Student Tahera Aktar, a senior majoring in Biology, received the Edward Guiliano Global Fellowship and visited several villages in Ambejogai Taluka of Beed district in Maharashtra, India from March 22 to 29, 2018. This area has seen perennial drought conditions for the past several years causing distress among the villagers and forcing many farmers to end their lives for last few years. SIF (Save the Indian Farmers) and ground partners run several projects in this region to alleviate these poor, marginal farmers out of poverty. In cooperation with SIF, Tahera and two students, Koshik Bhuyian, student of Electrical Engg, NYIT and Abid Ahmed from St John’s University, had an educational experience. They were able to meet the SIF volunteers, partners and beneficiaries, and site interviewing locals engaged in social uplift. Tahera witnessed work in the areas of education, organic farming, alternative cropping, and rain water harvesting. Tahera brings back the message of global engagement and farmer-lives awareness back to the US to her friends, families, professors and fellow students.

Tahera recently presenter her work at NYIT SOURCE. Please click here to see here poster.