Investigating Sustainable International Development in Guatemala (2010)

Undergraduates: Elaina Giolando, David Palacios, Carlos Toriello

Faculty Advisor: John Stewart
Department: International & Area Studies

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My research explores how ambitious university students can best serve communities abroad. The surveys done in La Pista and Acul serve as an impact assessment for Nourish International to learn about how their 2007 project in Guatemala has developed over the past two years. Hopefully the results of this research will help not only Nourish International students, but NGOs and other international developers better understand poverty-stricken communities in rural Latin America. Alongside much experiential learning, I learned that impact assessments are a crucial part of all projects executed in developing countries to ensure sustainability and self-evaluation of intentions and results. Deeply-rooted and reliable community partners and periodic needs analyses are also must-haves when carrying out projects overseas.