Kelly McCafferty | Alumni | University of Guelph

Kelly McCafferty

Kelly McCafferty

Kelly McCafferty

Program:Bachelor of Arts Degree
Major:International Development

My name is Kelly McCafferty. I’m a third-year student in International Development with a focus on gender.

Since I can remember, my mother passionately embraced the fight for gender equality and I have absorbed her causes as my own. This has led me to my academic focus so that I can help address critical issues that challenge women around the world.

As I gain my degree, I have been devoted to promoting, recognizing and furthering women’s rights through poverty alleviation, social and health development, sustainable agriculture, and education.

I volunteered with the Oxford Committee of Famine Relief (OXFAM Canada, Guelph Chapter), where I advocated and fundraised for safe, affordable access to a sustained market of feminine hygiene products.

In collaboration with Dolls4Tibet, I have helped support female refugees fleeing conflict in Tibet – this organization also works to preserve Tibetan culture in a region of India, through inclusive, equitable and sustainable employment for female refugees.

At the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights, I helped support the rights of Tibetan refugees in India as well as those displaced within Tibet.

In 2017, I wrote 2 presentations for the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. The papers spread global awareness of the social, environmental and political marginalization of Tibetans at the hands of the Chinese Government.

This year I will continue my humanitarian work in India under the supervision of Professor Sharada Srinivasan, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences. I will work at Shambahli Trust in Jodhpur, India to help empower women by addressing child marriage, lack of education, patriarchy, abuse and other gender inequalities.

I will conduct research and provide an annual impact report for the Shambahli Trust. The marginalization faced by lower caste Indian women, female Tibetan refugees and women of both rural and urban communities are gender inequalities that are generationally ingrained and culturally supported – they include but are not limited to, access to education, medical support, hygiene products, sustainable employment and safety.

As I continue my education on the graduate level, I will never forget the extraordinary opportunity I have been given via the Summerlee Humanitarian Scholarship. I am eternally grateful to the Angel Gabriel Foundation – the donors behind this fund have deepened my passion for equality and inclusiveness and have contributed to my focus on International Development and Gender. Going forward, I will measure my success against the way I honour the kindness of this exceptional Scholarship. Thank you.

 

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