Dear Friends of PiAf,

A special thanks to all those who have supported our 2024 Board Matching Campaign! While we are thrilled with the progress that we have made thus far, there is still work to be done to match the incredible $40K pledge that we received from our Board of Directors. With your help, we will expand our program not only to ambitious young leaders who desire a lived experience on the continent, but also to countless host organization partners who benefit tremendously from a Fellow’s skills and expertise. 

This week’s outreach aligns with our normally scheduled bimonthly newsletter. As such, I am delighted to bring you stories of three incredible women who all share the common bond of being distinguished PiAf alumni, as well as leaders in their respective communities. It is a pleasure to introduce you to Mgbechi Erondu, MD, MFA, Yassi Tamdji, and Keiana West. As you will see, at the core of each of their stories is an appreciation for their fellowship and the profound impact the experience had on the future trajectory of their lives. Additionally, within the story featuring Yassi and Keiana, I am grateful to highlight our former partnership with host organization, Student Sponsorship Programme (SSP). The work that PiAf Fellows accomplish with organizations like SSP is a foundational component of our mission, and we are truly grateful to collaborate with so many impactful organizations across the African continent.

As we approach the upcoming holidays, I wish you and your family a safe and healthy season. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our work and mission. Your support is truly appreciated!

Sincerely,

Damilola Aklinyele Wolfgarten, Executive Director     

Much like her parents, Mgbechi Erondu is a trailblazer who uses her skills and talents in service to others. As young adults, her parents immigrated from Nigeria to the United States to pursue their medical degrees at the University of Iowa. After several years of rigorous training and study, her father became a licensed physician and her mother a licensed pharmacist. The two married and began raising their four children. “Growing up in Iowa was a formative experience,” states Mgbechi. “It’s where I got my start as a storyteller and a fiction writer.” When she was 13-years-old, the family relocated to NJ after her father was offered a position with Merck. From there, Mgbechi made her way to Massachusetts to attend boarding school at Phillips Academy - Andover where she began to discover her voice and style as a young writer, thanks largely to her discovery of the renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. 

Upon acceptance into Princeton University’s Pre-Med program, Mgbechi’s path began to take shape, especially as the University offered her the opportunity to simultaneously pursue certificates in Creative Writing and African Studies. Her undergrad experience remained incredibly full as she assumed leadership roles with various clubs and activities, in addition to managing a rigorous academic schedule. Graduating in 2010 with a major in Anthropology, Mgbechi knew that before entering medical school, she had to satisfy her desire for more field experience. “I had learned about Princeton in Africa and knew that I wanted to spend time on the continent.” After reviewing the potential host organizations, it was clear to Mgbechi that a fellowship with BIPAI Botswana was the perfect solution as it provided her with the opportunity to work with young people, while being surrounded by pediatric medical professionals. Further, it was also located in a country that was geographically and culturally removed from Nigeria.  

According to Mgbechi, BIPAI’s clinic is a shining example of how to provide comprehensive HIV care in southern Africa. While engaged in her fellowship, she worked with clinical and medical staff to support and educate young people on the importance of taking antiretroviral medications, in addition to leading and implementing a wide variety of programs that were focused on patient health and well being. Reflecting on her experience, she recalls the wonderful opportunities that her fellowship presented, in addition to some of the more challenging moments. “This was my first time really understanding what it meant to be an expat, which was further complicated by the fact that I was a Black person in Africa,” she states. As she worked through that self-reflection, she also immersed herself into her responsibilities to her host organization, which kept her incredibly busy throughout the 12-month commitment. “My experience as a Fellow gave me the courage and confidence to explore and fully commit to my work,” states Mgbechi. At the conclusion of her fellowship, she enrolled at the University of Iowa to begin her medical degree with a Humanities Distinction coupled with an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Today, Mgbechi holds an MFA in Fiction Writing and an MD with subspecialization in pediatric anesthesiology and pediatric palliative medicine. In her current role, treating patients and instructing students at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University, she takes on the heroic and highly complex task of providing care for kids who have a life-limiting condition or critical illness. “In palliative medicine, you’re really caring for the whole family,” states Mgbechi, as she explains the significance of her work. “You have to be really creative in thinking about family systems, cultural values, belief systems, and spirituality while working across multiple disciplines,” she continues, reflecting on the many different teams that are involved in the care of a sick child. Well aware of the significance of her work, Mgbechi also acknowledges the dearth of pediatric care professionals across the globe, and especially in Africa. As she looks to the future, the path ahead is relatively clear. “I see all of this leading me back to the continent” she states, considering both the need that exists there and her ability to contribute to lasting change. Regardless of location, it is clear that Mgbechi’s brilliant mind, community-focused outlook, and service-oriented spirit will continue to uplift and support those around her for generations to come. 

Celebrating 25 Years of Impact: PiAf & SSP

While 1999 represents the end of the 20th century for most, it served as the starting point for two very unique organizations with deep ties to the African continent: Princeton in Africa (PiAf) and the Student Sponsorship Programme (SSP). SSP is a non-profit trust that provides five-year high school scholarships to cover the costs of tuition, boarding and stationery for academically distinguished Scholars from financially disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa. Their commitment to their Scholars extends far beyond financial support, however, as they also provide a suite of services, including psycho-social support, access to after-school programmes, and mentorship from distinguished professionals. While both Princeton in Africa and SSP celebrate milestone 25th anniversaries this year, they are further united by two years of close collaboration when SSP served as a host organization to two PiAf Fellows: Yassi Tamdji and Keiana West. 

Yassi Tamdji grew up in Queens, NY to parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Chad. At an early age, her parents instilled in her a sense of family, faith, and community, and the importance of a strong work ethic. She was incredibly active in her academic pursuits, involving herself in multiple extra curricular  activities, which peaked her interest in further seeing and understanding the world. Yassi attended Georgetown University where she studied International Politics and African Studies. During her undergrad experience, she studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, which proved to be an incredibly transformative experience, and left her yearning for more time in that country. With PiAf expanding its eligibility to non Princeton students just one year prior to her graduation from Georgetown, her timing was incredibly fortuitous. “What really appealed to me about PiAf was the ability to work with a partner organization for 12 months, receive support from the staff, and be connected to a cohort of peers who were committed to Africa’s advancement,” states Yassi. “Further, when I found out about SSP, I was immediately drawn to it. Their work and mission was really powerful and transformative and aligned with my background in leadership development and training.” She joined in 2011. “It was a wonderful year and a memorable experience,” states Yassi, reflecting on her role as a Fellow with SSP. “I was able to build some enduring relationships and partnerships, in addition to experiencing some incredible professional development opportunities that still inform my work today.” While engaged in her fellowship, she wrote and edited quarterly e-newsletters and communications to key stakeholders, facilitated strategic brainstorming sessions that helped develop a model for SSP’s leadership program, designed operating procedures and policies, and advanced the scholar recruitment process. Of all of her activities, however, perhaps most memorable was a 2-week exchange program for SSP students, which she helped manage and chaperone, to St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, Connecticut, with visits to Washington DC and New York City. Seeing the world through the eyes of six Southern African high school students in the United States was awe-inspiring and further cemented Yassi’s commitment to the next generation.

Keiana West first learned about PiAf through a staff member at the Center for Learning and Action at Williams College while she was pursuing her undergraduate degree. Having also studied abroad in South Africa during her junior year, Keiana was interested in opportunities to return to the country. “While I knew that it wasn’t guaranteed that I would be placed in South Africa if I was accepted into PiAf, I still felt that applying to the program was the right thing to do given the opportunities it provided,” she states. With an interest in youth development and racial equity, Keiana was elated when she found out that she was accepted by SSP. She began her fellowship in the fall of 2018. “I respected the role that SSP played in helping low income students attend high quality educational institutions while providing them with various levels of support.” At the time that Keiana joined SSP, the organization was heavily engaged in restructuring their data collection and reporting procedures. Consequently, she was afforded the opportunity to help  streamline SSP’s monitoring and evaluation efforts in such a way that ensured the efficacy and robustness of their data collection. “SSP helped connect me to trainings and workshops that enhanced my skills and enabled me to perform the work well,” states Keiana. As she continued to settle into her role, her efforts expanded to include work with the alumni database, in addition to conducting interviews from countless individuals and stakeholders connected to the organization. She also supported the onboarding process of new educational management software that was used by SSP to track information related to student progress. The culmination of her efforts can be found in the year end report that she had created for SSP, highlighting the progress and significant impact of the organization. “My experience at SSP was great. As someone straight out of undergrad, I really appreciated their support of my professional development,” she states. “It was a privilege to interact with  so many various stakeholders connected to SSP and to experience such an in-depth look into the organization.” 

Upon completion of their fellowships, both Yassi and Keiana have gone on to accomplish extraordinary things. “The impact of my role as a Fellow with SSP was quite profound,” states Yassi. A year after her fellowship, Yassi joined a nonprofit management consulting firm in NYC where she began as a Public Ally AmeriCorps member, and later served in project management and cohort based learning roles. After 5 years with that group, she returned to grad school to complete a degree in International Communication, International Negotiation & Conflict Resolution, and African Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts. Currently, she serves as a Senior Associate on the Leaders Africa Team at the Obama Foundation. In her role, she has the opportunity to work with leaders across the continent where she and her team provide a broad range of leadership training and coaching to social impact changemakers . “My placement with SSP was incredibly formative and served as the entry point for my career in leadership development. For that, I’m filled with gratitude,” she states.

Keiana is also clear on how PiAf helped shape her, both personally and professionally. In particular, she remembers the mid-year retreat as an incredibly significant experience. “PiAf provided me the opportunity to think through my own development and carry forward the components that supported my growth.” Since completing her fellowship, Keiana has remained in the non profit sector, working in the fields of racial justice/equity, community safety, and criminal legal reform where her roles have included everything from paralegal work for defense attorneys working with people on death row, to supporting a think tank focused on racial disparities, policing, and public safety redesign. Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s in Public Affairs at Princeton University, with a specialty in domestic and urban policy. “I am really grateful for my experience as a Fellow as it allowed me to take a lot of what I learned from South Africa and apply it back to the context of my home environment,” states Keiana. As she looks forward, approaching her graduation in the spring of 2025, she sees herself involved in local government and policy advocacy.      

The partnership between SSP and PiAf serves as a shining example of the significance of the PiAf fellowship and the powerful work that can be accomplished when organizations collaborate in a respectful and reciprocal manner. Through their work at SSP, it’s clear that Yassi and Keiana had a profound experience that greatly shaped the trajectory of their lives, not to mention the countless individuals that were touched by the level of dedication, compassion, and leadership that these two women brought to their experience. Happy 25th Anniversary to SSP and PiAf, and here’s to many more years of commitment and service!