My internship at World Relief is exposing me to the nonprofit sector and also enabling me to gain experience in social work, career counseling, and marketing. My supervisor is having me brainstorm a plan of action to create an improved employment development program for our clients. As I think about this project I have consulted Dusty about international affairs, a subject he is passionate about, to help me understand the various situations that our clients might be coming from.
Most of our clients are from Somalia, and others are from Iraq and Nepal. They haven't been in our country for very long. I tagged along to the airport to pick up a Somali individual who arrived in Columbus straight from a refugee camp in Malta. I have met clients with limited English skills, and some who are fluent. World Relief offers refugees assistance as they learn to become contributing members of our society. My work directly involves placing them in jobs, and getting them ready for those jobs. This is a challenge especially for those with limited English.
The Columbus branch of World Relief is bran new. It just opened in February and has a very small number of employees and clients. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to assist with the development of this program. It is a very rewarding experience, and also a great way to learn valuable skills for the job I get after getting my BA (class of 2013! Woohoo!!).
Wow! Your internship sounds really interesting!
ReplyDelete