The Alumni department in partnership with the Institute of International Education awarded 29 grant awards to Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship alumni in Pakistan. The awards were given under the Humphrey Alumni Awards banner and successful applicants were selected through an application process comprising 55 proposals reviewed jointly by the U.S. Embassy and USEFP.
Of the 29 awards, 12 are Alumni Impact Awards and 17 are Professional Development Grants. The Alumni Impact Award is a USD 10,000 grant that supports the development of a community project for public good. The Professional Development Grant is a USD 2,500 cost-sharing grant that aids a recipient to pursue professional development training anywhere in the world to build on their previous Humphrey Fellowship experience.
Making a difference
Alumni Impact Award grant recipient Dr. Salman Shahzad, a native of Gilgit, is training 30 teachers in substance abuse prevention and mental health intervention to support vulnerable middle and high school students studying in the Aga Khan Education Service schools in the remotest regions of Upper Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This program is also being implemented in Gilgit for 60 additional teachers. According to baseline research by Dr. Shahzad, approximately 40% of children at some point are exposed to illicit substances in the target regions.
Dr. Shahzad was a Humphrey Fellow in 2016 and completed his fellowship in substance abuse prevention from the Virginia Commonwealth University. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Karachi’s Institute of Clinical Psychology.
