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Adelaide
Lusambili
As a doctoral student in the Race, Gender and Social
Justice program, my interests focus on social justice and equality
in the context of gender, health, environmental sanitation, ethnicity
and identity, empowerment, overall human security, and development
among marginalized populations.
My specialty is medical anthropology, and my doctoral research
is an exploratory, qualitative study of environmental sanitation,
gender, and health among the urban poor in the Kibera slums of Nairobi,
Kenya. This case study focuses on how environmental sanitation and
access to related resources affect health and whether these conditions
have differential impact based on gender.
While in Kenya before beginning my graduate studies, I was active
in grassroots development projects to empower women through microfinance
and rehabilitate street children in the slums and worked with nongovernmental
and relief agencies. While studying for my Ph.D. at American University,
I established a nonprofit organization, Environmental Health and
Poverty (EHAP) (www.ehap-international.org), which focuses on education,
improving water supplies, sanitation and hygiene in rural and slums
of Africa.
After completing my Ph.D. in December 2006, I plan to continue
my work with EHAP and conduct research, particularly using mixed
methods, to influence policy and development.
My graduate studies at American University have been supported
by financial assistance from the American Association of University
Women (AAUW), PEO International, and Crusade Scholarships/Leadership
Development Grants and through the financial, intellectual, and
emotional support of Barbara L.E. Cristy, without whom my graduate
studies may not have been possible.
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