Championing Women's Health: A Summer Internship with Sauti Mashinani

For the past three years, Professor Samantha Winter from the Columbia School of Social Work has led climate-focused mental health programs for women in Mathare, an informal settlement in Kenya. During Columbia University's summer 2024 break, three Columbia students interned at Professor Winter's Sauti Mashinani Lab. One of the interns, Kianna Marie Stamps, gave us feedback on the internship experience.

Here's What Kiana had to say

Tell us more about yourself and your educational background.

My name is Kianna Stamps, and I am a Master's level dual degree student at the Columbia School of Social Work and the Mailman School of Public Health. I am from the Bronx, New York, and I am deeply passionate about racial disparities in birthing outcomes and access to care for mothers of color in New York City and beyond. I plan to use the overlapping skills from both disciplines to develop and assess interventions to reduce these disparities throughout my career.

Why were you interested in this internship opportunity?

This summer, I completed a 2.5-month internship with Dr. Samantha Winter's Sauti Mashinani research lab alongside Gi Un Shin (CSSW) and Hayley Farrel (SIPA), two other research assistants. The Sauti Mashinani Lab conducts community-engaged research and interventions to address climate justice, health equity, intimate partner violence, and community well-being for women living in informal settlements in Nairobi.

I was initially interested in this internship because it allowed me to work alongside and support community leaders carrying out intimate partner violence interventions. I also wanted to work with the lab's community partners to write papers on stigma, climate change, and intimate partner violence. This internship provided an opportunity to help implement interventions for women's health and well-being, which aligns with my career aspirations in maternal health. Lastly, the prospect of working outside the U.S. was exciting, and I now know it is an incredible country with kind-hearted and wonderful people.

During this time, were there any specific skills or knowledge areas you were able to develop through your internship experience?

I developed skills in project management while supporting Sauti Mashinani and the Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health's (AFRIMEB) joint study on the relationship between climate change and intimate partner violence through an app designed for community members. During the training portion of this study, I worked alongside the project manager to ensure that the training was compliant and running smoothly. This was my first time supporting a portion of a research project in such a hands-on way, and it entailed a great deal of coordinating, problem-solving, and communicating with the project manager, team members, and participants. During my internship with the Sauti Mashinani lab, I further developed my skills in qualitative analysis while coding and systematizing focus group discussions with key informants in an informal settlement in Nairobi. I also wrote a paper with Gi Un based on the results. I also took Swahili lessons, which helped me connect better with community members.

What were the most rewarding tasks or projects you worked on?

One of the rewarding projects I worked on was the training for the climate change and intimate partner violence app. I enjoyed collaborating and troubleshooting with the AFRIMEB project manager and team members. It was gratifying to see our training of 320 women on how to use smartphones and the app from beginning to end. I worked alongside other team members to ensure compliance with our program proposal, address logistical and administrative issues, coordinate with the CGC | Nairobi staff, and interact with community members and their children from Kibera and Mathare. Another incredible experience I am grateful for was working with middle school girls in two schools in Kibera alongside three social work students through Crossing Thresholds. It was fulfilling to talk to an exceptional group of young girls about building their emotional toolbox with skills like journaling, mind-body exercises, and dancing to process experiences of peer pressure, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and grief. Alongside Gi Un and Hayley, I collaborated with our lab's community health workers from Mathare and CGC | Nairobi to plan a webinar highlighting the devastating floods and demolitions in Mathare and the community's resilience. It was incredible to see the Mathare women feel empowered to share their experiences and call on governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders to support their community.

In what ways do you believe this internship experience will contribute to your professional growth?

This internship was an opportunity to challenge some of my assumptions about community-based participatory research and explore whether I want to pursue a PhD after my dual degree program. I got to observe research on the ground, interact with participants, and think critically about what research could look like in maternal health. My learning experiences in Kenya excited me to begin my public health program to explore my career possibilities further. I learned many valuable skills in project management, Qualtrics operation, qualitative research, youth programming, cultural humility, and maintaining community partnerships.

Would you recommend this internship to other Columbia students?

I would absolutely recommend interning with CGC | Nairobi. Through this internship, I had the opportunity to apply what I learned in class and the lab to our work in the field, which was a rewarding experience. Everyone is passionate about their work and remains invested in students' success and career trajectories. Kenya also has so much to offer outside of work, including Karura Forest, National Parks, museums, beautiful coastal areas, and great food.

Are there any last thoughts you'd like to share?

Kenya is an incredible country with remarkable people, and there are so many unique opportunities for students to learn from and alongside community members and leaders. I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Winter for making it possible for Hayley, Gi Un, and myself to work and enjoy our time in Kenya. It was a privilege to join an already incredible community of people passionate about intimate partner violence and community advocacy. I would also like to thank the Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health and CGC | Nairobi for hosting us and welcoming us. I feel blessed to have had this experience and look forward to continuing my work with the lab.