Center for International Development
Get connected with others who share your global mindset and passions
At the Center for International Development (CID) at the Fermanian School of Business, we combine practical business knowledge with compassionate hearts to address the deepest challenges of poverty around the world. The CID's mission and purpose are integrated into everything we do.
We connect students to events, resources, internships, and jobs to help them find successful and fulfilling careers. Students pursuing majors or minors in international development, nonprofit organization management, or sustainability studies directly benefit from the CID’s partnership and network of support, events, and collaboration opportunities. Join us as we seek new and better ways to serve others in need.
Our Current Work: Akinyi
Akinyi is a research initiative through the Center for International Development at PLNU on a mission to investigate the realities of menstruation globally.
Through conducting empirical interviews with individuals living in the global South, we are determined to understand the complexities of menstrual poverty as a foundational step for implementing sustainable solutions.
Learn more about Akinyi
THE AKINYI STORY
Akinyi: How it Started
In 2022, PLNU student Emma McHugh had a goal to bring awareness to the issue of period poverty and break down stigmas surrounding menstruation. However, she struggled to find enough substantial research that properly communicated the realities of menstruation. Instead of abandoning the project altogether, she was encouraged and supported by the CID to uncover the stories of the menstrual experience through a pilot research study in Kenya.
The Research
Our research uncovered that over 90% of our interviewees personally know women and girls who trade sex for pads.
Photo Gallery
View images from our recent trips and the amazing women who shared their stories with us.
Donate to Akinyi
Help end period poverty by investing in the girl child! Your donations will fuel continued research and provide menstrual products to individuals in the Global South.
Partner With Us
Your donation to the CID will help students conduct research through funding their travels, bring important speakers to campus, send students to relevant conferences, and facilitate internship/job opportunities for our students/graduates who engage in global poverty alleviation, innovative non-profits, and social enterprises. Help us help students use their business education to serve the least of these!
"HOPE International has greatly benefited from the training and preparation the Center for International Development offers its student body, as we’ve engaged interns and hired graduates from the school over the years. We’ve found those with a background from the CID to be uniquely equipped for service and leadership, and actively engaged with the complex issues surrounding poverty."
"I have been partnering with PLNU for more than a decade. The Center for International Development has connected me with a number of outstanding interns who have come equipped to serve non-profits, care about poor people the world over, and daily put their love into action. It is a privilege for me to endorse their work and commend them to you."
Bob Goff
New York Times bestselling author of Love Does
"Plant With Purpose is grateful to be a long-time partner of the Center for International Development. The CID is shaping future leaders in local and global sectors through outstanding instruction, hands-on learning opportunities, and broadening students' view of global issues while finding unique solutions. Plant With Purpose has had the pleasure of hosting several of these future leaders as interns and volunteers, aiding with our international program work as well as lending a hand to advocacy, marketing, and fundraising in San Diego. The students I see coming from the CID give me great confidence for the future. We look forward to many more years of working together."
Scott Sabin
Executive Director, Plant with Purpose
Location and Hours
Fermanian School of Business
Main Campus