Some of my favorite work activities in Brasília so far have been official meetings, especially interagency meetings. UNESCO in Brazil being just one part of a larger organization, and UNESCO itself being just one of many agencies in the UN system, our office in Brasília communicates and collaborates a lot with other offices and agencies in Brasília, in the region and in the world. This … Continue reading Meetings
“Attendants please prepare for landing.” I slowly turned my head to the right to see the sun glisten the ocean through the plexiglass – blinding me. We were hovering the immense body of water, and still I didn’t see the landing strip. I had to trust the plane wasn’t going to be gulped by the water but instead touch land with it’s — THUD. Welcome … Continue reading Roatán Reflections
Greetings from Kampala! I am in Uganda this summer, doing my internship with an international organization. Uganda is not very close to the U.S. (obviously!). I left Philly for the JFK airport at 5:30 AM and flew to Doha. After a one-hour quick break in the Middle East, I took another flight to Entebbe, Uganda. It took almost 20 hours, but in fact, I did … Continue reading Settling in Kampala, Uganda
I can’t believe my 5ish-months internship at UNESCO section for Teacher Development/International Teacher Taskforce for Education 2030 has come to an end. My last assignment was to provide support to the Secretariat of the Teacher Taskforce during the 11th Policy Dialogue Forum which took place just last week in Jamaica. Getting to see our work come to fruition during the Forum was one of the … Continue reading Wagwan educators?
There is only one month left before my internship ends but it feels like I just started – time flies when you enjoy what you are doing! Time also flies when you are super busy and Paris in the fall is a very busy city. August was bliss, streets were empty and it was easy to find a table in a restaurant. With the start … Continue reading Happy (late) World Teachers’ Day!
This marks the end of my internship. This is it. Going back to Philadelphia to complete my last semester. Today as I reflect back on this internship experience as a whole – I really think I have come out with some great working and personal relationships. Unlike my fellow IEDP classmates, I really did not think too much about having an ideal internship. I had … Continue reading Au Revoir La Suisse
On the 9th of August I attended an International Youth Day event organized by 4 organizations working on youth empowerment in Kenya, and funded by the EU. The theme of the event was “Nafasi Kwa Vijana” or “Safe spaces for youth”. The whole perfectly encapsulated my experience working in Mombasa for the last 13 weeks. It was hot, chaotic, partly inefficient but through it all … Continue reading A bittersweet symphony
Grace*, a 15-year-old, is happy with the kind of joy that comes from finishing a big exam. She attends a `community school’ in Amuru district in North Uganda – a school that the local community set up for their children because the nearest Government primary school is over 40 km away. The community school is still not exactly next door – Grace wakes up at … Continue reading An ode to data – Part 1
It is hard to believe that I have spent 3 months in South Africa already! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of travels amidst completing my internship deliverables. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I am involved in an ECD project that aims to provide kindergarten teachers with skills and support to ensure holistic development and school readiness for the students. … Continue reading Uhambe Kahle
Twelve weeks is a short amount of time to spend in a country. It doesn’t feel like long ago that I was arriving for my first day at the office, eager to begin interning with a Lilongwe-based NGO. Now, entering into my final week in Malawi, I’ve been able to reflect on the experiences I’ve had and what I’ve been able to learn. Before I … Continue reading Lessons From Lilongwe: Concluding an IEDP Internship
The International Educational Development Program 