karachi. Other conferences occurred in Karachi in 2017 and 2018.

Study of the US Institute (SUSI) for Pakistani Student Leaders: Funded by the U.S. Department of State Education and Cultural Affairs Office. The program sends 30 Pakistani undergraduate students each year to UMass Amherst to learn about local, state and federal public policymaking. The program consists of four weeks at UMass Amherst and two weeks traveling to Boston, New York City, Charlottesville, and Washington D.C. The Civic Initiative has been running this program since 2010. Alumni groups joined 2019 workshops in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.

Instructional Leadership Institute for Pakistani Educators (ILIPE): Funded by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. The program brings 20 Pakistani secondary school teachers and administrators to UMass for five weeks providing training and instruction on curriculum development and evaluation. This program occurs at UMass on a bi-yearly basis; the first cohort started in 2014, then 2016, and most recently, the 2018 batch. During the “off year”, the Civic Initiative staff travels to Lahore to host workshop events for new participants including in 2019.

Strengthening Civil Society Organizations: Funded by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. The in-country partner is the Institute for Rural Management. The program’s aim is to improve (in a measurable and sustainable way) the organizational capacity of Pakistani civil society organizations (similar to American non-profit organizations). At the same, the program seeks to improve ties between Pakistan and the U.S. through programming that highlights shared values and promote bilateral cooperation. There will be a series of jointly managed workshops in Islamabad in January 2019, reinforced by four-weeks of training at UMass Amherst in the summer of 2019.

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APD panel presentations in Istanbul

In general, the presentations fell into three categories. First were alumni reports of what has been done since their UMass programs. This would include Dr. Shurgulaia’s creation of the “Jefferson Center” in Georgia that focuses on improving U.S. Georgian relations and Dr. Coskun’s review of an on-line journal that publishes a number of former alumni papers including many papers from our previous reunion. Note: Reunion leader and UMass Civic Initiative Director Mike Hannahan wrote the introduction to an early issue.

There were three papers on emerging African States but the majority of papers featured conversations about the difficulties of democracy and the rise of the right due to migration, immigration, and hate speech. There were also a number of attendees who did not present a paper including Turkish alums Ramzan Gozen and Ibrahim Kaya and Russian alumni Natasha Ivanova.

Panel 1

Jovo Bakic Front National:  History, Ideology, Supporters

Bezen Balamir Coskun Notes From an American Political thought Program for Turkey’s Political Future

Ruhtan Yalçıner The Krisis:  Democracy as an ‘Empty Place’?

Hrvoje Cvijanovic War on Symbols, or the Closing of the Liberal Mind in Croatia:  How Regulating hate Symbols and Speech Split the Nation

Panel 2 Eric Ogwora African Political Governance and the Unending Search for Foundational Leadership

Hassan Mushieka Governance and Institutional Change in Sudan: Toward a Future Perspective

Jacob Dut Choi State building in Eritrea and South Sudan: Toward a Future Perspective

  Panel 3

Toko Shurgulaia Georgian Development Perspectives: Jefferson Center Activities

Abdesselam Salmi Constitutional Amendment of 2016 in Algeria: What is New?

Lonce Bailey The Rise of Quasi-democratic Politics in Bureaucratic Institutions in the U.S.

Panel 4

George Masse The Social and Economic Consequences of Syrian Refugees on Lebanon

Nidzam Sulaiman Will There be a Malaysian Spring? Comparative Assessment on Social Movements

Michael Hannahan The Rise of the Alternative Right in the United States

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Reunion of the APD program in Istanbul, Turkey

After the Pakistan leg of April 2017 ended, Civic Initiative staff met with alumni of their American Political Development and Political Thought (APD) program.

The APD reunion group in Istanbul

Since 2005, the UMass Civic Initiative has annually hosted groups of international professors for multiple weeks of classes and events in Amherst and along the East Coast. Civic Initiative staff included UMass Civic Initiative Director Mike Hannahan, PhD and APD Director Lonce Bailey, PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Shippensburg University and Becky Howland, Program Manager, UMass Civic Initiative.

The Istanbul gathering was a formal check-in with 21 alumni who representing nearly every year of the APD program. The two days of paper presentations by the alumni focused on political topics (with many focusing on nationalist movements) in each of their home countries including Turkey, Croatia, Sudan, South Sudan, Georgia, Algeria, Lebanon and Malaysia. UMass Civic Initiative staff also led a discussion on how to continue to efficiently support alumni after their Amherst-based programs have ended. The group also had dinner at the Istanbul Modern Museum spent time on cultural tours.

The APD program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Study of the U.S. Institutes.

More details about the presentations will be shared in a later post.