After numerous trips to Uganda, assistant professor of anthropology Kristen Cheney has put research into action by helping orphaned children learn to survive on their own.

Under a Fulbright scholarship, Cheney developed focus groups of Ugandan children, trying to learn about the issues surrounding orphans and ways they can deal better with their circumstances. Her research assistants were Ugandan children between 10 and 12 years old, who led, educated and mentored the focus groups of younger children.

"I had longstanding ties with the orphans and destitute children, so we set up focus groups of kids in each class, and we assigned our research assistants to each group. That way they could stay close to the younger kids and come back and help them," she said. "When you're orphaned and you lose your caregiver, it becomes a question of how is orphanhood experienced. I saw a lot of kids trying to survive and get by on their own."

Working with these children and witnessing the way they want to succeed on their own led Cheney to develop deep bonds with each one. To know that even when she's not there, they'll be working with the even younger children made leaving to come back to America a little bit easier.

"They've formed instant mentoring relationships," Cheney said. "I have learned I'm not alone in my experience, and they're not alone in their experiences either. They have gotten to know the kids in their focus groups pretty well."

And luckily for these specific children, Cheney's ties at UD will be bringing them support. Empower, a UD-based group that works to help educate children and communities in Africa, has stepped forward to offer assistance to Cheney's group of orphans.

"The kids in my study are the ones the UD chapter of Empower would support," she said. "I knew the kids' circumstances and who was in need, so it has been great for me because I'm not one individual doing this. And to be able to hook these kids up with UD and the Empower organization offering assistance is a good feeling."

Offering education to African communities is a necessity, but educating people here on campus is important as well. Cheney hopes that students here will take the time to learn about and understand the issues surrounding poverty in Africa, especially before doing service.

"I do feel very strongly about the issue of making sure people are educating themselves about the issues and know what is going on," she said. "That's where we need to link extracurricular stuff with service learning because there is so much to know before you help. In some instances you can actually do harm rather than help by creating dependency."

Her former research in Africa has already led her to author one book, "Pillars of the Nation," and she is looking to write another one about her most recent trip. Above all, though, Cheney knows what is more important than any research, is actually listening to the children and hearing from them about their needs. This is often overlooked in most cultures.

"There are things we could be doing better to assist orphans, and we miss it because we don't always listen well to what the children's concerns are," she said. "The issues of silences around HIV and orphan-hood are startling. We have kids in our study who are HIV-positive themselves and their parents haven't told them, and that's wrong."