"this internship made a difference to all the people I met and worked with because it provided them with the hope and motivation to work for tomorrow and not give up. I say this because, people in developing countries often feel that they have been forgotten and that no one in the developed countries cares or is willing to help them. But from my experience I have been able to assure such individuals and change such way of thinking"
Hadil, 1st year dentistry student in 2011 undertook an internship at the Society of Women Graduates in Gaza - a non-governmental organisation where she helped to empower women graduates to be active and responsible contributors to their community. She managed administrative activities and was responsible for contacting kindergartens to find out whether they had students who have become orphaned.
Through the experience, I was able to make a big difference to people’s lives, whether it was the women graduates or the orphaned students. In doing this, my employability skills benefited directly: for example, by making use of communication skills I was able to empower women who had not completed their higher education to do so, by explaining the benefits and the importance of developing on existing skills and knowledge. I was also able to motivate the women with whom I was working and by using my communication skills helped to raise funds to benefit orphaned students.
Working with individuals whose circumstances differed from my own, I also developed my people skills; I identified that that I had to be aware of the language that I used and the way in which I spoke, to avoid causing offence. As I was dealing with individuals who have graduated but were unable to find a job, it was difficult to be very enthusiastic and expect a lot from certain individuals. With a view to my graduate prospects, this experience has made me realise that it is not enough to learn skills but its most essential to practice them and develop them always. Moreover, I have noticed that I need to be more patient when dealing with individuals as it was easy to give up and be very stressed out when you have a busy, long and tiring day.”
In addition to giving me an opportunity to improve my skills, the experience also gave me the chance to attend debates on major global issues, such as the unemployment and prejudice. This served as a learning tool which helped me develop a better understanding of the social, political, environmental and economic issues that face other parts of the world.
For more internship experiences see Student Voices - also:
- Sarah De Souza (PDF - 93KB) - movie therapy intern, Singapore
- Hinali Ondhia (PDF - 104KB) - teaching and school construction volunteer, Nepal
- Kushal Rugjee (PDF - 102KB) - biology research, University of British Columbia
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