TESTIMONIALS
I grew up in Burundi during times of conflict and moved to Canada when I was 12. One might think that moving from one of the poorest countries to one of the richest countries would be an improvement, but there are so many things I realized Burundi could teach Canada. I wasn't sure how to bridge those two worlds until I started participating with EVE. I have always been interested in health. In Burundi, we have different health issues than in Canada, but working with EVE I learned the value of using tech to communicate across cultural divides. Video, for example, can be used as a way to diagnose. It can also be a great tool to give to people from another culture and help you listen to them. This has opened up a world of possibilities for me to work with different people and try to improve their health.
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Sam Maconco
Burundi-Canada
2024
Researching for an innovative solution for the recovery and management of electronic waste was something we saw the need for in order to better the lives of our people. With the development of more resources for opportunities like this, the ideas will only get better. I am very proud of the new skills I was able to learn and improve on during this event and that I can take with me into my day to day life. Participating in this event allowed the team to develop cohesion. Even with the few differences in ideas, we were always able to find compromises. For us though, Peace + Freedom doesn't end here. We need to continue looking out for ideas that change the world.
RANDRIANJATOHARIMANANA Tiana Solomon
Madagascar
2021
As an engineering major, my aim has always been to contribute my technical skills for social good. The mentors were super friendly to work with, and so were my incredibly talented peers from all around the globe that I got to connect with throughout the program. If you are interested in learning more about aerostats, IoTs, and contributing to solving pressing social problems through technology, such as illicit poaching of endangered wildlife in Southern Africa or delivering critical cargo to remote areas, as well as closely collaborating with and pitching to some of the leading global experts in this domain, I would highly recommend you to connect with EVE.
Sampanna Bhattarai
Nepal
2020
A big part of the reason I wanted to join the Peace + Freedom Challenge was to get more exposure to other people’s ideas and to interact with other members on a local and global level. Because of this, programs like the Peace + Freedom Challenge should be implemented much more often. Getting more people involved would be beneficial since it's more useful to participate in solving different global problems and create confidence to face our common problems in collaboration with many other teams. Having the opportunity to talk with other people about our local problems is the biggest way that the challenge helped me in achieving my goals.
Dorique Bihango
Goma, DRC
2021
For me, the independence we had remains something unique. I wanted to learn how to have positive impact on the people in Malawi and Zambia. We had to design transport and communications solutions to save lives. As an engineering student from NYU who grew up in Ouagadougou, I felt both honoured, and a lot of pressure to deliver. Concept design was challenging, but designing the implementation required more from all of us than expected, leading us to push ourselves in ways we couldn’t imagine. The satisfaction I felt when we finished our pitch to funders – and their positive reaction – was something I can never trade. Everyone on the team felt a unique connection to the project and our self-confidence grew stronger by the week.
Tintie Ahmed Kone
Burkina Faso
2020
I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had just graduated and was looking to have positive impact on the world. When I met Jay and learned about the EVE mission, I was both intimidated and thrilled. I went to Madagascar and started working with local healthcare providers to save lives. It was a dream come true. The entire team had their dreams come true. It’s incredible. I helped redesign healthcare systems. I continue on as a mentor and I love it.
Mei Tso
Canada / Madagascar
1997-98
I was not on a good path when I heard about the internship. I’m so glad they have a wild card section. I had not finished school due to some personal tragedies in my life and the skies over my head looked dark. I remember telling Jay in the interview I had no skills. But he refused to accept that. The program kept challenging and supporting me. I have far exceeded my wildest dreams. I just launched a fintech company to bring financial services to young people in need – just like me growing up like me. I am living my dream. I couldn’t have done without this internship.
Matt O’Leary
Madagascar / Canada
1999