International

The old adage “times flies” is as true today as it ever was. Tomorrow I will already board a plane back to Canada. In preparation I woke up bright and early this morning (Nepali Style) and did the mountain flight to Mount Everest! It was a breath-taking ride through the Himalayans to the crowning glory of Nepal. (I could write an entire blog on the natural beauty of Nepal.) This flight was one of the few occasions that I did the “tourist” thing. During this internship I have been always aware that I am not a tourist, that there are differences that distinguish foreigners. Yet to every cab driver, server and store owner every foreigner is a tourist. The look of surprise on some faces when I say “Chaina. I live in Baluwatar, I know how much it costs” is priceless. But beyond the small expat community and volunteers, Nepal remains isolated with the vast majority of non-Nepalese being tourists here to trek. I often hear people speak nostalgically of the years before the insurgency, when Nepal was known as a peaceful, hippie haven full of these visitors.

While tourism will undoubtedly always play a role in the economy of Nepal, tourism alone is insufficient to build a stronger economy and strengthen the sense of national unity. This fact is why I am so proud I have had the opportunity to work with 3 fair trade handicraft organizations. Each has a unique business model, yet they are aligned not only by their membership with Fair Trade Group Nepal but by being self-sufficient businesses that put producers before profits. They prove that successful businesses can pay livable wages, earn a profit and produce high quality goods. Growing these types of companies is necessary to the future of Nepal’s vibrant and diversified economy. They are not new institutions and their products reflect thousands of years of tradition. In this so called era of globalization, these producers and retailers have the opportunity to export their goods all around the world while simultaneously strengthening Nepal’s global image and local economy. Since Nepal is so diversified in terms of geography and ethnic groups, there is a treasure trove of cultural products available in the fair trade stores like Ten Thousand Villages. My suitcase is filled with many of them.

I did much more than shop though. Working 6 days a week with these organizations kept me very busy and I’m fortunate this was the case. You hear tales of internships or more generally volunteers who are not assigned any work. I had the opposite problem, with my time always in demand. I wish I could have had at least 6 months here! Even with the dreaded “load shedding” (or for those outside of Nepal, electricity black outs) I was able to complete all my work and still enjoy (most) of my Saturdays off. Some have suggested I worked too much or didn’t do enough tourist activities. For me this experience is a learning process. I learned more from being at work than I would from hiking up a mountain, which I did do once. The relationships I developed with my coworkers was an immeasurable source of insight into Nepal’s social, cultural, economic and political spheres. Even beyond our friendships and their willingness to speak freely with me, I was impressed with every single person I worked with. The level of skill and capacity of the employees at my organizations is a wonderful example of what we can often in the North overlook or undersell when speaking of the people in the South. Nepal is not only rich in terms of geography, culture and handicrafts; its industrious, intelligent and artful citizens are its most valuable resource. I will miss them dearly.

Reflecting on my experience working at the Saartjie Baartman center – I am truly grateful that I was able to take part in this opportunity to apply what I have learned in International Development into an NGO setting. Working at the Saartjie Baartman Center in many ways has changed me and my perspective on my dealings with others. Moreover, I fulfilled my learning objectives, which included learning about the historical context of violence against women in South Africa, the causes and effects of domestic violence and how an NGO works in an African country. In the future, I plan to work on the African continent, and I am thankful for this experience.

Coming from a history of domestic violence in the home, I was glad that I was able to contribute my skills and experiences to help these survivors. Whether the shelter clients were having a good or bad day, they often want to talk about it, and part of my job was just to be available for them to share their frustrations or their successes. Moreover, the majority of my time was working with the children – which was simultaneously the most difficult and rewarding aspects of my internship. All of the children in the crèche have witnessed and or experienced abuse. Many of them had behavioural problems which often took a toll on my emotions and many times I felt hopeless when dealing with them. As time went on, I learned how to properly address their issues and how to handle their behaviour. As much as it was stressful, I enjoyed the experience and it was extremely hard saying goodbye to the women and children.

I will truly miss Cape Town especially the beauty of the city and the diversity of people. As my fellow interns can attest, I hardly stayed home! I was always out after work and on the weekends– whether checking out a live show, shopping (and I did lots of it!), eating at a restaurant or just experiencing the beauty of the city. From day 1, I fell in love with the city and I felt that 3 months was not enough time to fully experience what the city had to offer! Cape Town will always have a special place in my heart and I hope to return back as soon as possible! Yebo!

My internship in India has exposed me to a lot of different issues in development first hand. One of which is gender relations. Although I know gender discrimination is currently occurring in Canada, I found it much more apparent in India.

My first real discovery of the gender discrimination in India came from a rather innocent question. I asked a woman who told me she was pregnant what sex the baby was. The mother-to-be just smiled, and told me that in India, it is illegal to determine the sex of an unborn baby. This is due to a high rate of female infanticide, especially in rural areas. Some people feel that female children are a burden on the family. Not only do they not produce the same amount of work as males, there is the added “cost” of marriage. In India, the dowry system still exists. To marry, two families must come together and agree on a dowry provided by the bride’s father. If the dowry is not sufficient, the engagement may be broken off. This is a big issue for young women from low income families who may not have to means to provide their daughter with an adequate dowry.

Most of the other gender relations that I was exposed to in India centered on my experiences at the pg. During my internship, I lived as a paying guest in a guesthouse or pg as it is commonly called. Young female students and professionals in India often leave their homes to stay closer to their jobs or their college in the city. Whereas I have an apartment in Ottawa, some young women in India group together under a landlady who not only provides food and lodging, but also cares for their moral status in a guesthouse. For example, if a student had to go to the library after school, she would have to inform the landlady if she was breaking curfew. The landlady would in turn be sure that the young lady in question had permission to be late from her parents. Although this may seem a little stifling to independent Canadian students, I found that the landlady and the other girls at the pg all genuinely care for one another. If you called the pg because you were having trouble at work or you were feeling ill, everyone was quick to volunteer to help in any way. Just to come home to smiles and understanding was a real relief and true support during my internship. Moreover, I cannot how amazing it was to be able to talk to and learn from these young women. Not only did they help me navigate a culture so different from my own, they also included me in their daily activities. I feel that I was able to begin to understand the many intricacies of what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be a woman in India.

I was very surprised to feel more solidarity with women in India than women in Canada. Perhaps this is because of the use of gendered spaces in India. As a simple example, there are separate lines (queues), and seats for women using public transportation. Women group together, and help one another more readily. There is more sharing between women. There is a comfort, and no other word than solidarity between women in India.

Although gender relations may be forefront in Indian society, I know that discrimination based on gender occurs in Canada as well. In the future, I look forward to investigating, or even just being more aware of gender issues in Canada. Someday, I also hope to be able to feel the same amount of solidarity with women in Canada that I experienced with women in India.

As I look back on these past three months in Cape Town, I am humbled and in awe. It has been the most enormous privilege working at Cape Town Refugee Centre, staying with my host family, and experiencing all that this stunningly beautiful city has to offer. During our orientation session before we left on our internship, we had a discussion on the topic of “privilege” and what we thought the word/concept means. The first word that came to my mind when we started unpacking the meaning of privilege was “opportunity”.  I remember thinking, “I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to go to university, to see other parts of the world, and to gain practical working experience through an internship. There are so many young people in the world who don’t have these opportunities! And on top of that, I can afford to work for free!”

The core idea behind this realization – that I was blessed with so much while others had so little – was actually the initial spark that led me to choosing International Development and Globalization as my program of study. To me, it didn’t make sense that I had so many opportunities while others had so little. I decided to use my privilege – that is, my opportunity to go to school and to gain job experience – to learn about the issues facing those who simply are not afforded such basic opportunities as going to school, and to use that knowledge to help make such opportunities a reality. This was the thinking behind me choosing to do my internship at Cape Town Refugee Centre (CTRC).

My internship was an invaluable learning experience because I was confronted with the complex nature of issues facing refugees in Cape Town, and the difficulties that NGOs like CTRC face in addressing such issues. The experience working at CTRC reminded me of the time when I first learned about the “multidimensional nature of poverty” in school. Poverty, I learned wasn’t simply a material problem, a state of not having enough food, clothing, and shelter. It encompassed a vast number of other dimensions as well, such as lack of educational opportunities, unequal social relations, and discrimination based on ethnicity, race, religion, caste, etc. I quickly learned that the problems facing refugees were multidimensional and complex as well.

For example, starting one’s life over in a new country is a challenge in itself: having the right paperwork, finding housing, getting a job, supporting one’s family etc. Add to that a general feeling of xenophobia among the host population, and life as a refugee becomes that much more difficult and unbearable. The 2008 xenophobic attacks in South Africa, in which some 60 people were killed, the majority being foreigners, are case in point. Other difficulties that I encountered during my internship involved the translation of training certificates. For example, one refugee that I saw was a trained nurse in the DRC, but her certificate was not recognized in South Africa. As a result, she was faced with the decision of starting her training over, or doing another training course that was shorter and did not cost as much, like home-based care.

My experience working at CTRC has opened my eyes to the complex nature of NGO work in development, and the multidimensional nature of problems faced by refugees. A simple yet profound lesson that I have learned is that multidimensional problems require multidimensional solutions. I am sad to leave CTRC, but I am excited to see how I will use the knowledge and experience that I have gained working at the Centre in the future. Thanks CTRC!

I cannot believe it is the end of my internship! I still remember leaving the family at the airport in Canada, arriving in South Africa, meeting my host mom, my first day at my placement at Saartjie Baartman. I remember how awful I was feeling those first few weeks, how homesick I was, and how closed off I was to what Cape Town really had to offer me.  I believe that my experience here in the “Mother City” has really opened me up. I thought I was coming here with an open mind about new cultures and ways of life, but I realized that in the beginning I was comparing everything to how things worked back home. As soon as I was able to realize this and started really appreciating the situation I was in for the last 3 months, realizing what an amazing opportunity this has been, I was able to really understand and get to like the ways of Cape Town.

As I am writing I am sitting at the airport with a heavy feeling in my heart.  Cape Town has really surprised me, and I’m glad that I opened up to it, as it has showed me that it is more than just the “Mother City”. There are so many different social dynamics that are happening in this city. I have noticed how there are some South Africans stuck in the past of Apartheid and others who are very into the modern way of integrating everyone into an equal society and some who are even complaining of an Anti-Apartheid society. I have learned a lot about this city and I am really glad that I decided to apply for this internship. It has allowed me to also learn a lot about myself as well. I have learned that I can push my limits and go through much more than I thought I was capable before. I have gained much knowledge and independence that I believe will serve me well in my future. As I think of how my return to Canada will be I can’t help but wonder how I will react to getting into a “routine” again, after having experienced this. Will I become restless and in need of  more meaningful  activities, or will I adapt just fine and be OK to returning to the life that I have had before this internship?

To conclude this amazing chapter in my life, I cannot wait for my return to Cape Town and wonder how the social dynamics of the city will have changed, or not, since my departure. So dankie Cape Town, for all the wonderful memories. See you again!

My time working at FMV Isik’s Erenkoy campus, within both primary and secondary school systems has provided me with a unique opportunity to apply my knowledge outside of its regular setting. I am a student of International Economics and Development, and the possibility of teaching and demonstrating my knowledge on topics outside of post-secondary academics is one that has never occurred to me. It has been an invaluable experience.

FMV Isik Erenkoy is a school which encourages students to excel in their respective hobbies and academic pursuits. It provides them with the resources to take their learning outside of the school with various clubs such as Model United Nations (MUN), Interact, and gastronomy, among many others. It has a very expansive campus which includes both primary and secondary schools, well equipped sports facilities and a generous allotment of green space. The teaching staff within Erenkoy is a dedicated, dynamic team, composed of a variety of Turks and expats from all across the globe. They are perpetually eager to organize extra-curricular activities and methods to engage students and improve their understanding of the world around them.

A large component of the learning within both primary and secondary schools is dedicated to international relations and global issues, which is where I have found my niche. My role has involved interaction with students on a variety of levels, from introducing a Canadian perspective in the classroom to aiding in the facilitation of the MUN club. Through this I am able to explore topics which I myself had not considered (ex. How to explain the essence of being Canadian to those who are completely unfamiliar with Canada), expand and apply my knowledge beyond what I have learned in a classroom setting and organize events which are enriching to both students and staff. We are currently working on the production of an ‘East Asia Day’, which will feature presentations from students, martial arts demonstrations from special guests, and a meal prepared by the gastronomy club.

I also have regular opportunities to aid students in preparation for their respective national exams. The Turkish school system hinges on a series of exams and tests which largely determine a student’s trajectory throughout their schooling. These national tests determine the prestige of your school placement (determined by a ranking system) for both secondary and post-secondary institutions and carry a large burden in the minds of most students throughout their academic career. I was surprised to find, as was explained by a visiting representative from Guelph University, that the ranking of a student`s school is taken into consideration when Canadian universities consider their Turkish applicants.

My position within this school system has been one that I have had to craft on my own. Being that I am the first intern at the school, there was no pre-existing framework or set of duties which I could easily adopt.  The creation of my position has been the product of a great deal of determination, outstanding support from my supervisors, and a regular effort to make myself a valuable asset for the institution. I am very proud of the fact that I have been able to develop a framework which can be used in (what I hope will be) a long lasting relationship between the University of Ottawa and FMV Isik Erenkoy.

For the past twelve weeks, I have been working as a Project Assistant in the Governance and Issues Forum (GIF) at the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG). As my internship is now ending, and I am preparing to fly back to Ottawa tomorrow, I have been reflecting on my time here in Accra.  While I have been lucky enough to travel along the coast with Devon recently (Cape Coast, Elmina, Kakum National Park, Takoradi, and Akwidaa, to name a few), this blog post focuses on my work placement exclusively.  It is written with prospective interns in mind – I think it is important to discuss my expectations for my work before any was assigned, my actual experience working at IDEG, as well as a few of the challenges I faced and how I dealt with them.

My first expectations came from the IDEG Project Assistant work description that was posted on the university’s international internship website. The description stated a number of responsibilities (such as providing assistance to staff workers, facilitating research and workshops, supporting the young, helping to create democratic awareness, and counseling) and qualifications (such as good communication skills, experience with youth and their rights, and outreach). Based on that write-up, my initial expectation was that I would be working/assisting with work in the field, likely with children, collecting research and promoting democratic values. However, after speaking with a friend of mine who was posted at IDEG for his internship in 2011, my expectations changed to working in an office setting, readying reports for publication, attending meetings, writing press releases, etc…

Also, prior to my arrival in Accra, I made the conscious effort to have very few expectations regarding my forthcoming assignments. Four years of studying ‘international development’ as an academic discipline, often under the tutelage of former development practitioners, has taught me that in order to do any substantial work the local context must be understood. While I started researching current political affairs in Ghana as well as some of the work that IDEG has done in the past in order to get a better understanding of the organization, knowing that I would only be working for IDEG for a short period of time meant that I purposefully did not create expectations for the work that would be assigned to me. In addition, the pre-departure training held by the university instilled in me the idea that short-term interns like me cannot “change the world” or, more realistically, make any kind of substantial impact in the workplace; rather, I expected to continue someone else’s work or start work that someone coming after me will continue.

However, this is not to say that I did not think that I would be useful or that I would not be bringing my own unique skill set to IDEG and whatever work would be asked of me. In fact, knowing that I have a broad range of strengths and skills developed throughout my time in university and working for the federal government, I felt that I would be an asset to IDEG regardless of the work that would be assigned to me.

When I first arrived at IDEG, I was given some time to research the work the Institute has done in the past as well as contemporary Ghanaian political issues. It was a relatively seamless transition into my first assignment: helping to draft and edit the “Promoting Policy Literacy Among Women and First-Time Voters in Our Community” training session manual (which I wrote about in my first blog post). Another of my assignments was to edit a number of documents waiting for publication, namely a number of Baseline Surveys conducted in various municipalities around Ghana (which I wrote about in my second blog post). In addition, I was fortunate to attend a number of presentations, press conferences, training sessions, and meetings that were very interesting; for example, one focused on the transition of power between political parties, another focused on Nigeria’s experience using a biometric voters registration and identification system and how Ghana can learn from their lessons and recommendations, and another focused on the post-election process of handing over the administrative and executive power to a new government. Every assignment gave me the opportunity to learn about contemporary challenges facing Ghana’s political institutions. One of my last projects was the most interesting for me – I helped to develop and edit a project proposal document that IDEG was preparing in order to secure funding from an international donor.

There were a number of challenges I had to deal with throughout my internship – the most frustrating of which was the inconsistent internet access and electricity. The power is often cut off in Ghana which is frustrating considering that most of my work was computer-based (such as conducting literature reviews online or drafting/editing documents on the computer – which is difficult when the internet is down, the computer powers down, and the air conditioner suddenly switches off). These challenges could be dealt with my ensuring that I had work that could be done without use of the internet, such as editing hardcopy documents, working on a laptop that switches automatically to battery power, and saving your work almost constantly to a memory stick. I should note that I recognize that these challenges are due to an infrastructural problem faced by all Ghanaians. Another challenge was the lack of understanding a meeting’s or a presentation’s context. Since work does not start and end with an intern, and since the intern likely does not know the history or reasoning behind the current work, it can be difficult to understand the current issues and work IDEG is doing. This challenge can be dealt with by absorbing as much background information as possible and asking a colleague to review your work to ensure that everything is captured.

Living in Accra and working for IDEG has shown me that I am able to thrive independently. One of my coworkers said something interesting about me the other day: he told me that it is symbolic that I have tried so many Ghanaian dishes willingly and without hesitation, which apparently shows that I will jump in to new situations with an open mind and take the opportunities presented to me. I believe that spending the past 12 weeks here has made me a more independent person and I am saddened to leave my new friends and family. But, I have to say, there’s no feeling like going home.

Me kra wo!

As I come to the conclusion of my internship, I feel a sense of bewilderment, three months never went by so quickly. From my experience of being here for these three months, I have come to appreciate the immensity of what Cape Town has to offer. There is an unimaginable amount of activities to do and places to see. Moreover, the diversity of the culture always kept me analyzing my surroundings as I saw a new kind of cultural expression every day. I feel like I have yet to experience a quarter of what Cape Town offers as my internship is coming to an end.

At the beginning of this adventure, I was a bit wary of certain Cape Townian aspects. This especially holds true in relation to transport. It differs greatly from the type of transportation I know back home as I took the mini bus every weekday and the train every weekend. Once I stopped comparing it to my North American concepts and adopted the ‘South African time’, my stress level diminished greatly as I stopped looking at my watch and just enjoyed the ride. For the security aspect of transportation, which also preoccupied me, I gradually adopted tricks so that after a month, I knew when and how were to safely travel throughout Cape Town.

Despite this adjustment, I really enjoyed my internship. I am particularly grateful to have had the chance to work at my placement at the Cape Town Refugee Center. I loved my first experience working in a job related to development. It was interesting to see first-hand the inner functions of an NGO and to help assist a globally vulnerable group, refugees. My coworkers were helpful and warm from the beginning to the end. They truly made me feel part of the team. As a result of having such a good working experience, it has helped me confirm that my future work will concern development.

I will truly miss Cape Town with its multicultural population and its diverse sights, smells and sounds. I will especially miss the spirit of Ubuntu amongst South Africans, “I am because you are”, which helped me out of many of problems in Cape Town.

I feel as if the past four weeks have been the busiest yet, owing to the immense amount of travelling that I have been doing for both work and for personal pleasure.

Two weekends ago James and I travelled to historic Cape Coast and environs. Unbelievably, we managed to complete the canopy walk at Kakum National Park, pet a live crocodile at Hans Cottage Botel, as well as visit the castle at Cape Coast all in one day, and reserved our second day for Elmina Castle. Despite this hectic schedule, it was a wonderful experience, considering how quiet and laid back Cape Coast is in comparison to Accra.

The following week, I had the opportunity to travel with my host organization to three different regions over three days in order to liaise with District Education Directors regarding the HRAC’s upcoming research project into gender-based violence in schools. Although this was primarily a work-based endeavour, the trip was not without its excitement. On the second day our rental vehicle broke down and my co-workers and I were stranded for several hours on the side of the road until we were able to catch a tro-tro to the next town (which was thirty minutes away) to search for accommodation. Luckily, all the hotels in town were full so we were forced to take a taxi high into the mountains where we found a completely empty guesthouse with an absolutely stunning view of the forested valley below.

This past weekend James and I completed what has become the quintessential pilgrimage for foreign volunteers in Ghana. After a five-hour bus ride to Takoradi, we continued west along the coast to Green Turtle, a small and remote ecotourism lodge run by a British couple on the beach. The final ten-kilometre stretch of the dirt road to the resort is unbelievable. It has been eroded to such an extent that it is more a collection of large rocks and craters than anything that could effectively facilitate transportation. In fact, the road is so bad that our cab driver gave up on the journey a little over midway, suffering what seemed to be a minor mental breakdown at the sight of the one particular topographical obstacle. Consequently, James and I were forced to continue the trek on foot but were luckily able to catch a ride almost immediately with two American Peace Corps volunteers from Togo who were passing by. Instead of staying at Green Turtle as planned (which was fully booked with a large and rowdy group of American high school students, and other older foreign travellers) James and I checked in to Safari Beach Lodge, about two hundred meters down the beach. There, we found absolute paradise; the beach was clean and deserted, the resort was quiet and beautiful, and it was a mere five-minute walk away from the bustling atmosphere of Green Turtle.

While all of these adventures have been fun, I must confess that I am looking forward to returning to my life in Canada. Whenever I meet individuals such as those American Peace Corps Volunteers, individuals who have committed one or two years to their work overseas, perhaps even more, I am astounded with their level of dedication and self-sacrifice. I think its fair to say that of those working in development do not get paid as much as they deserve. However, despite this excitement at the notion of returning to Canada, I equally understand what draws people to this kind of work. Last night as I sat around a table with my peers, laughing and sharing one final drink, I realized that I will miss many of the extraordinary experiences and people that I have encountered in my work here.

C’est déjà la fin, je n’est pas de mots pour exprimer comment c’est triste de devoir dire au revoir, quitter l’organisme, les gens que je côtoyais pratiquement tous les jours, le pays… Je ne sais pas encore comment contrôler mes émotions et réaliser que cette expérience de stage en Inde est déjà terminée. Au début, tu te sens perdu, car ce Nouveau Monde, ce nouveau « chez toi » te semble étrange et tu te demandes même si tu tiendras, et quand c’est le moment de quitter, tu envisages déjà le moment où tu reviendras. C’est bien mon cas, et je pense que c’est une réaction assez commune !

Après trois mois, je constate que quel que soit le point de départ d’un volontaire à un stage à l’étranger, nous nous retrouvons tous dans la même position, celle de l’obligation de passer des frontières géographiques, linguistiques, culturelles, économiques et sociales. J’associerais à ce fait, trois valeurs que je considère comme importantes : la motivation, l’engagement et la compétence. Ces valeurs te servent effectivement tout au long du séjour et te conduisent à réaliser tes objectifs de départ : cette expérience de travail sur le terrain ouvre le chemin pour un apprentissage tant personnel que professionnel, qui t’offre notamment l’éventualité d’explorer des connaissances théoriques enseignées durant certains cours universitaires. En travaillant au sein d’un organisme de développement international, particulièrement dans un pays en voie de développement, et surtout ayant la chance de visiter le côté rurale, tu cernes mieux les réalités que vient une majorité de la population indienne.

Bref, cette expérience inoubliable est une véritable opportunité pour booster ma recherche d’un premier emploi, à la fin de mes études. Également, ce plus dans un C.V permet de dégager un profil qui selon moi, prouve un intérêt certain pour l’autonomie et l’adaptabilité.

Dans tous les cas, si vous avez l’opportunité d’alimenter vos capacités d’apprentissage et de vivre une expérience unique et remplie de découvertes culturelles, n’hésitez pas à considérer l’Inde dans vos choix. Car ici, vous êtes assurés de rencontrer une culture et un mode de vie particulier, mais surtout un univers de travail très riche d’enseignement.