For more insight into recent internships, I spoke with Joy, Bin, Sveta, and Chippie, who all interned in Sub-Saharan Africa. Join them as they share their unique experiences beyond the United States in this blog and the next.

Joy – UNESCO IICBA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Hello, I’m Joy (Ye Yuan). I completed my IEDP internship at UNESCO IICBA, located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. During my time there, I was involved in research work and data cleaning, focusing on emerging themes such as Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MPHSS) and teacher development.
I found that proficiency in STATA was essential for diving into data analysis, while basic research skills were crucial for successfully completing my tasks.
Overall, the experience was both refreshing and fascinating. My colleagues were incredibly kind and supportive, making it a heartwarming environment. It was bittersweet to leave such a wonderful place.
Here are some key moments of my journey:

Sveta – Geneva Global, Uganda

I was interning at Geneva Global in Uganda. I really wanted to be in the field as close to the community as it’s possible, and it seemed like a good match at the point of the internship selection! And honestly, it was the best part of my IEDP experience. It took school students some time to get used to me and start talking without fear, but helping them progress and open up is indeed marvelous. Another thing that was extremely important was being really close to my supervisor Ketty, who became my friend at the end of the internship. We lived in the same compound, and I could learn a lot about the culture and people. I also learned how to cook traditional dishes (like Pilau). Ketty was teaching me the local language (Ateso), and as there are no textbooks that translate English to Ateso or vice versa, therefore my warmest memories are of us sitting on the floor and reading a primary level 1 textbook so I could communicate with children.
My biggest love and thanks are sent to Ketty! ❤

At the beginning of the internship, I had three major tasks:
1.⁠ ⁠Helping with launching quantitative research about the Learning assets of Speed School students compared to their mainstream peers
2.⁠ ⁠Collecting success stories
3.⁠ ⁠Designing and implementing qualitative research that explores reasons why primary school children don’t go to schools/drop out.
But I also ended up helping with some administrative tasks in the region, with data input, and started exploring the topic of integration of children with disabilities in the curriculum. I guess the speed at which I was doing all the tasks really depended on the weather and if there was somebody who could drive the motorcycle to drop me at school. So I was trying to use every opportunity when I had it, knowing that if it rains tomorrow, everything will be paralyzed.

I was lucky enough that in the first couple of weeks of my internship, I went with the head office team to launch the survey in some of the distant regions, so I got to travel with them from the south to the north of the country. And then, during the weekends, when I was already placed in my beautiful Amuria, I was exploring the eastern part of the country. I am a coffee fan, and the product that is being exported the most from the country is Coffee, so I decided to go to coffee plantations in the mountains, and it was beautiful.

The only advice I can give is to be prepared for the uncertainty and a lot of improvement, but for me it ended up being the best part of the internship. Do not hesitate to be proactive because Geneva Global, as a team, was extremely supportive of everything, I was doing.