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News and Updates

News and Updates

News and Updates

April 23, 2019

Alana Burnham with host sisterThe Global Locust Initiative recently made a new addition to its team: Alana Burnham, the program’s Community Outreach Specialist. In this position, she is responsible for many logistical and programmatic aspects of GLI’s new pilot project in the Kaffrine region of Senegal, funded by USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. This project will test whether soil amendments to millet fields in Kaffrine, Senegal, decrease locust outbreaks, improve millet yields and increase farmer livelihoods. Burnham will spend part of her time on the ground in Senegal, recruiting project participants, sourcing and managing materials, organizing trainings, and networking with beneficiaries and stakeholders.

saint louis girls empowerment camp group photoBurnham is no stranger to working with rural farmers in Senegal; she served for three years in the U.S. Peace Corps in Senegal, extending sustainable agroforestry techniques and engaging communities in development projects. During the third year, she became the project’s Volunteer Leader, training new recruits and shaping the future of the agroforestry program.

“I’m incredibly excited to continue working in Senegal. I’ve really come to love the people’s sense of hospitality and their openness to sharing their culture,” said Burnham.

Alana Burnham“What drew me to this project is Dr. Cease’s and GLI’s commitment to working alongside partner organizations and community members in Senegal to improve their lives, rather than taking the exclusively top-down approach on which many foreign assistance organizations rely," she continued. "I get to give back to the people of Senegal using my skills, but in the right way.”

Burnham brings her background in monitoring and reporting, training logistics, and Wolof language skills. Dalal ak jamm, Alana! (Welcome, Alana!)