The Warm Heart of Africa

  Since arriving in Malawi, I have constantly heard the phrase that Malawi is the ‘Warm Heard of Africa’. Over the past three months as I reflect on my internship and the people I have met and the experiences I have had, I have realized that truly it is the Warm Heart of Africa. From day one, I was welcomed with open arms by nearly … Continue reading The Warm Heart of Africa

Witnessing History in Jamaica

“I share my story here today for every girl and every boy in Jamaica who is subjected to sexual violence, and they are everywhere. There are children who are keeping horrible secrets in Upper St. Andrew, in downtown Kingston, and all across rural Jamaica” As I listened to Shaneille speak, my eyes welled up with tears. Her voice, steady and unwavering, commanded the great room … Continue reading Witnessing History in Jamaica

November Blessings

My previous blogs for September and October, which detailed my arrival in Paris and my trainee-ship at UNESCO, were quite verbose. I have, therefore, decided for this third post to be a picture blog in chronological order. Side note: while we were still studying at Penn in Philadelphia, we would try and come up with instagram and twitter hashtags for IEDP (International Educational Development Program), … Continue reading November Blessings

Roatán Adventures

Pre-Roatán The first two weeks of my internship were in Washington D.C, where an IEDP cohort-mate and I were introduced to the English program we were going to be working with and prepared for the field work. I not only learned more about Interactive Audio Instruction (IAI), but also observed how this specific nonprofit organization functions. I was able to sit in on other meetings … Continue reading Roatán Adventures

Reflecting on an Experience of a Lifetime

Words will fall short for me to reflect on my incredible internship experience at UNESCO IICBA. During my final week my office threw me a farewell that was one of a kind. The entire office gathered in the common area for a little farewell ceremony for another colleague and I, and also a short birthday celebration for two other colleagues. Those I worked with said … Continue reading Reflecting on an Experience of a Lifetime

School Feeding Cluster Strategy- Designing Applicable and Sustainable Teachers Guides

Upon wrapping up the Play & Resilience project by mid-July, I was thrilled to be involved in some miscellaneous tasks at the office – writing concept notes, bringing together some promotional material for IICBA’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and doing some editing work. I put together a short video for the Play & Resilience dissemination workshop. Check it out here – My next task for … Continue reading School Feeding Cluster Strategy- Designing Applicable and Sustainable Teachers Guides

Play & Resilience, Plot Twists, and a Birthday Bash!

As an intern at UNESCO IICBA my primary task has quickly become developing the Play & Resilience toolkit. Play & Resilience is China-Africa project targeting healthy and holistic Early Childhood Development in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. On my first day itself my supervisor Binyam shared the initial draft developed by a consultant that I had to expand into a toolkit. IEDP Prosem was a … Continue reading Play & Resilience, Plot Twists, and a Birthday Bash!