CRS Picks Fordham Students For African Assignments

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Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has chosen two Fordham University graduate students for six-month assignments to Africa—one to Burkina Faso and the other to Guinea—beginning in January.

Both students will receive diplomas this year from Fordham’s graduate program in International Political Economy and Development (IPED), which is funding the trips.

Armand Aquino will travel to Burkina Faso in the African Sahel region. Before attending Fordham, Aquino graduated from Ateneo de Manila University and worked as a senior associate with Development Finance International in Manila, Philippines. While at Fordham, he served as lead coordinator of Fordham’s Pope Francis Global Poverty Index project.

In Burkina Faso, he will be closely involved with CRS’ programming in education, nutrition and emergency support to Malian refugees.

Ms. McCann will be assigned to Guinea in West Africa. Before attending Fordham, Ms. McCann graduated from Providence College and then served as a Jesuit volunteer in Tanzania. While at Fordham, she interned with the Holy See Mission to the United Nations, primarily following the U.N. debate in the Third Committee on immigration and refugee issues.

Since the outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2014, CRS has been one of the leading agencies in the effort to fight the virus in Guinea. Ms. McCann will be closely involved with the work of CRS in health and in food security programming.

CRS is the official relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Fordham’s IPED Program was established in 1979 through the support of the U.S. Department of Education.