Hello Rotarians!
I hope you had an enjoyable Labor Day. Your fall marks the beginning of Cape Town’s Spring, of which I am grateful. I have a few updates for all of you. I am not sure if you are aware, but I have been offered to upgrade into the Master’s Program at the University of Cape Town. As I am able to finish the degree and dissertation by only adding an additional six months to my time here, I have accepted. I have changed my dissertation topic slightly, but it still encompasses the topic of aid and conflict. My new topic is the following:
Is foreign aid to the Kagame Government indifferent to the Kagame Government’s political behaviour? An anaylsis of foreign actors’ penalties and rewards.
I will be analyzing the responses of the UK and EU’s aid agencies to see if there is any reaction to President Kagame of Rwanda’s undemocratic acts. I am specifically interested in his acts of conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Besides my ever increasing scholastic responsibilities, I managed to take a weekend away and camped in the Western Cape, where the majestic wildflowers are currently in bloom. These wildflowers only flower between late August and September and transform the usually desolate Western Cape landscape into one bursting with color! I’ve attached a few photos of the trip, but I will also blog about it soon. However, I have uploaded two new blog posts if any are interested.
Finally, I’ve included the photo of another Rotary Scholar who is actually from La Canada! She is a Rotary Peace Fellow named Lindsey Doyle who is studying in Sweden but temporarily researching in Cape Town. We grabbed lunch the other day and reminisced about good ol’ Southern California!
Warm Regards,
Jennifer Binley
Lindsey Doyle and Jennifer
