Ariane Alzhara Kirtley

Ariane Alzhara Kirtley

"Ariane's name mirrors her roots, planted firmly on three continents: Kirtley the American born, Ariane the daughter of a French mother and Alzhara, "desert flower" in Arabic, signaling that she blossomed in Africa, the continent she loves above all others.

"She crossed the Sahara Desert for the first time when she was six months old -- in a basket tied to the back seat of her family's Land-Cruiser. From those earliest months until she turned ten, her home was in Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast and Niger.

"A 2001 graduate of Yale University, in 2004 she also earned her Masters in Public Health from Yale. In summer of 2003, she returned to Niger to intern for CARE International on a breastfeeding promotion initiative. Further investigation into health issues in Niger culminated in her Master's thesis on the subject for Yale.

"In May of 2004 Ariane was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to return to Niger in order to research the special needs of women and minority ethnic populations in the Sahel with regard to hygiene and sanitation, with the hope that the results will be used to inform hygiene promotion campaigns sponsored by international NGOs."


 * Director, Friendship Caravan