Anneke Shiller

As someone who has been learning German for five years now, one of the first things that interested me in this project actually was its German connection. But what really drew me in and made this project an act of passion was just seeing how people work to help one another and themselves. With my focus on refugee services, I learned a lot about the ins and outs of LWF-SR. This meant looking at budget sheets one day, reading letters the next, and maybe digging into a book later on. In all the everyday, I found complications. I found frustrations. I found small victories. I found people sharing life together. I found peace and I definitely found struggle. Writing this at the end of the CURI program, I can only hope that future researchers develop a new understanding of what it means to provide aid to those in need. It is a hard act and it also must be a humble act.

Some driving questions of mine:

• How does the organization of personnel/staff reflect in the programs and the organization itself? (Staffing)
• How can one accurately measure the needs of those they are helping? And then organize programs around that? (Need) (Support Programs)
• How does a organization’s aim connect with the application of such? (Aim)

Additional Notes:

I also worked on this project under Professor Amanda Randall the fall semester after CURI. I had the valuable experience of working with initial feedback from some of the amazing contributors to this project as well as creating pieces of the media galleries. From this, I learned the value of access and intentionality. So I must say a big thank you to both Professor Randall and the many people invested in this project! You all have taught me so much!