I chose GESI because I wanted to get outside of my comfort zone. The idea of living with another family, in a country I had never been to, appealed to my "I want to challenge myself" side. I had already heard about the program from several upperclassmen, all of who are some of the coolest, most genuine people I had met at NU. The projects I heard about seemed inventive and hands-on, and after hearing so much about different development methods in classes at Northwestern and having grown up with both of my parents working in international development, I wanted to experience "development" for myself. I also had several commitments during the school year and couldn't afford to take a quarter off of school, so summer allowed me to experience study abroad without having to sacrifice anything.

Finally, I am half Indian, and unfortunately my experience with that side of my heritage while growing up consisted of trips to Indian restaurants every month or so. I wanted to connect with a part of my own culture that I never had before and really connect with people with who I had just as much in common (at least, genetically) as my American friends.

For the 8 weeks our lives were based in Udaipur, a city in the state of Rajasthan, arguably one of the most romantic states within India. Known for its deserts, colorful turbans, palaces of pink and blue, and strong dynastic lines, Rajasthan (literally translated to the "land of kings") was so culturally rich that it would have been hard to avoid learning about Indian heritage.

Our NGO, the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), was professional and well prepared for our time with them, which made us feel confident to leave our work behind when we left India. Our group met with the residents of nine rural villages and guided them in creating asset maps, which documented the villages' social and physical resources. FES had never worked in this area before, and wanted a comprehensive assessment of different issues in each village. We also decided to come up with a project that FES could carry out after we left India to more directly benefit community members. After narrowing down project ideas and locations -- using size, willingness and other factors -- we chose to supply smokeless stoves and compost pits to two villages. Smokeless stoves channel smoke to the outdoors instead of allowing it to build up inside where it can be harmful to the health of women (who predominantly make meals inside). The stoves also use less wood, decreasing fuel consumption and preserving forest resources. Compost pits enable farmers to decrease their use of chemical fertilizers and increase crop yield.

Someone mentioned in our pre-India program that they were excited because a true test of who you are can really happen when you are placed in a situation where you are uncomfortable and not adjusted. That was true for me. It also made me appreciate my own family's culture more -- previously, I hadn't really taken names for certain members of my family seriously, like mami for my mother's brother's wife opposed to masi for my mother's sister. Little things like that, I know I will respect more now.

Also, GESI completely confused me about international development, in a good way. With so many ideas thrown at me, I have much more information. I have different viewpoints, different ideas and different experiences to help me make my own opinions. I recommend GESI because it's a chance to do something rather than just regurgitate or memorize information. It's unlike most study abroad experiences because you are in charge of what you are doing, and the hypotheticals that you were once told to think about in some international politics class could become a reality.

I chose to participate in GESI because of the program's self-directed nature. Interested in learning more about international community development, I browsed other popular volunteer networks offering placement in highly organized programs. What drew me to GESI was the balance of an incredibly well-structured agenda with room for independence and creativity in the process of project design and implementation. In addition, the opportunity to work with a group of like-minded, socially conscious individuals stimulated my interest and ultimately led me to commit my summer to GESI.

We were assigned to a non-profit organization in Jinja, Uganda, called St. Francis Health Care Services. After a week of community asset assessments and discussions with our NGO about project ideas, my group decided to do a micro-enterprise venture we dubbed the "Mushroom Project" in a nearby impoverished village. We selected an enthusiastic Jjaja ("grandmother") who had had a history of mobilizing community resources to be the point person for our project. She then designated five individuals in her community (the "Starter Set") to participate in the project. We had local experts train her and the Starter Set in the whole mushroom-growing process: how to prepare and handle the mushroom gardens, how to cultivate and harvest the mushrooms, and how to maximize profit by connecting to local market venues. It is our hope that Jjaja and the Starter Set will save a small portion of their profit each week to replenish materials for the next round of mushroom-growing, thus ensuring the sustainability of a program that ideally will require no outside funding.

Needless to say, I loved my GESI experience. Everything - the partnership with our NGO, my relationship with my team and host family, the immersion in a foreign and beautiful culture - was better than I could have ever imagined. I learned so much about the principles of Asset-Based Community Development and how they can be utilized to create microscopic, yet in some ways revolutionary, change. My group was incredibly privileged to work in such a receptive community. Jjaja and the Starter Set even taught us a couple lessons about the importance of capacity-building and transferring project ownership from our hands to theirs. Their attitudes and work ethics were truly humbling and awe-inspiring. GESI's instruction, as well as the interactions with Ugandan villagers, has completely transformed my perspectives of service. I would highly recommend GESI to anyone wanting to step outside boundaries of comfort and learn more about how to develop sensitivity to the delicate and complicated goal of sustainability.

I was drawn to GESI because I liked the fact that there were courses in the beginning tied to the intern experience. I also really liked how we could choose the area of development, to some extent, that we wanted to work in. As an environmental studies major at my school, I had a working knowledge of the discipline founded in a technical and academic understanding. Participating in GESI would allow me to approach environmental issues in a completely new light, and give me a more comprehensive understanding of its relevance to people across the world from me.

The goal of our NGO was to support sustainable village development, specifically through conservation of the surrounding environment and ecology. We had lengthy and open discussion about our shared aims, which really helped to gain mutual understating and respect. Our work helped to both introduce our NGO to the area and begin building trust, as well as to introduce the villages to our NGO through our observations. We performed participatory rural assessments (PRAs), and social mapping in nearby villages in order to compile a portfolio of the area, which our NGO could use to begin their own work there. We succeeded in creating a document that contained a lot of information about the eight villages, including observations about forest, water and land use, livestock and agriculture, educational and health infrastructure, and villager priorities for change. We also included proposals for projects that they could implement, and also for one that they should implement in our absence. This valuable document supplemented - or countered - previously held assumptions about these villages.

I think the GESI experience will be absolutely applicable to all three realms of my life (personal, professional, and academic), especially when it comes to approaching development work with a realistic perception of how it works on the ground, as well as its accompanying rewards and challenges. Having had this experience, I feel as if I can add insightful connections to class discussions that pertain to any of the global issues I experienced or witnessed.

I chose to participate in GESI because I have always been passionate about refugee issues in Africa. I loved my experience because it was not based in a classroom, it was working at the grassroots level with community members. Even if the credits weren't easy to count towards my majors - which they were - the experience would have been worth it anyway.

Our team consulted for the Organisation for Rural Development (ORUDE) and evaluated its microcredit business trainings for groups of rural women. Our main project involved traveling to the outer reaches of the Busoga region to interview community members about the barriers to saving they faced. We aggregated responses and compiled a final report of suggested service improvements for ORUDE.

I learned microfinance theory at Northwestern before embarking on the trip, but to see it on the ground was an entirely different experience. That very first day we accompanied an ORUDE facilitator to the field, the women came out and greeted us by singing and dancing before the truck even stopped. I knew then this was the piece I had been missing from the classroom.

The skills I gained were transferrable to all the activities I have participated in since, from finding sites for Alternative Student Breaks to interning at the District of Columbia Public Schools. Academically, I now bring real world experience to the classroom that adds another dimension to group discussions. Other students read about the economics of developing countries or the theory of community development, but thanks to GESI, I have a deeper understanding that few have the opportunity to experience. GESI is an all-around program that builds in local history, practical skills, and development theory. The whole experience made me a stronger, more socially conscious person. Since then I've led or participated in three more service trips across the US and Guatemala and now I'm going back to Uganda to do senior thesis research on reproductive health.

Whether your goals are to be a consultant, work for government, or start your own social entrepreneurship abroad, there is absolutely no better way to see how community decisions are generated or business is conducted. This is one of the most challenging, invigorating, educational, and exciting opportunities any university offers. Take advantage of it.

Two summers ago, I took part in a community development program in India, but lacking the appropriate tools I spent most of my time feeling lost and ineffective. I applied to GESI because I wanted to have a more structured experience in community development; one where I would feel more prepared for the issues I would face and have the benefit of a team-based learning experience. It turns out that GESI and my NGO partner in La Plata, Argentina, gave me so much more than I could have ever hoped for.

Our group was partnered with Siluva, a day center for adults with mental disabilities. I was a little nervous about my placement. During the pre-deperture training in Chicago, we learned all about the ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development) approach, which emphasizes the importance of listening to the community and using their preexisting assets to empower and promote self-advocacy. But what do you do when your community is incapable of advocating for themselves? Also, what could our group do if we had never had training working with people with mental disabilities?

It didn't take long for our team to realize that the people working at Siluva weren't trained mental health professionals, but simply people who cared. We also realized that Siluva completely embodied the ABCD approach. Instead of focusing on deficiencies, Siluva's work emphasized using the assets of the chicos (what the staff calls the individuals they serve) to challenge conventional perspectives on mental disabilities and push the limits of the possible. We were immediately humbled by the Siluva staff and all the work they do, and began asking ourselves how we could contribute. We eventually decided to pursue a greenhouse project that would both increase the capacities of the chicos as well as represent another microenterprise to produce additional funds for their use. In total, the project included a greenhouse and compost, a sidewalk (which included tiles painted by the chicos), a pamphlet to supplement their monthly magazine and a care manual to facilitate the sustainability of the project.

In the end, I wouldn't say that our project work was the most important part of our experience. The most important part was our ability to connect to the Siluva community in a way that transcended the barriers that we faced (language and a four- week Swine Flu vacation to name a few). By the end of our stay, not only were we still humbled by them and their work, but they also nurtured a deep respect for us and our willingness to immerse ourselves wholeheartedly into their community. For me, the attainment of mutual respect was our team's greatest achievement. It was also what turned our project into an experience that I will always carry with me and hope to replicate one day by returning to Siluva. Until then, I want to thank GESI for not only showing me that sustainable change is within reach, but also that as much as we learn in the classroom, development can only be learned on the ground with the people who actually make it happen.

I found out about GESI through the political science newsletter at University of Washington, where I am now a senior. I clicked the link to the website for GESI and once I read the opening paragraph that claimed "if you're an undergraduate who's passionately committed to global justice and international development, you're in the right place," I was instantly fascinated and curious about the program. After browsing the website I decided that I wanted to apply to GESI because I wanted the experience of living and working abroad. I also saw this program as a great way of stepping out of my comfort zone and finding new ways of challenging myself -- boy was I right.

Our team worked with the Integrated Disabled Women's Activities (IDIWA) on a microfinance project. Going into this project, we all had little to no knowledge about microfinance! We worked hand-in-hand with a board of directors that IDIWA had formed to lay the groundwork for a microfinance institution. However, a week into our project we found out that these board members also didn't have much knowledge about microfinance, but that they were nevertheless determined to start a savings and lending institution. After an initial panic, Margaret, the site director for the Foundation for Sustainable Development in Jinja, told us that it is very common for grassroots organizations to have big ideas while they lack the capacity to achieve such lofty goals. Margaret told us to view their motivation to achieve this project as an element that we could take advantage of. With this new perspective in mind, we carried out a project that involved learning both on the part of the board members as well as our group. Together, we learned about the basics of microfinance and how it worked specifically in Uganda. By the time we had to leave, the microfinance institution wasn't quite yet running, but many steps had been taken, and we were all very proud of the work that we had completed.

This past summer was one of the most enlightening, educational, and fun experiences of my life because GESI gave me the opportunity to learn about community development while putting that knowledge to use, starting with the orientation institute in Chicago where we were taught Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD). ABCD is a reversal of the traditional take on aid and development. Instead of looking at the needs of a community and bringing in aid from outside sources, ABCD looks for means of satisfying those needs from within the community. It requires looking at the assets of a community and connecting them in new and different ways to provide development. Going into this program I knew nothing about community development, but after learning about ABCD I want to further explore the concept.

Looking back over this summer, I couldn't be happier that I chose to do this program. It's through GESI that I met so many amazing people, did so many amazing things, and had the experience of a lifetime. GESI empowers students to be the catalysts for change. I would undoubtedly recommend this program to anyone that wants to learn, likes to push their boundaries, and seeks to improve themselves and their world around them.

A Human Development and Psychology Services major in NU's School of Education and Social Policy, I often heard stories of other students' study abroad experiences and wondered whether the 'traditional' study abroad experience was the right track for me. After reading more about GESI, I quickly realized that what I had hoped for my time abroad - an opportunity to immerse myself in a new community, contributing a significant amount of time to a local project, working alongside students with similar passions - could all be found within this program. I quickly resolved to embark on what is now the most memorable experience of my life.

I worked on a microfinance project targeting people with individuals in the community of Iganga Town and the surrounding villages. The organization we were partnered with, Integrated Disabled Women's Activities (IDIWA), had previously launched a savings and credit cooperative that was in a lull when we arrived. Our team focused primarily on building the capacity of a new board and staff that would work to revive the cooperative in the coming months. From organizing training sessions on proper management and protocol, to practicing information sessions intended for the community with the board and staff, our internship truly utilized the concepts we learned in the training we received before arriving to our site. Perhaps the most invigorating model I have ever learned regarding international community development, "Asset-Based Community Development" served as our framework throughout our stay. By the end of our internship, I knew that we had put our time and energy into the very heart of our organization's microfinance project (the men and women who would be spearheading the new cooperative) and that they were built up in small but significant ways. Though the goal of sustainable development was often tricky to maneuver, our team left confident that we had worked our very hardest to place ownership of the project in the hands of the community members with whom we partnered.

Besides the great success I felt about our project, my greatest joy this past summer stemmed from living with a host family that I grew to love and trust deeply. From practicing their native language with them, to learning how to hand-wash clothes or cook new foods for a family of 25, everything about my stay in this home away from home was a lesson to be learned or an experience to enjoy. I was extremely privileged to have a roommate (also in the program) to share all of my experiences at home with, and the love we felt from our Mommy and Daddy (as they loved to be called) quickly became what I cherished most throughout my stay. We needed to be always prepared to ask questions and be questioned; this meant that there was a mutual exchange of information and ideas present in all of my interactions.

For those who are looking to step outside of their boundaries, exploring their work ethic in an entirely new professional environment, and developing relationships with a small team of Iike-minded individuals, I highly recommend the Global Engagement Summer Institute as a more non-traditional study abroad track.

The excitement of pending graduation, the insanity of campus career fairs and job interviews, and the sudden ending to the surreal life of an undergraduate student forced me into pursuing a job in the field of business before applying to graduate school because an International Relations major seemed to be less desirable than initially expected. I was offered a recruiting position and my very own cubicle, but respectfully declined because I was still optimistic about pursuing my desired role in this world as an important agent of change. I was feeling adventurous and stumbled upon GESI. This program offered the opportunity to feed my intellectual curiosity, satisfy my need for experience, and build on my potential to have a positive impact on the world of NGOs.

Our team of four, the other interns, and other members of the community of La Plata, Argentina became instant friends and spent every day together in the office or doing work and every night getting to know one another better until the relationships seemed as though they had been around forever. After much research, deliberation, careful decision-making, and help from other interns in the office, our reusable materials and solar water heater projects were a success in terms of community involvement, ownership, and the potential for sustainability. The community center with which we worked now has usable hot water with the help of technology and the sun, and their garden has a greenhouse built from plastic bottles and other materials found in the neighborhood that may have previously been considered garbage.

I learned that a small amount of education coupled with inspiration, innovation and teamwork can truly have a huge, long-lasting impact on many lives. I am now positive that community development takes time and small steps are the best way to include people, thus creating a sustainable model for a progressive future. I recommend this program because you will be pleasantly surprised by your ability to play an integral role in bettering lives, that your motivation is powerful and contagious, and by the amount of priceless discovery and learning that takes place over the course of just one summer.

Many of my friends had told me so many amazing and life-changing stories about their experiences in the GESI program in Uganda that I needed to go abroad to find out for myself what adventures awaited. I had an interest in micro-finance, international development, and foreign cultures, so the program seemed like the perfect structure with enough freedom for me to thoroughly pursue my interests.

I had an incredible time! It absolutely ranks as one of the best experiences of my life. It means a lot to me that I can say, and truly mean, that I have a loving African family. I loved working with the community and our organization on developing a financial system and loan procedures. I loved the freedom to do technical work without much prior experience. I loved the team aspect but the individualism of living with a roommate and a family. There is too much good to say about the program!

I recommend the experience to anyone and everyone. No matter your field of interest, whether it be international development or professional babysitting, the life experiences you have during your stay in country will make you a deeper and more thoughtful individual. I learned how to respect other cultures and be respected by peoples of other cultures. I learned how to exist as an individual in a completely foreign context. I also learned a lot about development, NGO operation, micro-finance, and Uganda.

I knew I wanted to study abroad my junior year, but I wasn't sure where. I didn't even know Africa was an option. Eventually, I chose GESI because it offered a different kind of study abroad experience: living with a host family, interning at a local organization, and becoming fully immersed in a new culture. Plus, spending a summer in Africa? That was pretty cool in itself.

"Cool" doesn't even begin to describe my seven weeks in Uganda. I remember how gradually I became a part of my host family, doing everything from cooking with my mother to washing clothes with my siblings to chatting about my Asian-American background with my father. I remember the market we helped set up, where all the village groups we were working with came together to sell their goods, paint their cooperatively-owned bank, and socialize (which involved singing, dancing, and a whole lot of "happy yelling"). I remember walking down Main Street in the middle of town and feeling no longer like an outsider, like I truly belonged there.

From this experience I learned that people-- college students at that-- really have the capacity to make change, even if it means starting at the grassroots with local communities and organizations. It wasn't easy by all means, but I feel better equipped now to handle the challenges that come with working in unfamiliar settings. If you like the challenge, then I highly recommend GESI!