Volunteer Posts
People-to-people exchanges in Cuba
April 13, 2015
President Obama and Cuba’s Raul Castro held an historic meeting this past weekend in Panama, marking the first time that the leaders of these two countries have met in person in over five decades. Winrock is also glad to have recently completed our first face-to-face meetings with Cubans, just last month. DeAnn McGrew, Winrock’s Director […]
The Price of a Dream
April 6, 2015
Today’s blog post is from BoDavid Williford (pictured above, center), who recently completed a Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer assignment in Bangladesh: “As my time in Bangladesh comes to an end, I am left with a new phrase that I don’t plan to leave in Dhaka. After numerous conversations with students at the International University of Business Agriculture […]
March Volunteer of The Month
March 31, 2015
For this month’s Volunteer of the Month, we honor Kirk Astroth (above center), Assistant Dean and Director of Arizona 4-H Development at the University of Arizona. A couple of us first met Kirk in January 2014. We were instantly struck by his warmth and passion for youth development. After spending just an hour with Kirk, […]
The Joy in Participation Was Palpable
March 23, 2015
Dr. Scott Haskell shares how his Farmer-to-Farmer assignment in Myanmar impacted him: I was happy to see my assignment progress from the very first day to the last! What fantastic work, help and evaluation everyone at the Myanmar Livestock Development Company [my host organization] provided me! The joy in participation was palpable. I felt honored […]
The Blessing of Education
March 23, 2015
Get ready to be inspired! Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Dr. Leslie Edgar, Associate Professor and Director of International Programs at the University of Arkansas, shares her thoughts after completing her assignment in Bangladesh: “Some days it is hard for me to count all the blessings I’ve been given. Today, was one of those days. I’ve spent the past week […]
“More effective than I expected”
March 19, 2015
A Note about My Second Trip to Bangladesh 2015, by Dr. Y. Martin Lo, Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer in Bangladesh: “My assignment was quickly adjusted due to political strike on the street, yet it turned out to be more effective than I expected. The leaders at Winrock office and CCBA (Cold Chain Bangladesh Alliance) were highly instrumental and dynamic […]
National Agriculture Day
March 18, 2015
We are continuously inspired by the excellent technical work and the lasting people-to-people connections forged by Winrock’s Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers. What better day to celebrate their efforts than today, National Agriculture Day! Since 1991, Winrock volunteers have completed more than 5,400 assignments in 56 countries. Each of our volunteers has played an important part in strengthening […]
Volunteer of The Month: February 2015
February 26, 2015
Horticulture expert Gipsy D’Urzo returned last month from West Africa, having completed Winrock’s first volunteer assignment in Senegal for the Farmer-to-Farmer for Agriculture Education and Training Program, funded by USAID. Winrock is grateful to have shared this milestone with Gipsy, and to have experienced her expertise and enthusiasm. “It was interesting to be the first […]
A Very Big ‘Thank You’ from Nigeria
February 19, 2015
Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Michael Lowery recently returned from his volunteer trip in Nigeria, where he provided training to the Association of Non-Bank Microfinance Institutions of Nigeria (ANMFIN) on agricultural value chain financing. With this training, ANMFIN hopes to be able to develop a model for agriculture lending, train its members on the model, and ultimately increase lending for agriculture […]
Supporting Business Incubation in Nepal
February 17, 2015
A team of graduate students from Thunderbird School of Global Management is in Nepal for an exciting five-week assignment with the Kathmandu University School of Management. Their blog http://emergingmarketslab.thunderbird.edu/blog/kusom-f2f provides insights on their assignment tasks and day-to-day experiences. Check it out! We look forward to following their progress and seeing the results of their great work!