Student Experiences
2006 International Field Placement MSSW Interns
Stephanie Howard
WAMATA, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
I'm excited to share a bit about the incredible and intense experience I've had living in Tanzania, East Africa. I came with the intention of doing my final field placement in one of the places where the HIV/AIDS pandemic has hit the hardest. However, I have received an eye opening education in not just HIV/AIDS but also race relations and poverty in this part of the world. It has been extreme to say the least.
My placement is with an agency called WAMATA, an acronym for a Kiswahili phrase meaning 'People in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Tanzania'. It is a national NGO, community-based with several mushrooming local branches in different regions of Tanzania. I am located in the main city of Dar es Salaam. My work here includes assisting in voluntary counseling and testing, home-based care, support groups, fundraising, and I am currently working to develop a program for the orphans and vulnerable children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. The work is interesting, operating in a much different culture where things are extremely disorganized and everything happens very slowly, if it happens at all. This has been a real adjustment from the pace of the U.S.
The condition of the HIV/AIDS epidemic here is quite dramatic. Everyone has been affected in some way, either personally or through close family members. The access to resources is extremely minimal and even getting on antiretroviral medications is a battle that often ends in limited funding or something seemingly small like not enough nutritional food to be able to handle the medications. Overall it is quite devastating and overwhelming. A few key issues seem to be keeping the disease thriving: the lack of education (education in many senses of the word, formal and informal), disempowered women with no financial options and therefore a lack of control over their situations, misunderstanding of what ARVs do (treat not cure), a recent decline in the national campaign for testing, a culture that is not accustomed to medical evaluation for illness (methods like Witch Dr.'s and other traditional healers are often used), terrible stigma around the disease, and most dramatically, the pervasive and all encompassing poverty that seems to feed the epidemic in countless ways. Conversely to the U.S., the majority of those infected received the virus through heterosexual contact. So, in many ways, the fight against AIDS is very different here than it is there.
Despite the extreme conditions and daily struggle for survival, the people here are incredible. They are strong and kind, having a real sense of community and connection unlike anything I have experienced. They are bonded by severe circumstances. This is just one example of the many ways this feels like a whole other world.
The building where WAMATA is housed. On the left is Theresa Kaijage, founder of WAMATA and my field supervisor. On the left is Thomas Mubondo, Executive Director of WAMATA. This facility was purchased for WAMATA by the government of Norway. It includes a clinic, lab, and common area for support group meetings.
Megan Becknell
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland
My experience at UNHCR has been great. The first few weeks were overwhelming, but so exciting. It took a while to sink in that I was actually going to be working at UNHCR for the next few months :) Everyone was so nice and welcoming. I am amazed by the talented individuals that I am working with at UNHCR. The best part so far has been getting to learn about their different cultures and backgrounds, especially their experiences working in UNHCR field offices and refugee camps. Attending meetings and trainings has been a big part of my workload. I have found them to be very beneficial to learning about the organization as a whole. UNHCR also has an intern network that plans weekly activities and lunches.
The main objective of my internship is to prepare a report that analyses community-based rehabilitation programs for persons with disabilities and propose implementation strategies adaptable to UNHCR operations. This task has involved researching current programs being used by UNHCR and other international organizations. I will also assist my supervisor in the compilation of comments from the field regarding older persons. In addition to those two tasks, I have also I said before been attending meetings, briefings, and debriefings. The following is a list of meetings/ activities that I have participated in:
- Planning meetings with Save the Children Sweden and Norway
- Section meetings twice a month
- Unit meetings twice a month
- Induction training for new Save the Children Sweden and Norway emergency stand-by team member deployees
- Planning meetings with regional community services advisors for refugee women and children
- Division of International Protection Services retreat
- Division of Operational Support staff meetings
- Community Development, Education, Gender Equality, and Children (CDEGEC) Section retreat
- Taking notes/minutes for several unit and planning meetings
- Inter-Agency Standing Committee meeting
- Drafting of Community Services introduction for UNHCR website
2005 International Field Placement MSSW Interns
Marian Mahaffey
I worked in Timisoara, Romania for an NGO called Pro Impact 21 on the development of a project that would establish the first ever school social work program in Romania as well as serving as a grant writing consultant. I also served as a guest lecturer in the social work department at the University of the West. This experience allowed me to make a difference in the lives of Romanians and a profession which is redeveloping after a 40 year hiatus due to communist rule. After graduation, I returned to Romania to continue the work I began as a student.