Sincere thanks to the LAC Program Selection Committee!

MMEG’s Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Selection Committee successfully completed the process of selecting 10 exceptional grantees from a highly qualified pool of 87 eligible applicants for 2026. The new grantees’ fields of study vary from gender studies to law, education, and social science and humanities.

The Selection Committee members’ invaluable experience, given their diverse professional backgrounds and nationalities, provided them with the invaluable capacity to identify resilient women who have persevered against the substantial challenges they face to further their education while working to improve the lives of women and children.

MMEG’s Board of Directors is very grateful and congratulates the LAC Selection Committee, whose dedication and service is noteworthy and greatly appreciated, as its members successfully contributed to our mission.

Milka Njiraini: MMEG supporter and volunteer

Personal Profile: Milka Njiraini, WBFN President Operations and MMEG Reader  

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you first got involved with WBFN

I am a volunteer with the World Bank Family Network and MMEG. I'm originally from Nairobi, Kenya, and spent many years working in banking in Nairobi, London, and Dar Es Salaam.

I have three children and first joined the Family Network in 2006 when we moved to the DC area with my husband, who works at the International Finance Corporation. A WBFN volunteer organized a playgroup for World Bank families in Northern Virginia, which helped my children make friends quickly and made my transition much easier.

In 2009 my family relocated to Nairobi, and in 2012–2013, I helped launch the Family Network chapter there—one of the first outside Washington, DC. I volunteered to welcome new members to Kenya and help organize community events. Later we moved to Johannesburg, where Family Network volunteers again welcomed me and helped me settle in. After almost 5 years in Johannesburg, we were on the move back to DC. I immediately contacted WBFN and received a lot of support for the move for myself and my family. Once I was settled, I registered as a volunteer and later joined the Executive Committee. In May 2025, I was nominated as President Operations of WBFN and confirmed at the WBFN annual meeting. I took on the role starting July 2025. 

What is most important to you about your work as WBFN President Operations? 

As President Operations at the Family Network, I work with WBFN staff and volunteers to ensure that we offer events that help our members build meaningful networks wherever they are based, including webinars on topics of interest to our community. Our DC chapter is the most active one, and as the operations lead, I support the office in delivering well‑organized events that facilitate social connection and engagement among our members. This work is particularly important to me because I've witnessed firsthand how such initiatives help members find their footing in the countries where their spouses are posted and create a sense of community.

Why do you volunteer with MMEG? 

 I volunteer with MMEG because I understand the importance of helping women in low‑income communities access education—whether to secure employment or to start income‑generating projects. As a volunteer supporting families in underserved communities in Nairobi, I witnessed firsthand how hardworking women are often held back by a lack of resources. When you empower a woman to become financially independent, you not only transform her life but also increase the likelihood that her children will avoid growing up in extreme poverty. In turn, they can stand on their mother’s shoulders and pursue even greater opportunities.

What's the most rewarding aspect of reading on the Trinity Washington University Selection Committee?

When you read about the women who apply for the MMEG grant from Trinity Washington University, you gain insight into the many ways women are transforming their communities despite significant challenges. Many applicants come from families that struggle to make ends meet, and some have even experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. Witnessing their determination to overcome adversity and uplift those around them is deeply inspiring. It motivates me to support their efforts and help them access the education they need to expand the impact of their work. 

MMEG Talks: Educación Socioemocional para Alumnos con Neurodivergencia

Hambre de inclusión: Perspectivas de las becarias de MMEG sobre educación socioemocional

Por Lindsey Chang

Lograr una verdadera educación inclusiva no se trata solo de que los estudiantes crucen la puerta del aula; se trata de entender el "nexo" entre las políticas educativas, la capacitación docente y el sentido de pertenencia. En el segundo MMEG Talks de 2026, dos becarias de MMEG compartieron cómo están abordando este desafío desde la raíz.

El desafío de la continuidad y la justicia

Josefina Díaz Páez, becaria de México y asistente para la Calidad Académica en la Universidad Iberoamericana, destacó que la educación inclusiva es, ante todo, un mandato de justicia social. Subrayó que, aunque las familias han impulsado cambios políticos, la falta de continuidad entre administraciones sigue siendo un obstáculo crítico que interrumpe los procesos educativos y la estabilidad de las estrategias en el aula.

Para Josefina, el rezago de los estudiantes neurodivergentes no es una cuestión de su condición personal, sino de las barreras externas: falta de infraestructura, materiales inadecuados y la necesidad urgente de una capacitación docente constante.

Calidad sobre presencia

En su contribución al diálogo, Josefina Senese, becaria de Argentina y doctoranda en Políticas Educativas en la Universidad de Boston, enfatizó que la seguridad educativa no es solo "asistir" a la escuela, sino "pertenecer" a ella. La verdadera inclusión ocurre cuando se eliminan las barreras de participación y se fomenta la vinculación profunda.

Josefina señaló que este enfoque genera un beneficio doble: mientras los estudiantes con discapacidad reciben el apoyo necesario, sus compañeros desarrollan una mayor empatía, mejorando la calidad de vida de toda la comunidad escolar.

Políticas que alcanzan la emoción

Ambas expertas coincidieron en la importancia de traducir la investigación en políticas que prioricen las habilidades socioemocionales. El aprendizaje no es puramente académico; la autorregulación y el manejo de la frustración son dimensiones esenciales que definen la experiencia humana y preparan al estudiante para la universidad y el ámbito laboral.

Transformar la evidencia científica en guías prácticas ayuda a los educadores a adaptarse a necesidades que van más allá de lo clínico, permitiendo ajustes metodológicos personalizados para cada caso.

Innovación en el aula

En la conversación sobre soluciones, se señaló que el obstáculo real no es la falta de materiales, sino la necesidad de fortalecer las prácticas pedagógicas mediante la formación. La flexibilidad docente y el compromiso familiar son las herramientas que permiten a las comunidades educativas adaptarse a condiciones cambiantes sin sacrificar la calidad de la enseñanza.

El panorama general

La exclusión educativa es un reto demasiado complejo para una sola solución. Requiere la visión del hacedor de políticas, la empatía del docente, el compromiso de las familias y la evidencia del investigador. Juntas, estas académicas de MMEG están demostrando que un mundo educativo equitativo es posible a través de la colaboración y la ciencia.

Abordar la neurodiversidad requiere, por lo tanto, una acción coordinada entre sectores y disciplinas.

Únete a la conversación

El trabajo de las becarias de MMEG ilustra cómo la investigación, la política y la práctica pueden unirse para desarrollar soluciones que fortalezcan los sistemas educativos y creen comunidades más resilientes.

Los MMEG Talks son más que una vitrina; son un espacio de conexión. Al unir a expertos globales, fomentamos el diálogo necesario para resolver los desafíos más apremiantes de nuestro mundo.

Te invitamos a seguir conectado con nuestra comunidad. Tu apoyo impulsa estas conversaciones. ¡Reserva la fecha para nuestro próximo MMEG Talks! Mantente atento a nuestro sitio web y redes sociales para los detalles de registro. ¡Esperamos verte allí!

Meet & Greet with a BankFund MMEG Grantee

For decades, BankFund has championed MMEG’s mission to transform women’s lives by providing generous support for education grants. Join us for an in‑person coffee chat with MMEG grant recipient, Evelyn Sands, whose grant - along with many others - was made possible through BankFund’s long-standing partnership.

📅 When: Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 1:00–2:00 PM EDT

📍 Where: BankFund Main Complex, MC‑C2 Suite 300

1818 H St NW, Washington, DC

About the BankFund–MMEG partnership

MMEG and the BankFund Credit Union have been trusted partners for many years. BankFund has generously supported one grant each year in both the US‑Canada and Trinity Washington University programs. Throughout MMEG’s history, our funds have been deposited with BankFund, which continues to support us not only through donations and professional financial services for our grantees, but also in a personal way through dedicated staff volunteers and by collecting and exchanging foreign currency donations on behalf of MMEG.

Heartfelt thanks to MMEG’S South Africa Program Selection Committee!

MMEG’S South Africa Selection Committee successfully completed another selection cycle in 2026, recommending to the Board 12 exceptional candidates after reviewing 187 eligible applications. Among the approved grantees’ fields of study are public health, medicine, anthropology, economics, engineering, sociology, and science.

Truly noteworthy is the Selection Committee’s strong commitment to advancing the success of women attending South African universities. The considerable time and diligence shown by the Selection Committee are greatly valued, complemented by its members’ diverse skills, experiences, and expertise. Their capacity to identify outstanding women from developing countries who strive to improve the lives of women and children is strengthened by their personal contributions, having lived and worked around the world in varied professions.

MMEG’s Board of Directors expresses its utmost gratitude to these dedicated volunteers, who greatly contribute to MMEG’s mission to improve the lives of women and children through our exceptional grantees.

MMEG Talks: Hungry for Food Security? How do we end global hunger, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture?

Hungry for Food Security: Insights from MMEG Grantees

By Lindsey Chang

Ending global hunger isn’t just about growing more food; it’s about understanding the "nexus" between agriculture, climate, and policy. In the first MMEG Talks of 2026, four MMEG grantees shared how they are tackling this challenge from the ground up.

The Climate Challenge

Goodness Chioma Aye, a  2011 MMEG grantee from Nigeria, highlighted how climate change is reshaping food security and agricultural livelihoods. Understanding how environmental shocks affect food production and household welfare is essential for strengthening resilience in vulnerable communities.

Goodness is a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Pretoria. Her work focuses on the relationships between food security, climate change, and economic welfare.

Quality Over Calories

In her contribution to the discussion, Isabel Madzorera emphasized that food security is not only about the availability of food but also about the nutritional quality of diets. Improving nutrition requires understanding how food systems influence what people eat and the health outcomes that follow.

Isabel, a 2005 MMEG grantee from Zimbabwe, is an assistant professor of Food Systems and Nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley.

Policy that Reaches People

Maria S. Nnyepi discussed the importance of translating research into policies that improve nutrition and public health. Turning scientific evidence into practical guidance helps governments address food security and diet-related health challenges.

Maria, a 2001 grantee from Botswana, serves as Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor, Teaching and Learning, and Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Botswana.

Innovation on the Farm

In the conversation about solutions, Rose Ogutu pointed to the importance of strengthening agricultural practices that support both productivity and sustainability. Research and farmer education can help communities adapt to changing conditions while maintaining food production.

Rose, a 2003 grantee from Kenya, is a horticulture specialist at Delaware State University and the NESARE Delaware State coordinator.

The Big Picture

Global hunger is too complex for a single solution. It requires the economist’s data, the nutritionist’s health focus, the policymaker’s vision, and the farmer’s innovation. Together, these MMEG scholars are proving that a food-secure world is possible through collaboration and science.

Addressing food security therefore requires collaboration across sectors and disciplines.

Join the Conversation

The work of MMEG grantees illustrates how research, policy, and practice can come together to develop solutions that improve food systems and support healthier, more resilient communities.

MMEG Talks are more than a showcase; they are a space for connection. By uniting global experts, we foster the dialogue needed to solve our world’s most pressing challenges.

We invite you to stay engaged with our community. Your support drives these conversations forward. Save the date for our next MMEG Talks! Stay tuned to our website and social media for registration details—we look forward to seeing you there.

Meet & Greet at Trinity Washington University

Trinity Washington University hosted a MMEG information session and grantee “meet and greet” at its campus in Washington DC on October 16, 2025. 

MMEG grantees De'Mia Harrington Artis and Rachel McCutcheon spoke movingly about how the grant, which they both received in 2025, has already improved their ability to juggle jobs, family life, and school.  

The information session, moderated by MMEG Vice President Vivian Familiar, included an explanation of the application process and Q&A from students. Afterwards, students met with the grantees and MMEG Board members and volunteers. 

Applications for grants under MMEG's Trinity program are open until January 15, 2026. Trinity is the only MMEG program for which citizens of any country are eligible. MMEG has partnered with Trinity Washington University, since 2016, in the spirit of supporting underserved women in the local community where MMEG is based. To date, 22 Trinity women have received grants from MMEG. 

The Power of One Woman: Afia Nathaniel

“Thanks to MMEG, I not only found my voice as a storyteller, I found a way to spark dialogue and conversations that can lead to change.”

Raised and educated in Pakistan by two grandmothers and a great-grandmother, Afia Nathaniel grew up with stories of women hiding in plain sight. Their everyday sacrifices were seared in her mind as she left Pakistan for an internship with the World YWCA in Switzerland. Working with an international women’s non-profit further opened her eyes to the power of women’s stories, inspiring her to think about filmmaking as a career. She became a student of light and life, training herself as a photographer and a screenwriter. In 2001, she was accepted in Columbia University’s MFA Directing program as a Dean’s Fellow and has since then focused on telling women’s stories for the big and small screen.

 MMEG awarded Afia a $15,000 grant in 2003 to support the pursuit of her studies at Columbia University. Afia says: “being able to complete my MFA in film directing was a life-changing experience. I not only found my voice as a storyteller, I found a way to spark dialogue and conversations that can lead to change.” 

 Afia explores pressing social justice issues of our time, often difficult ones like child marriage, fundamentalism, and gender-based violence in the context of patriarchal cultures and how it affects identity of the self and humanity. 

 Afia’s debut feature film, Dukhtar (Daughter) – a road trip thriller about a child bride –  premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014 and was Pakistan’s Official Submission for Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards®. It played to critical acclaim in over 20 countries and became the Critics’ Pick (Village Voice) and the People Magazine’s Pick of the Week. 

 Her latest film, “Don’t Be Late, Myra,” has won several awards and is now Oscar® qualified. The film takes an unflinching look at the issue of sexual assault of children. The protagonist’s journey makes us aware of the stigmas surrounding gendered sexual violence in patriarchal societies and poses larger questions about how women and girls can break this cycle of violence.

MMEG TALKS: Who Opens the Door? Creating Youth Employment Opportunities in a Challenging World

By Lindsey Chang

The final MMEG Talks of 2025 offered insights on how to open pathways for youth employment through holistic, inclusive solutions. In a webinar on December 9, 2025, MMEG grantees Obaa Akua Konadu-Osei (2021, Ghana) and Elizabeth Shawa-Manganii (2018, Malawi) reflected on the challenges young people face today and the systems that continue to shape their futures.

Youth unemployment remains one of the most pressing global issues. This conversation brought together two MMEG grantees whose work and experience reveal just how complex and urgent this challenge truly is.

The discussion underscored that solving youth unemployment requires a holistic approach, integrating gender equity, supportive ecosystems, and systemic reform. This theme emerged repeatedly as the speakers unpacked the realities facing young people, particularly young women, across the African continent.

Elizabeth Shawa-Mangani, a lecturer and researcher whose work spans youth unemployment, land reform, and agriculture, spoke to the structural issues young people encounter when seeking meaningful work. Drawing on her research in Malawi and beyond, she noted that entrepreneurship is often presented as the primary solution to unemployment. Yet this approach falters when the foundations needed for success—reliable infrastructure, access to patient capital, and attention to local markets—remain out of reach. Even the most motivated young people cannot build a livelihood upon systems that do not support them.

Obaa Akua Konadu-Osei, an academic and practitioner focusing on youth development, women’s empowerment, and human capital development in Africa, highlighted the persistent gender barriers that shape young women’s access to employment. She emphasized that discussions about youth employment cannot be separated from gender equity. Unpaid care work, stereotypical expectations, and pressures placed on women in professional spaces continue to limit their participation in the workforce. For many, entering and staying in dignified work requires compromises that often go unrecognized in policy and practice.

Together, the panelists pointed to additional systemic issues that reinforce inequality: fragmented policies, credential inflation, and education systems that are not aligned with the realities of contemporary labor markets. These gaps leave young people simultaneously overqualified and under-supported, navigating pathways that were never designed with them in mind.

Yet the conversation also illuminated the strength, resilience, and commitment young women bring to transforming their communities. Both speakers have dedicated their careers to rethinking how systems can better serve youth, and their contributions underscored why MMEG’s support for women in development fields matters so deeply.

This final session reaffirmed how much MMEG TALKS contribute to our mission by bringing forward the expertise and experience of our remarkable grantees. We applaud them for continuing to lead and inspire, and we hope others will join us in 2026 as we expand this space for learning, connection, and impact.