Category Archives: Charity and Development Work

Fundraiser – Yeleni Support Centre

Charity and Development Work, Employer Feedback, English,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I was responsible for planning, organising and delivering fundraising events. I liaised with local businesses and relevant charities to set up partnerships and events. I kept supporters updated with latest charity news by compiling a newsletter, managing social media accounts, creating and distributing posters, and writing press releases for upcoming events and campaigns. I collaborated with other members of the fundraising team to write funding bids to trusts and foundations. I improved administrative procedure, especially with regards to IT systems, by installing Dropbox to enable file-sharing between all computers in the charity office, as well as improving the client database on Excel.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I developed my confidence to delegate tasks to others with more expertise in particular areas. I consolidated my knowledge of all MS Office applications through the variety of tasks I undertook. I felt a sense of achievement when I had my first press release published and developed a succinct style of writing to suit this purpose. I created a network of local contacts from businesses and relevant charities in order to establish the Yeleni Support Centre as a community resource. The experience of professional networking helped me become more systematic in recording contact details and maintaining communication. The internship gave me a valuable insight into the charity sectors.

“Although Emily was only with us for a short while she became an invaluable member of our team. I found her to be self-motivated and eager to take on new challenges and she proved herself to be a quick learner in acquiring new skills when necessary. She was a very popular team player who managed to get on with everyone in the charity, both staff and clients alike” – Founder, Yeleni Support Centre

English Teacher – International Volunteering and Summer Camps

Biosciences, Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

My role involved teaching English as a foreign language to Chinese children. They ranged in age from 6-16 years. I had a training week prior to the teaching course, then was frequently observed throughout my placement. Each week day I had 6 hours of lessons to teach, spilt over the morning and afternoon, with classes of varying ability. Then each evening I would spend time planning lessons for the following day. My role was to improve the writing, reading and listening ability of each of the children in my class, by engaging them in a variety of games and activities.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I learnt how to capture and keep the attention of a large group of people. It really improved my confidence in presenting to an audience and taking control.

I think it has broadened my worldwide knowledge and opened my eyes up to different possibilities. It shows that I am independent, inquisitive and have the ability to manage myself in foreign situations.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

My internship allowed for the classes to be smaller, allowing the children to gain a better educational experience. They were able to create classes of similar abilities to maximise the quality of the lessons. Being English myself it also gave the children and staff a new cultural perspective to the language.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

The length of time it took to plan lessons, took far too long to begin with. However the time was greatly reduced with increased experience and the ability to adapt previous lesson plans.

Campaigns and Research Intern – Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust

Charity and Development Work, English,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I was working within the Advocacy and Communications team. I spent my time writing articles, researching pieces for HART’s news and blog; researching relevant issues affecting the communities with whom HART works to inform their advocacy, campaigns and communications teams. I monitored the political situation in countries where we work, and prepared internal and external briefings; designed and coordinated campaigns, events, and other advocacy activities; engaged with HART’s Parliamentary work, including preparing briefings and attending debates. I attended a House of Lords Sudan debate, which Baroness Cox was speaking at, and a Burma APPG meeting.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I did extensive research into the issue of human trafficking in India, Burma, Nigeria and Sudan, and wrote an article that has been published in HART’s newsletter. I then went on to research and write a blog post on the link between ethical clothing and modern slavery.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I had my main research projects that I worked on over the four weeks I was an intern, but I also helped out with my colleagues’ workload by proof-reading, forming documents and writing sections of the annual report.

HART is quite a small NGO and they therefore do not have the time to go into extensive detail on many serious issues that affect their partner countries. My human trafficking project  therefore allowed me to find out and put this horrific issue into manageable information, thus raising awareness.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

I was commuting for over an hour and a half every day, which was definitely a new experience for me! It took me a while to get used to, but I learnt to use this time well.

profile 2014

Games Manager – SportInspired

Charity and Development Work, Employer Feedback, English,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

In the early stages of my internship I was heavily involved with the delivery of SportInspired Games. This included recruiting and briefing sports clubs for multiple games in the summer, one of their busiest time for games! It was great to be able to hit the ground running and be a part of the action right from the beginning. I helped with data entry, compiled impact reports and prepared paperwork for games. On game days I acted as a Deputy Director. I helped with the smooth organisation and running of the event including the set up and  delegation of tasks to assistant directors.

As the internship continued I was put in charge of managing and developing their intern programme. This included contacting universities and intern providers and interviewing potential interns.

I also took control of social media, posting regular updates via the Twitter and Facebook accounts. In line with this I was given a project to manage. The focus was on Digital Stories. I was involved in the planning stages, carried out the task and wrote up conclusions and created a “how to” pack on Digital Stories.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

The Digital Stories Project because it gave me the opportunity to lead my own project. I was able to shape the project as I went and really take ownership over it. I worked with lots of different people on it, all who were vital support to its success, but seeing it through from start to finish and seeing the outcomes gave me a real sense of personal achievement. I also created a pack and taught the rest of my team through the process in order to pass on the knowledge I had acquired. It was empowering to lead the meeting and overall, it gave me confidence in my own abilities.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I helped lighten the work load in the summer when they were at their busiest and an already small team was stretched to its limits. I took on a new project that they hadn’t done before and wrote up a report to incorporate it into the work they do. I also re-ignited their social media platforms, increasing reach to current and new follower, which had been neglected in the recent year. I acted as an effective communication source and demonstrated a strong ability to multi-task so was able to help in all areas of the company that was needed.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

I found that being assertive does not come naturally to me. My line manager was very honest with me and helped give the confidence boost I needed. I learnt that communication is also key to any task you do. Often you encounter barriers because others are poor at contacting you back. I learnt to be pro-active and persistent.

“Kat is absolutely fantastic and has taken up a full time role after her internship” – Felix Sullivan

Sustainable Development Intern – Jai Bhagirathi Foundation

Charity and Development Work, Politics and International Relations

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I had to set up and manage a new environmental development project on solid waste management. The goal of this project was to increase the dialogue between the different stakeholders of solid liquid waste management (household garbage). First, I had to conduct a needs assessment for solid waste management in Jodhpur. By coordinating translators and transport to aid me, I interviewed and established contacts in Jodhpur’s local government, community council leaders, citizens, city sweepers, and slum rag pickers. From this research, I decided to focus my project on incentivising the slum rag pickers to take work in the new government door-to-door waste collection scheme, and encourage the government to hire them. I produced materials on my slum rag pickers research to give to those involved in the new door-to-door collection scheme. I then arranged for those managing that scheme to conduct a workshop on work opportunities in waste management within the slum rag picking community.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

Influencing the opinions and actions of important people in government. Creating opportunities for those in underprivileged communities. Overcoming the difficulties of working through a translator.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

Establish new important contacts in government and in the wider Jodhpur community. Started a project largely independently without straining their resources – a project which they can now continue.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

The biggest problem I faced was having to tackle people’s prejudices when trying to increase dialogue between different communities and stakeholders of waste management in Jodhpur. This was overcome by utilising the persuasive skills of translators who could convey passionately the research of the project.

International Programmes Assistant – Teach A Man To Fish

Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Philosophy,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I was involved in a wide range of tasks related to programme management, however the main activities I was involved in were:

  • creating a new safety and security policy framework, suitable for projects in insecure environments;
  • undertaking safety and security research in relation to a number of new projects;
  • liaising between my organisation and a number of other stakeholders to sort out details of new projects;
  • helping to create or amend materials for schools to use as part of the projects;
  • helping to oversee the organisation’s registration as an NGO in Uganda and Nicaragua; and
  • helping out with other general tasks, such as project monitoring and evaluation.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I ended up contacting and speaking with a very wide range of other organisations as part of my role (particularly as part of the safety and security research I undertook), from speaking to lawyers and to officials at the Ugandan Embassy, through to contacting NGOs and UN agencies working across Africa. I was given genuine responsibility over the course of the internship, which although daunting at first, was a great experience and helped to improve my confidence.

It was also a wonderful opportunity to gain professional experience in a foreign language, since a lot of the work I did was in French.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I helped the organisation by being diligent and hardworking, and thereby helping to reduce the workload for my colleagues at what was a busy and exciting time for the organisation due to a number of new projects being established.

The fact I was able to work in French was also of assistance.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

I was lucky that there were not any major problems during my internship.
However, we were often working to tight deadlines, and on occasion I faced small problems in meeting these for work I had been delegated. For instance, sometimes I had sent documents off to be officially translated, and there would then be a delay in getting these documents back, which would have an impact on our ability continue the work and meet the deadline.

However, as a result of regular meetings and communication, my line manager was kept updated about the projects I was working on, and as such the slight delays we sometimes faced never ended up creating a significant problem.