Kenya: Urbanization, Health and Human Rights

Faculty and Staff

Odoch Pido, Ph.D., Academic Director
Originally from Uganda, Dr. Pido has lived and worked in Kenya for over forty years, informing his dual perspective on life in both countries. He is a graduate of the School of Industrial Design in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) and earned both an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Nairobi, where he conducted research on the articulations of culture, design, and development. Dr. Pido is a faculty member of the School of the Arts and Design at the University of Nairobi and served as Chair of Department from 1999-2003. He is a frequent conference presenter and has published numerous papers, book chapters, and journal articles analyzing culture in relation to design, health, and development. He has consulted on alternative communication techniques for controlling HIV/AIDS, especially in relation to orphans and vulnerable children in rural Kenyan communities, and for jua kali (informal, small-scale) businesses throughout Kenya. Dr. Pido has been a lecturer and advisor with SIT since 1987 and an academic director since 2005.

Jamal Omar Awadh, Academic Director
Jamal Omar Awadh is a Kenyan national who received his Bachelor of Education from the University of Nairobi and his M.A. in Museology from Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam. He taught in Mombasa for six years before joining the National Museums of Kenya as an Education and Conservation Officer. Currently studying Human Resource Management, he has been working with SIT since 2001 as home stay coordinator, ISP advisor, and lecturer. In Fall 2002 he was appointed the Academic Director for the Kenya: Coastal Cultures program. He has served as co-Academic Director for the Kenya: Health and Community Development program in Nairobi since fall 2005.

Mary Nabuley, Student Support and Language Coordinator
Often called Mama Mary by her students, Mary Nabuley has been working for the program for the past ten years, during which time she has amassed great experience on how to best support SIT students and coordinate their language lessons.

Miltone Omondi, Office Manager
Miltone Omondi has worked for the program for the past five years as the office manager. Miltone helps in the day-to-day running of the program including producing lecture materials, taking care of and updating library resources, and keeping the students informed of Nairobi's many cultural and educational offerings, including theaters, shows, and conferences.

Lecturers for this program typically include:

Professor Patrick Alila, Ph.D.
Dr. Alila is a research professor at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nairobi. He holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington; an M.A. from Indiana University, Bloomington; and a B.A (Hons) from the University of East Africa. Professor Alila is an expert in rural development, political science, and public administration. He has conducted extensive research in the areas of local development systems, co-operatives development, micro and small enterprises, child labor, and Kenya’s electoral process. He has been a lecturer with the SIT Nairobi program since 1985.

Professor Mohamud Jama, Ph.D.
Professor Mohamud Jama is associate research professor and director of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nairobi. He has a Ph.D. and M.A. in agricultural economics from Washington State University and a B.Comm. (Hons) from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. His has twenty-five years of teaching experience in the areas of agricultural economics, environmental and natural resource management, and development. He has lectured SIT students on development, environment, wildlife conservation, and tourism development. Professor Jama has published extensively on natural resource and development issues. He serves as academic coordinator for the community development module and has been a lecturer with the SIT program in Nairobi since 1987.

Professor Mohamed Karama, Ph.D.
Professor Karama is principal research officer with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and is a part-time lecturer at Kenyatta University in Kenya. He holds a Ph.D. in public health and epidemiology from Kenyatta University and has pursued various training courses in Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Japan. Currently he teaches and supervises students at the master’s and Ph.D. levels at Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, and Nagasaki University in Japan. He was appointed associate professor by the Graduate School of International Health and Development at Nagasaki University. During his earlier professional career, he worked with the Kenya Ministry of Health in the areas of disease control and epidemics in Kenya. He is a member of a faith-based health committee in Kenya. Dr. Karama has been conducting lectures for the SIT Nairobi program for the last two years and serves as academic coordinator for the SIT Nairobi health module.

Donna Pido, Ph.D.
Donna Pido is an anthropologist whose professional interests lie in the interaction of design and aesthetic systems across and within cultures. She has a Ph.D. in applied anthropology; an M. Phil. in education from Columbia University; and a B.A. in anthropology from Indiana University, Bloomington. As a contract researcher, her work has focused on the aesthetic factors that influence high risk behavior in relation to AIDS and STIs. She has published in the areas of East African aesthetics, social change, and the effective development of information education and communication material for health. She has lived in Kenya for 33 of the last 43 years. Her field research and professional work have also included internally generated change in art and development within the Maasai, Kisii, Sudanese, and other communities.