Meredith made her way from an Innovator placement in Ghana to a CIDA internship in the Mother City…Cape Town

It was over 9 months ago that I arrived in Ghana to volunteer as a Gender Innovator through YCI. From January-March 2012 over a period of 7 weeks, I worked in Accra at the Ghanaian NGO Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES) with another YCI Innovator to develop a Gender Equality Policy and formal Implementation Strategy. During my placement, I collaborated with fantastic Ghanaian and Canadian colleagues while promoting gender equality, listened to the passionate voices of YES-Ghana youth activists, and was privileged with the opportunity to see some of Ghana’s beauty over weekend travels to places such as Cape Coast and Kumasi.

The incredible educational and professional experience I had through YCI encouraged subsequent international opportunities. Currently, I am an intern at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in Cape Town, South Africa through the CIDA IYIP program. In this role I am also working on gender equality projects, such as researching the impact of health systems on gender issues and encouraging social sciences researchers to be attentive to issues of gender in their various projects.

Although I am thousands of kilometers away from Ghana, I have wonderful memories of the experiences I had and the friendships I made during my YCI placement in Accra. I hope to cross paths with my Ghanaian and Canadian friends in the future and dance the Azonto once more!

To read more about my CIDA IYIP placement in Cape Town, check out my blog: mgbevans.tumblr.com

-Meredith Evans, Youth Innovator, Ghana 2012

Camaro and the Gender Committee members at the Ghana YMCA.

Seven months sure goes by quickly.  My internship has come to an end and I’ve come a long way from when I first arrived: unsure of where I was going to start with my mandate, the new intern trying to find my way in this new environment.

My first day of work a male co-worker came into my office and said to me “Just so you know, I don’t believe in all this gender stuff”.  Well then, it’s going to be a long seven months, I thought to myself.  I knew that doing gender equality work in a male dominated society wouldn’t be easy, and I certainly encountered some challenges.  During my first big gender workshop the discussion got very heated around the notion that men and women are not meant to be equal because the bible says so.  During my time in Ghana, I have found myself in many a frustrating conversation about gender.

But I appreciated those moments because they challenged me to find new ways of relating gender equality to the context I was working in; and if my work caused people to think about gender equality in ways that they didn’t before, I consider myself successful.  The upside to those challenges is that they made the pleasant surprises even better.  When people really seemed to “get” it, was when I felt most rewarded for my work.

The other most rewarding part of my mandate has been working with a gender committee made up of YMCA members from around Ghana.  The group of women will continue working as advocates for women in the Ghana YMCA and towards implementation of the gender equality policy.  During our last meeting, where I was supposed to be making sure they were equipped with the skills they need to continue the work, I was the one learning from their experience and knowledge.

Although interns have been driving gender work with the Ghana YMCA for the past two years, there is no shortage of well-informed, passionate and capable women ready to make sure the organization meets it’s gender equality goals; and I feel privileged to have worked with and learned from these women.  At the end of my mandate, I can say that not only have I made progress in terms of my mandate, but I found a home in Ghana and a family at the Ghana YMCA.

- Camaro West, Gender Advisor, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Ghana 2012

Camaro West and Devin Woods, YCI’s two CIDA IYIPs working with the Ghana YMCA.

My time in Ghana is coming to a close. As the Communications Officer with Youth Challenge International’s Partner the Ghana Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), I have experienced a diverse many aspects of Ghanaian life.

Recently, I had the opportunity to play a role in a global event held by YMCA’s around the world. The event, “Hoop Springs Eternal” is a YMCA World Alliance Challenge and aimed to mobilize five million youth throughout their network to take basketball shots simultaneously. Each event held its own theme. The Ghana YMCA chose, “A Shot for Peace Towards a Peaceful Election 2012”. Held on October 13, 2012, close to 400 Ghanaian youth took part in shooting for a peaceful election.

Guest speaker his Eminence Nii Guate Asuasa II, Supreme War Lord of the Ga State taking his shot for peace.

During my time in Ghana it has been abundantly clear that the people of Ghana are and continue to be deeply concerned about the prospect of violence before, during and after their fast approaching presidential and parliamentary elections. With the elections slated for December 2012, it is hoped that this event will further bring awareness to the issue and remind Ghanaian youth of their commitment to peace.

The event, held at the University of Ghana, Legon carried important messages for youth. Key note guest speaker his Eminence Nii Guate Asuasa II, Supreme War Lord of the Ga State engaged youth on their role as future leaders and highlighted them as the key resource for the nation. Mr. Reynolds Kissiedu, Chairman of the Ghana YMCA also urged all parties involved to strive for a peaceful election period.

Youth pledge their commitment to peace.

The event also involved the coming together of the ‘Big Six’ youth movements. These movements include the Ghana YMCA, Ghana YWCA, Ghana Scouts Movement, Ghana Girl Guides, the Ghana Red Cross/Crescent, and the International Award. Together these organizations represent a large portion of Ghana’s youth and their joint commitment to peace is seen to be a significant voice.

My role here at the Ghana YMCA is to initiate a new era in the way the Ghana YMCA communicates with the public, its members, and its key stakeholders. This means using new and traditional methods of communication to both engage and educate target audiences on the work of the Ghana YMCA.

Some young members of the YMCA Ghana.

Please support the work of the Ghana YMCA by liking the Ghana YMCA Facebook page.  Also check out this short video I have put together about the Hoop Springs Eternal event:

-Devin Woods, Communication and Mobilization Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Ghana 2012

I love languages, and one of the things I love most is that words from one language somehow find their way into the vocabulary of another. No, they don’t run away. They aren’t stolen, either. We call them loanwords, or borrowings. If a word is lucky and the group of people who borrowed it reaches a subconscious consensus, changes start happening to the word and it slowly starts to seem like it really does belong in its adoptive language.

Jenga, a great game with a strange name. Who knew Swahili popped up in so often in childhood?

Confused? Let me see what I can do…

Spaghetti, in Italian, is the plural form of spaghetto, but in English, spaghetti is a mass noun – you can’t count it and you don’t pluralize it (like rice, flour, salt, etc.). In Quebec, spaghetti is not a mass noun, it’s been pluralized, Francophone-style, so it’s des spaghettis. In Quebec, sushi is not a mass noun, it’s been pluralized, Francophone-style, so it’s des sushis. Woah, that sentence was such a déjà-vu!

That, my rafiki, is true integration. And what more could a borrowed word ask for? (If only it were as simple for people to integrate!)

Who does not remember the Lion King!?!?!

Well, let me tell you, Swahili, like English, is no stranger to loanwords – shule looks rather German, don’t you think? Oh, and if you stay in Tanzania long enough to get tired of eating ugali and rice, be sure to ask for supageti when you go to the shop looking to satisfy your Western craving!

Okay, I think you get the picture. Time for the fun stuff! According to the blog-writing tips that I’ve been checking out, people love lists. So check out this list of words in Swahili and do your best to figure out their English counterparts. If you’re really sharp and get the last two, my hat’s off to you, because they’re much more difficult to guess out of context.

Helpful hint: Read them out loud as you try to guess – Swahili words are pronounced exactly as they’re spelled.

1. kompyuta
2. picha
3. baiskeli
4. lifti
5. daktari
6. kalenda
7. namba
8. kodi
9. wiki
10.  karoti
11. ofisi
12. akaunti
13. koti
14. geti
15. sigara
16. kwaya
17. pancha
18. betri
19. bia
20. reli
21. biki
22. simu

Answers:

1. computer  2. picture  3. bicycle  4. lift  5. doctor  6. calendar  7. number  8. code  9. week  10. carrot  11. office  12. account  13. coat  14. gate  15. cigarette  16. choir  17. puncture (flat tire)  18. battery  19. beer  20. rail (railway)  21. pen (from Bic pens)  22. cell phone (your phone has a sim card, doesn’t it?)

Check your score:

•  If you got 20 or more correct, you either cheated or you’ve been to Tanzania before. But good job!
•  If you got between 16 and 19 correct, congratulations, you’re very clever and you’ll probably be able to write Swahili soon!
• If you got between 11 and 15 correct, you’ve done a good job, but you probably let yourself get distracted by the spelling of some of the words.If you got fewer than 10 correct, you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking you were too cool to follow my instructions. Try again, reading aloud!

Translations for the words in the intro paragraph:

jenga = building, kijiji = village, simba = lion, rafiki = friend, safari = journey/trip

-Elena Togias, Education Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Tanzania 2012

But fear not, fellow Canadians – have I got news for you! Based on six months of intense field research here in Arusha, I have come to the groundbreaking conclusion that Tanzanians say “pole” far more than Canadians say “sorry”. What’s more, they say it for crazier reasons than Canadians do. How do I know the reason that someone has said “pole”? Simple, I ask for an explanation every time I hear it! Picture this:

A Tanzanian passing me on the road says “pole” to me, expecting me to say “asante” (“thank you”) and continue on my merry way, but the linguist in me can’t resist the temptation and I ask “kwa nini?” (“why?”) instead. That’s right, I choose to break a serious politeness rule in order to collect data…

(N.B. Feel free to replicate this simple informal interview technique for your own research purposes.)

Okay, I’ll admit, I haven’t heard anyone apologize for being bumped into by someone else, but still, I thought I’d share the hilarity of The Pole Phenomenon with all of you who have not been lucky enough to experience it live. Now, I’ve compiled a list of the ten most noteworthy instances of The Pole Phenomenon that I’ve come across, but they are not all equally ridiculous/hilarious/perplexing, so I have done my best to rank them in order from least impactful to most impactful. Here it is:

Top 10 Reasons People Say “Pole” to You in Tanzania

10. You’re working

9. You’re carrying something on your head

8. You’re carrying a baby

7. You tripped on a stone which for some reason you hadn’t noticed was sticking about 10cm out of the bumpy road

6. You tripped over your own two feet

5. You’re walking happily, talking/smiling to yourself

4. There’s dust in the air

3. You sneezed

2. You’re left-handed

1. The sun is shining

Sorry if you don’t agree with my rankings…

Pole for your work, Ester – it really looks like you’re suffering! (Ester is Umoja’s cook)

Look at me, carrying a massive pile of wood on my head – that warrants a pole for sure!

Poleni to the poor plants by the side of the road for being so brown and dusty! (Poleni is for when there’s more than one recipient)

If white skin doesn’t attract enough attention, eating with your left hand sure will! Pole to all you lefties!

After six hours of climbing in the dark of night, I reached the summit of Kilimanjaro only to find that the sun had beaten me to it! What did you say, “pole sana”? (“Very sorry”) Oh, asante sana! Thanks so much! I appreciate your sympathy!

Take a look at the ridiculous Serengeti sunset, then say pole to the person beside you.

-Elena Togias, Education Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Tanzania 2012

Welcome to the office Amanda!

What does your job at YCI involve:

My job is the best! As the Volunteer Program Coordinator, I work very closely with all of our wonderful volunteers to support them throughout the entire preparation process and make sure that they are well prepared for project. As the main contact at YCI for volunteers, I interview and select candidates, provide them with all project information and resources for preparation, facilitate their pre-departure training, and provide ongoing support throughout their entire time with YCI. My goal is to make sure we have the best volunteers on board and to ensure they have a valuable experience that contributes to the long-term success of our youth development programs.

How did you get involved with YCI?

In January 2011, I was thrilled to be selected as a CIDA intern with YCI to work in Guyana for nine months. I was immediately impressed with YCI’s approach to youth development, their continuous support, and extensive preparation and training.

From March to December, I worked with Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) as the Women’s Entrepreneurship Project Officer where I designed, implemented, and managed a new women’s networking initiative to train and support 50 female entrepreneurs. In this position, I coordinated and facilitated business training workshops, organized a mentorship program, hosted networking events, provided advice to the entrepreneurs, and identified opportunities for the female entrepreneurs to gain experience and exposure. It was a phenomenal internship and I absolutely loved working in Guyana with YCG and the wonderful local staff.

What motivates you?

Working with exciting, fun, passionate people and making people happy!

What youth issues concern you most?

I am most passionate about youth livelihoods and specifically youth entrepreneurship. With approximately 88.2 million young women and men unemployed globally, entrepreneurship is critical to create jobs, boost economic growth, and improve the communities that we live in. With so many talented smart young people in the world, entrepreneurship is a phenomenal opportunity for youth to create their own path for success.

What else do you do?

Soccer! I play any chance I can get and I also coach a U10 girls competitive team. I am also an avid snowboarder and rollerblader and I enjoy doing anything active. I spend my free time hanging out with friends and meeting new people, and I love to travel, listen to music and dance!

Facilitating a watershed workshop with 6th and 7th graders in the watershed community.

Observing one of ANIDES’s gender workshops for the first time.

Presentation and workshop on watersheds with youth promoters.

Receiving 4 cats to take care of for 1 month in my tiny apartment!

Not all work and no play, here I am swimming through Somoto Canyon with some friends in North Nicaragua.

Visiting Pueblo Viejo and mountainous rural Nicaragua for the first time.

Working in green mountains!!!

Visiting and speaking with one of the youth who will participate in our (ANIDES) 5 year program. This is his cabbage crop.

Visiting a women’s indigenous weaving cooperative in a peaceful mountain community.

Enjoying a Matagalpa Sunset from my back step.

-Clare Esler, Environment Project Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Nicaragua 2012

Mariah took a photo of the article in print.

When I was told that I would be working in Uganda on a project to support Karamajong youth, I didn’t really know what to expect. The Internet revealed horror stories of violence, cattle-raiding, lack of infrastructure and crushing poverty. And yet while I discovered this is all true, Karamoja is so much more than all of that. It is an astoundingly beautiful area with people determined to change their future. It is a place of great potential, of untapped riches and a place in desperate need of real government intervention. Working on the Karamoja project has been a fascinating chance to see a part of Uganda many never get to visit. It is a surprisingly beautiful area surrounded by a mountain range.

As I discovered during my time here, Karamoja is one of the poorest regions in the world and lags far behind the rest of the country in terms of progress with the MDGs. Its literacy rate is less than 20% and the life expectancy is nearly ten years lower than the national rate. Years of drought and violence have eradicated the cattle population, leaving the youth without meaningful livelihood. Breaking the cycle of poverty and developing the region is a serious challenge and many of the issues UYONET deals with in Karamoja stem from these problems: lack of infrastructure, an impoverished population and a struggle to change the situation with minimal resources.

In Moroto, we met with various government officials, NGO representatives and community members. They face many challenges, however, in their quest to develop the region; the electricity is only on for three hours a day; there are no paved roads, making it difficult to access the rest of the country, and the region remains deeply impoverished. With constant drought and loss of cattle, the Karamajong face a very uncertain future. The representatives we met with told us that in order to have a real impact in the region, UYONET must commit to working with the youth long-term. This way, we can provide ongoing support to youth pursuing alternative livelihood activities.

UYONET only has two staff members in the field office but our work plan for this quarter has a lot planned. We will be holding training sessions for retired warriors to give them employable skills. This will help the youth find meaningful employment and prevent them from returning to violence. UYONET is planning a training session for miners to educate them on safe working practices.  UYONET is also planning a series of town hall dialogues to discuss key issues regarding youth with local government officials. In Moroto district, for instance, the town hall dialogue will look at the issue of youth in mining. Mining is becoming an increasingly popular alternative livelihood activity among youth as Karamoja is rich in minerals, including gold, copper and cobalt. It is also very dangerous since many youth do not know how to mine safely, educating them on the proper value of their goods and it is having an effect on the environment. By communicating our concerns to local officials, UYONET hopes to lobby for new by-laws that will positively regulate the mining trade.

In Kampala, UYONET is working to distribute our baseline survey conducted in Karamoja to various CSOs and Ministry officials. This will allow us to educate Ugandans on the issues facing Karamoja and what is needed in order to develop the region. There is much work to be done in the region; getting our projects off the ground will be challenging but an excellent opportunity for UYONET to expand its capacity and really make a difference where it’s needed.

- Mariah Griffin-Angus, Governance Project Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Uganda 2012

Some of the community Faraja serves during a Gender Training by Sana.

Walking through the doors of Faraja Trust Fund (FTF) feels like you’ve entered a community centre or a clinic rather than an NGO office. The small, inviting garden leads to two buildings with half a dozen office rooms, with hardly enough room to accommodate the line-up of people sitting and waiting to talk to someone. On any given day, the visitors may range from rural women seeking help on starting up a small household business; a group of secondary school girls seeking information about HIV and STI infections; teachers from Faraja’s two schools designated for street children designing their lesson plans, or an elderly couple seeking legal aid to contest a land dispute.

The Faraja office.

“Faraja”, I’m told, translates from Kiswahili  as carer and supporter. For over twenty years, the FTF has stood in this role for the people of Morogoro. On any given day, I might encounter a dozen different people around town curious as to what brings me to Morogoro. Almost always, as soon as I mention my placement with Faraja, a knowing “aha” follows. This is the power of a well-established grassroots, locally run community NGO. Faraja’s resources might be sparse, but its heart is spread wide, and this does not go unnoticed. Outreach committees around Malaria, HIV, child protection and microfinance set out to help Morogoro’s most vulnerable. Visits and trainings take up the calendar year, and as is the norm with NGOs reliant on donor funding, the other half is taken up by writing reports.

This highlights one of the realities of Faraja’s work – it does not exist in a vacuum where grassroots initiatives are safe from the shrinking hands of foreign aid. In fact, many of Faraja’s projects are dependent on external funding, and if the funding is not there, the delivery mechanism is weakened. Faraja tries everything in its means to keep things running. The Home-Based Care centre, one of the first in the community, is in a dire state. Fewer patients arrive as there are fewer drugs and specialists to assist, and newer HBC Centres compete for limited resources. Despite this, a monthly play day – one of the only outlets for HIV-affected young people and children to play, run, laugh, feel loved and be fed nutritious food – is organized at the centre. It’s a vital day for these youth, one of the few times they feel truly free, yet for three months this spring they were forced to do without this meeting place. On the play day arranged after this long hiatus, the children run to each other, holding each other and catching up. It’s an important peer group that provides a form of support, and it’s a small splinter from the many arms that Faraja has on offer. Even when the funds run dry, the work keeps running.

The ‘mamas’ at Faraja.

I’m seeing the real plays of grassroots work here, sometimes not as idealistic as my academic training had me imagine. The reality of foreign development, shrinking aid budgets and fickle development agendas threaten the existence of truly locally-driven initiatives. But as long as Faraja runs like a true community – the work won’t stop. Faraja was founded based on the simple principle of helping those most in need. Faraja’s founder, Dr. Lucy Nkeya, doing her Masters research in the early nineties discovered how much misinformation existed about the spread of HIV/AIDS, especially among vulnerable communities. Through this discovery and the commitment to do something to help the community – a spark helped deliver Faraja in the world. The NGO is not without its battles, and I have quickly learned the flexibility needed to adapt to working in an environment where things run day-to-day. And I have learned a lot. As I approach my departure, I wonder about Faraja’s coming daily battles. What will be the new challenges? Who will fund its new projects? Will the family stay the same, or will new faces come and go? I know things will evolve, but most of all I’m hopeful the staff and everyone involved can keep the flame going strong for at least another twenty years to come.

-Sana Malik, Health Outreach Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Tanzania 2012 

Clare steering a meeting with students who are supporting Anides with the diagnostic project.

Being an intern for a small, under resourced grassroots environmental organization is not always as exciting or thrilling as one might think, or as I thought before arriving in Nicaragua. Initially, the words, “grassroots,” “under resourced,” “small,” and “environmental organization,” all took on a certain charm. They all formed to create a very novel picture in my head and I don’t think I knew what they implied until arriving and sinking my teeth into my work. At times, it can be boring, run of the mill, Monday to Friday, 9-5 office work. Development work is a waiting game. It’s a money game. It’s a creative game – my experience has become “what can I turn this internship into to make it the most rewarding experience?” Another question I have contemplated is “how can I contribute to Anides in a sustainable and long term way?” This is obviously a challenging task as I am only here for seven months, but I thought there must be one; partnership development. It was a challenge at first. I would have to dive into the pool of organizations that are aligned with Anides’s vision and mission….and that pool is very large.  What an overwhelming task!

I started out doing a lot of reading and looking at the numbers. What kind of money are organizations bringing in or where are they receiving their funding from?  The more I narrowed it down, the more fun the task became. I ended up learning more than I thought I would, analyzing the way an organization had designed their website, for example. Was the information accessible and was the right information presented? I have become a very good judge of an organization and their marketability. The task became easier as the organizations that knew how to get the most important information across, were the ones I ended up choosing.

Presentation and workshop on watersheds with youth promoters.

From there, the next task seemed slightly daunting and intimidating, a cold call. Since Anides did not necessarily have an “in” or connection with these organizations, I would have to write an e-mail stating my case and what kind of partnership I was looking to forge. I honestly think that what has caught some of these organizations’ attention has been the mention of a “Canadian government sponsored internship.” I guess if that will be my leverage, then so be it. These are organizations that either my supervisor has always passed by, not even thinking of ways they might be able to support Anides or ones she has been dying to get even a meeting with, but has been unable due to a language barrier. I am happy that I can be the one to support, after all that is part of what I am here to do.

My initial expectations have been turned upside down and my perspective has really had to shift. I have had to go from thinking “what can this internship do for me to, what can I bring to this internship?” The seemingly boring and slow days or weeks, it turns out, are quite meaningful in the grand scheme of things. They are where the nitty gritty is planned and thought out and where idle minds develop creative ideas. They are the build-up to the most fulfilling tasks which are spent day after day in the field conducting focus groups and surveys. It is when you have a project in which you become emotionally invested, that the seemingly menial work turns into fun, creative-bursts of ideas- kind of work. I have become a report and proposal writer, facilitator, strategizer, designer, analyzer, surveyor and creator among many things.

Development work is paper work!!

If you had to ask me to synthesize this experience at this point into one phrase, I would say it has been like receiving a fresh slap in the face, and a voice that accompanies that slap says “ Wake up Clare and welcome to the world of development.”

-Clare Esler, Environment Project Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Nicaragua 2012

As previously noted on the YCI Blog we have 8 IYIPs in the field. They have all written a blog post detailing the beginning of their placements and are now in the second half of their internships. Check back often to find out what they are up to now!

Stabroek market, the largest in Georgetown, Guyana

Two months have gone by so far here in Guyana but it feels like just yesterday I was stepping off the plane at Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Georgetown.  Excited, nervous, grateful, scared; all of the above were the emotions going through my mind and body. It was during my first international experience in Brazil I was told to “expect the unexpected” and those were the words I kept telling myself over and over again. Well, two months have gone by and I continue to expect the unexpected. Since landing here in Georgetown I have learned a few life lessons, made some amazing friends and adapted to the Guyanese culture.

The organization that I am an intern with is Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) a partner organization to Youth Challenge International (YCI).  Youth Challenge Guyana was founded in 1988 by a group of Canadian volunteers and sponsors with the intent to start a field project in Guyana. 24 years later, YCG is continuing its work by encouraging youth participation in challenging and worthwhile community service projects ranging from health, literacy, environmental research, community infrastructure and HIV/AIDS/STI education through the following Programmes & Projects:

• The Health Programme and HIV/AID Project
• The Education Programme and The National Volunteer Teachers Project
• Life Skills & Livelihood Programme and the Youth Employability/ Leadership Project

As the Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator my project falls under the Life Skills & Livelihood Programme. This project originally began in January with the goal of developing sustainable businesses by providing knowledge, skills and support for 50 female entrepreneurs. Through various workshops, networking events, monthly meetings and conferences, recruitment to the project has risen to over 65 female entrepreneurs. The women entrepreneurs, a part from these meetings, workshops and networking events, have benefitted from the support of one another and the development of small business and entrepreneurship sectors in Guyana. Many of the women work together as partners, support and promote each other’s business and learn from each other.

Created from this network was a support group called WENET (Women’s Entrepreneurship Network), where all the women who are part of the project can come together, get ideas and advice while discussing their challenges. This network is the core of the entire project; women use one another as mentors and strengthen the group through increased participation levels while attracting new members. These meetings are where all the creative juices flow; many of the women in the group gain encouragement from their peers and obtain business advice.  The mentorship aspect of these meetings between the women plays an important role in the success of the female entrepreneurs, their businesses and WENET.

The famous Seawall

In May 2011 when the project was implemented there were a total of 52 members, since then there have been 18 new female entrepreneurs join the program! All of these women have remarkable businesses all ranging from different stages of development.

The Businesses that are a part of WENET Include:

• Cake Decorating Business
• Salon (Hair, Manicures, Pedicures)
• Bar/Restaurant/Snackette/Deli
• Day Care/Babysitting
• Retail Store/ Boutique (Clothes, Shoes, Wedding Dresses, Accessories)
• Edible Arrangements
• Printing/Publishing
• Mobile Confectionary Stand (toys, snacks, poultry, food)
• Fashion Design
• Recording Studio
• Grocery & Variety Stores
• Food Vending
• Animal Care
• Catering

I have spent the past 6 weeks in and out of the office at Youth Challenge Guyana meeting with these women as part of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Project. So far I have met with around 35 amazing women. I have visited their businesses, while others have come into the Youth Challenge Office or met me at local cafes and restaurants. During our meetings I have a one-on-one discussion, where I ask about their business, a history of their business and get to know them on a personal level. Sometimes I will meet with 5 or 6 women a day for around an hour or an hour and half; the most rewarding part of my day is leaving these one-on-ones with a sense of fulfillment and gratification. They may think that they are learning from me, however, they have no clue the amount of knowledge, independence and mentorship I am acquiring from them, through the development of their businesses and support they are providing to their families.

Some of the women I have met with are single mothers, working full-time jobs and running successful businesses on the side to provide support for their families (makes me regret all the complaining I did about working a side job during my studies at college). All of these women have begun to influence me in different ways; the strange thing is that I am here to help provide them and their network with support, however, after talking to some of these women they prove to be the most successful women I know.

Just yesterday I met with a woman who is 65 year old retired nurse from St. Vincent, now working in her spare time as a seamstress teaching sewing lessons. When asking about her long-term goal for her business she responded with “ I have set 3 goals in my life, the first to be a nurse, the second was to open my own successful sewing business, the third is to open sewing schools for underprivileged children in 3 regions of Guyana, this will help them open there own businesses.” She has already accomplished the first 2 goals in her life and is currently working on the third. It is hearing stories and goals such as these during my one-on-ones with the women that make me grateful to be a part of this amazing project and be able to meet such influential women. The goals and stories I hear from the women also apply to the concept of taking things a day at the time, achievement of ones goals does not come overnight it takes time and I believe one day at a time.

A pond in a national park in Guyana

As I sit here and reflect on the past two months I have spent in Georgetown, I think about the challenges I have faced with travelling abroad and adapting to a new lifestyle and a new culture. I also reflect on the challenges my expats friends have experienced during their time here in Georgetown as well. The one conclusion I have been able to draw from these experiences is that throughout life you will always be tested and it comes down to what you make of these tests. You can sit back and allow challenges to affect you negatively and deter you from continuing on or you can take the proactive step forward and overcome that challenge. I look at the women in the network and see the obstacles that they are faced with every day whether it is with their businesses, their families and life in general and let me tell you it doesn’t stop them or set them back. This lesson is one I have learned early on during my internship and is attributed to the amazing women of WENET and friends that I made so far. I am excited to see the challenges and lessons to be learned over the next 5 months here in Georgetown.

-Kendra Borutski, Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Guyana 2012

What’s that in the trees?

They say God loves all his creatures equally. I have proof otherwise. See, there’s this bird that lurks in the trees of Kampala. It’s massive, reaching over 152 cm in height. That’s almost five feet.  Its wingspan has been rumoured to reach up to 13 feet, which is the largest wingspan of any living bird. It will feed on anything from bits of metal to old shoes. They say it has even killed small children when angry. In short, the Marabou stork is a terrifying blight on the sub-Saharan landscape. Unsurprisingly, its nickname is the ‘Undertaker Bird’.

The undertaker bird is a common site in and around Kampala.

Marabou storks are commonly found in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly in heavily populated areas. In Kampala, you’ll find them at the golf course, near Parliament or lounging around the police station. At first glance it looks more goofy than threatening. It’s very tall, with skinny, hollow white legs, bald on top with a huge bill. But don’t be fooled. If it can eat flamingos, it won’t be long before they figure out how to eat humans.

They hang out in trees and can be hard to spot at times. Clearly this is a strategy they’ve developed to spy on humans undetected. Wikipedia, the bastion of ornithological knowledge, says the marabou stork is known as the Undertaker Bird “due to its shape from behind: cloak-like wings and… skinny white legs…” But the storks are also scavengers and its baldhead also serves a purpose: “a feathered head would become rapidly clotted with blood and other substances when the bird’s head was inside a large corpse…” Proof, perhaps, that the Storks have malevolently evolved to adapt to its cold-blooded ways?

Casually hanging out or plotting their next move?

History further proves that there is sinister and evil side to the storks. Archaeological studies found that the original, prehistoric Marabou Storks were originally over six feet tall. Located on the isolated Flores Island, the humans and birds were subject rare phenomenon that occurs on isolated islands: the larger species shrink and the smaller species increase. The humans shrank to roughly three feet tall over the course of several generations and the storks increased. There were also dwarf elephants and giant rats on this island. The hunters became the hunted: evidence suggests that the storks hunted and ate humans. The entire human population died off, possibly due to hunting from the storks. In fact, scientists even found the remains of a young boy who had marks and scratches on his body consistent with a bird attack. He was killed by the original Marabou Storks.

According to the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, “Flores lacked any large-bodied mammalian predators… in their absence, birds like storks moved in to fill that role.” While there is no evidence that the Marabou stork currently eat people, history suggests it may only be a matter of time before they once again evolve to that state.

Can you imagine running into this almost 5 foot tall bird on the street?

And so I rest my case. Ugly and potentially murderous. When the local people refer to them as those ‘godforsaken birds”, I believe it!

- Mariah Griffin-Angus, Governance Project Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Uganda 2012

Mariah is also a featured blogger on the Huffington Post Canada while she is in Uganda. Click here to read her blog posts for them. 

Morogoro, through Sana’s eyes.

I made a few promises before coming here. One of them was that I would not let the time I’d spent in Gourcy, Burkina Faso five years ago overshadow my time here – that I would not get caught in comparing this to that, or noting how things are different here to there. But promises are not always easy to keep, and I am guilty of making this connection too many times. When I wrote to a friend who’s had similar travel déjà vu, she responded: “It’s only natural, you come to a place, you assimilate, and then you leave – taking a part of it with you.” Her words made me a little sad – I do tend to create strong lasting connections with the places I’ve visited, but I can’t help how much I take with me compared to what I leave  behind.

My life in Morogoro is markedly different from the one I lived in Gourcy. Although Morogoro’s chaotic backstreets, extended greetings and tea ceremonies take on a familiar tone,  I can safely attest that East Africa is not, never was (other than perhaps, some far corner of my imagination) West Africa (just in case you ever made that wrong assumption). Morogoro, is much bigger in comparison to Gourcy and it is set at the foot of the spectacular and lush Uluguru mountains. It also comes with all the quirks of small towns (soon, nobody’s a stranger and there are only a handful of town “hotspots” to hit on the weekend), but it is not without its own distinctions.

I’ve noticed the sizable number of shops owned and run by South Asians. Bollywood beats blasting across from Swahili rhythms. One of the most prominent buildings in Morogoro centre is the Ismaili mosque – an old structure from the 1930’s – forming a central part of the Indian, and even Middle Eastern influence that have touched the town. Although Morogoro was too inland to be grazed by the Arabian traders who made their way along the coast of Tanzania, the Kahawa (coffee houses), Swahili language and food all carry reminders of that past. And of course the unmistakable roundabouts that remind me of the colonial planning of British-controlled India and Pakistan – trying so hard to find a flow among disorder. Then there are the Greeks who’ve been here two generations or longer, the Italians, the Chinese and the ever-increasing number of Wazungus du jour (Europeans and their descendants) – a new breed of foreigner that trapeze through for weeks, months or years at a time.

Of course that’s a bit of a generalization, but the notable number of NGOs, development and business projects that Tanzania hosts means inevitably you find the ubiquitous expat-local divide. There’s an unspoken rule that where expats cluster,their hangouts emerge and the locals always knowingly smirk at the fact that soon, you too, will form a part of this ring.  At least in Morogoro, unlike many consumption-heavy East African urban centres, you can still manage to escape the shiny supermarkets and the gated communities. But sadly, here too, I see the fencing in of expat life from local eyes.  Tanzania, known for its peacefulness, lack of dominating ethnic rivalries and stunning natural beauty can only so much be a playground for foreign development types. I fit that bill by all definitions, but I’m still wary of the assumptions I build being here, and fighting the labels and associations that come with being an outsider trying to work and live in another country. And also, in how much I keep comparing this to then.

Then, as now, I was working on a Gender, Health and Human Rights Project based at a community organisation. Then, as now, I was not able to speak the first language of the project participants. Then, as now, I didn’t have an affinity for cooked millet at mealtimes. And then as now, I was scared that my preconceived ideas about “African life” would interrupt what I actually saw. The guilt of viewing “Africa” through a set of clichés starts to set in  - perhaps this is why everything is so familiar and so compartmentalized in my memory at the same time.  And then I begin to fear I’m perhaps reducing “Africa” to the very lens that writers and commentators like Binyavanga Wanaina or Laura Seay warn of. Or maybe I’m still just trying to place myself.

-Sana Malik, Health Outreach Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Tanzania 2012

The office at ANIDES.

There are basically two and a half rooms, with one large pine table in the central space where half of the staff crams with their computers, typing away, editing documents and reports or evaluating projects. At times, some of the staff begin at 8 and end at 5, and at others, they start at 7:30 and end at 6:30, occasionally working Saturdays and holidays.  There are many long days, sometimes spent entirely in front of a computer. Many staff members work almost entirely in the field, facilitating workshops on a year-round schedule.

During the first week I was able to sit down with Gloria Ordoñez, ANIDES’s director to understand the needs of the organization and to discuss strategy. Underfunded but well-represented, it is a team of only 20 people that works hard to facilitate each of its 32 community’s needs. It is like many small organizations; they do good development work, but go largely unrecognized financially in the grand scheme of development. Although, it has developed a handful of useful partners that support its mission to provide rural communities with access to loans in kind, volunteer projects and capacity building trainings.

The first two weeks of work, I went with Gloria or another facilitator and community leader to observe and gain more knowledge about a community called Pueblo Viejo. Gloria was raised in this mountain village of about 160 people and this was one of the first communities where ANIDES started working. From the minute we started driving down the windy mountainous road, my vision expanded to see rolling green and ash brown mountains, speckled with yellow and fuchsia trees, in their prime of blossoming. As we continued driving, 5, 10, 15 minutes in, I also began to realize how remote these communities really are. We took a right onto the dusty rock strewn country road and I realized that countryside is countryside, wherever you go. I also realized that it is an exceptionally beautiful part of any nation and every day we drove into these communities, I felt a sense of peace; a part of me feels really at home in the countryside.

The country road on the way to the communities.

As I was introduced to the community by Gloria, I instantly realized this would be a very different experience than the one I had a year ago in a different region of Nicaragua. The last community I worked with had vibrant women who acted as leaders, motivated, with the energy of an ox. Most of these women in Pueblo Viejo appear shy and timid, and are almost in tears at the idea of participating. Initially, I understood it to be an environmental organization, but ANIDES has also performed workshops as part of a women’s only communal bank project, worked to increase women’s self-esteem and to improve business skills, among many things. Slowly, women are taking more initiative and organizing themselves, developing an amazing collaborative spirit!

Community members having a great time.

For me this internship will be about learning curves, knowledge sharing and skill building, among many things. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead!

-Clare Esler, Environment Project Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Nicaragua 2012

As previously noted on the YCI Blog we have 8 IYIPs in the field. We will feature blog posts from each of them in the coming months. Check back often to find out what they are up to!

Elena Togias

Elena stepping carefully.

Hi my name is Elena! I grew up in Toronto and did most of my studies at U of T (an undergrad degree in Human Biology and French, and a Bachelor of Education for teaching Biology and French at the Intermediate/Senior level). I spent my third year at Université Laval in Quebec City and decided to go back there to do an M.A. in Linguistics and Language Teaching. If you suspect that I may have some teaching experience, you’re right! I’ve taught in Toronto, Quebec City (UL and Cégep), Trois-Pistoles, QC, Nice, France, and Hyderabad, India. I have many hours as a Teaching Assistant under my belt as well, and that’s given me some great teacher training experience – teaching future ESL and FSL teachers at the university level. I’ve also designed and facilitated a few pre-departure training sessions for AIESEC Laval. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, but enough about me – let’s get to the business side of things. Here at The Umoja Centre, a small education NGO in Njiro (a suburb of Arusha, Tanzania), I’ve got many roles. Our main challenge right now (for both staff and students) is implementing and maintaining an English Immersion learning environment throughout the school. Since I have knowledge and experience in this very area, I am delivering workshops for the teachers to share various immersion teaching strategies and to encourage them in this difficult task. My workshops will extend to numerous other professional development topics for teachers, and I will soon be doing one-on-one mentoring. Oh, I almost forgot – I’m doing a little bit of teaching, too. Until the YCI Ambassadors get here, I’m covering the “Key Skills” class for the Intermediate students (we just finished reproduction and will be learning about diseases for the next month), as well as the “Spoken English” class for both Intermediates and Beginners. As you can see, my plate is full, but I love being busy. And, now that I’m settled, I can focus my efforts on learning to speak more fluent Swahili – it’s the only way to show everyone that I am not a tourist – mimi sio mtali!

Kendra Borutski

Kendra is not the one in the pink lipstick.

I’m Kendra! I was born and raised in Paris Ontario, and recently graduated from Niagara College’s Bachelor of Applied Business in International Business and Global Development. Through my studies at Niagara College, I had the incredible opportunity to assist in Women’s Economic Development in Fortaleza, Brazil in 2010. I was working alongside the Instituton Federal De Educaco, Ciencia E Technolgia and NGO EMAUS developing capacity building framework and gender empowerment workshops for the Mulheres Mil Project. Most recently, I worked for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, a part of the Rural Economic Development Branch where I worked on Ontario Economic Stimulus projects, which help with the development of rural communities across Ontario. Through my studies I fell in love with all aspects of economic development and capacity building especially regarding international, rural and gender empowerment.  I am passionate, outgoing, adventurous and excited to represent Youth Challenge International as the new Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Officer in Guyana.

Sana Malik

Hey, what's that over there?!?!

I’m Sana and I’ll be spending the next seven months in Morogoro, Tanzania working as a Health Outreach Officer on HIV and Gender Based Violence education in schools with Faraja Trust Fund. Faraja is one of the oldest community-led and community-driven HIV/AIDS and Health NGOs in the region.  I’ll be working on integrating gender into more of Faraja’s programming and making links with other Sexual and Reproductive Health organisations in the area, focusing on creating a bigger network for youth outreach and education. Previously, I was at the International Planned Parenthood Federation in London working on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights advocacy and mobilization. I have an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an undergraduate degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Toronto. My interest to connect community-based responses to health challenges has led me to work in various health outreach capacities with marginalized communities in the UK, Lebanon and West Africa. In 2007, I participated in the WUSC International Research Seminar in Burkina Faso working on a HIV and Gender Project using popular theatre as an education tool and I`m looking forward to working once again on HIV and Gender issues through creative and innovative approaches in community health outreach and education. Although I miss my inner urban side, I’m loving being near the spectacular Uluguru mountains in Morogoro and having the chance to reconnect with nature. I’m hopeful that by the time I head home in November, I`ll not only have perfected my bartering skills in Swahili, but I’ll have some serious mountain-climbing and biking abilities across Morogoro’s muddy hills as well.

Mariah Griffin-Angus

Mariah getting her art on at the Louvre.

My name is Mariah Griffin-Angus and I am working for Uganda Youth Network as part of an internship program with Youth Challenge International. I will be in Kampala for seven months working on governance and human rights projects geared towards youth. My work focuses on the human rights issues in the Karamoja region in northern Uganda. I graduated from the University of Bristol in 2012 with a LLM in Human Rights Law (Bristol, UK). In 2006, I graduated with a Bachelors of Public Affairs and Policy Management, with a specialization in human rights from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada). I have previous human rights research experience in Europe, Africa and with Canada’s indigenous communities. I have travelled to East Africa before but this will be my longest stay here. I am very excited to live in Kampala and to learn more about this country. In my spare time, I like baking and exploring.

Devin Woods

This will be the photo on the dust cover of Devin's first published book.

My name is Devin Woods. I completed my undergraduate education at the University of Guelph in Political Science and a post-graduate program from Humber College in International Development Program Management (IPMP). Having volunteered and worked with a number of development organizations over the years I am very passionate about facilitating opportunities for people to learn and build skills. I will be working in Accra, Ghana as the Communications and Mobilization Officer with Youth Challenge International (YCI). My position will entail supporting YCI’s partner Youth Empowerment Synergy Ghana (YES Ghana). Specifically, this will be an opportunity for YES Ghana and I to share our different skills and build the success of their new programs surrounding Ghana’s 2012 election. Creating new media to communicate and engage with youth, this will be an exciting time for YES Ghana. As my first time travelling to Ghana I am thrilled that I will be able to take part in YES Ghana’s efforts and I am excited to take on all of the new challenges that I will face.

Clare Esler

Clare, though born in Oakville, is a Torontonian with a deep love of the city.

Hi! My name is Clare Esler and I am currently working as an Environment Project Officer at ANIDES (The Nicaraguan Association for Sustainable Development) in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, where I will be for the next seven months. Inherent in the design of all of ANIDES’ projects is sustainability; community members participate in hands on workshops and are shown step by step how to maintain the project themselves. I will be developing and implementing a variety of environmental projects including an organic agriculture scheme for families living in rural Matagalpa, a hygiene strategy, a dry toilet scheme and an environmental protection and awareness project. I grew up in Oakville, Ontario but currently reside permanently in Toronto, Ontario.  I have a Bachelors double major in French and International Development from Dalhousie University.  Two years following graduation, I completed a one-year post-graduate program in International Project Management from Humber College. Last year, I worked to develop an organic agriculture scheme as part of a six month internship in La Concepcion, Nicaragua for La Mariposa Eco-Hotel.  My passion is the environment and education, specifically in organic agriculture and promoting environmental awareness.  Outside of work I dance salsa, bachata, cook delicious vegan food and practice yoga!

Camaro West

Camaro was named after the classic car. That is why she is so cool.

My name is Camaro West and I am spending my IYIP working with the YMCA of Ghana as a Gender Advisor for the next seven months.  My role includes working with branches of the YMCA to implement a Gender Equality policy, designing specific gender equality programming targeted at men and women; and increasing the number of women and girls who benefit from YMCA programming.  I am so excited that my job will give me the opportunity to travel to different parts of Ghana and work with regional YMCAs, while experiencing the country’s diversity.  I am originally from the Island of St. Kitts, but have grown up in and around Toronto.  I recently completed my Master’s degree in International Development Studies and am particularly interested in development issues pertaining to women and girls.  I had the opportunity to visit The Gambia in 2009, so this is my second time in West Africa, but my first extended stay.  Ghana has been on my list of places to visit for a long time, and I’m excited to finally be here!  I’m looking forward to catching some football (soccer) games in the stadium and playing a little myself.

Ben Verboom

Ben: a contemplative fellow.

I am a graduate of the Physical Education and Health program at the University of Toronto, and will be working as a Health Policy Officer with the Zanzibar NGO Cluster for HIV/AIDS and Prevention (ZANGOC) in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Having lost my father to suicide when I was a teenager, I have worked for years in mental health stigma reduction, including founding the Cycle To Help awareness campaign and cycling over 8000km across Canada in 2009.  My passion for stigma reduction, combined with a long-held interest in public health and community development, took me to Namibia in 2010 to intern with local youth NGO Physically Active Youth, addressing youth development issues and HIV/AIDS using education and sport.   As Health Policy Officer, my primary role will be helping ZANGOC to craft an organizational HIV/AIDS policy, formally outlining the role that the ZANGOC, and its 45 member organizations across the archipelago, play in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Zanzibar. Drawing on input from ZANGOC’s staff and administration, and ZANGOC’s member organizations, the policy will serve as the guiding document for ZANGOC’s HIV/AIDS projects and will inform the development of a long-term action plan for ZANGOC and its members. In addition to HIV/AIDS policy project, I will also be assisting with capacity-building for ZANGOC’s members and community partners in the areas of HIV stigma reduction and gender equality.  I look forward to a meaningful and challenging intercultural, professional, and personal experience!

The first is only accessible by clicking on this link: Lisa D’Alimonte’s Zanzibar Experience

-Lisa returned from her internship earlier this month after having worked as a governance Officer in Zanzibar

-Amanda Armstrong, IYIP Intern Guyana, 2011

-Pam Bruce , IYIP Intern Tanzania, 2006

-Jessica Nkongolo, IYIP Intern Tanzania, 2007 

The IYIP Program is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES). YES provides Canadian post-secondary graduates (aged 19-30) with the tools and experience they need to launch successful careers both at home in Canada and abroad.

The objectives of the International Youth Internship Program are:
• To provide eligible youth with international experience, skills and knowledge that will prepare them for future employment in a knowledge-based economy;
• To increase employment opportunities by promoting awareness among Canadian organizations of the advantages of integrating young Canadian professionals into their structures and programs;
• To provide opportunities for Canadians to increase their awareness, deepen their understanding and engage in international development;
• To contribute to the advancement of CIDA’s mandate (reducing poverty, promoting human rights and increased sustainable development) and to meeting CIDA’s priorities for Official Development Assistance.

Interns must meet the following requirements in order to be eligible for CIDA support:
• The intern must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• The intern must be a post-secondary graduate
• The intern must be currently out of school
• The intern must be between the ages of 19 and 30
• The intern must be currently unemployed or underemployed
• The intern must be legally entitled to work in Canada
• All interns must contribute to YCI’s public engagement efforts throughout their placement and upon their return home

To read more about the current eight internship opportunities, click on the links below:

Ghana: Communications Officer

Ghana: Gender Advisor

Guyana: Women’s Entrepreneurship Project Officer

Nicaragua: Environment Project Officer

Tanzania: Faraja Health Outreach Officer

Tanzania: Umoja Education Officer

Tanzania: ZANGOC Health Policy Officer

Uganda: Governance Project Officer

Application Deadline: January 2, 2012

No phone calls accepted about the position but email inquiries can be sent to generalinfo@yci.org

Those are the words I was told by the first Guyanese I ever met during my training in Toronto 5 months ago. Those are the words that I am living by. And those are the words that I continue to repeat to the female entrepreneurs that I work with.

The objective of my programme is to train and support 50 female entrepreneurs in Georgetown, Guyana. My dream is that these 50 women will become sustainable and be able to support themselves and their families comfortably. But my dream is much more than that. I dream that these 50 women will grow and grow and grow to help many other people in Georgetown who are unemployed and disadvantaged. My dream is that these 50 women will inspire others across Guyana through the media and personal encounters. My dream is that these women will be successful, providing a needed good or service to the community which will contribute to the development of Guyana. I am hoping to initiate a “pay-it-forward” type activity where the women share their knowledge and experiences including their successes and challenges to other female business owners and young aspiring entrepreneurs. Dream Big. Start Small.

All of the female entrepreneurs that I work with are really great They have dreams and they have the desire to achieve those dreams, they just need a little extra push. They need someone who believes in them, someone who will listen, and someone who will give them some extra encouragement. As time goes on I learn more about the female entrepreneurs, their businesses, and the challenges they face. As an entrepreneur you immediately face additional pressure and challenges and as a female you must work extra hard in order to be taken seriously as a business women. On top of that, 36% of the group are single mothers (18 out of 50), and 60% have no post-secondary education.

I find that a lot of the social problems that exist here in Guyana are sometimes hidden but more and more I hear about the poor treatment of women. It is usually behind closed doors but involves domestic violence, sexual assault, unfaithful partners, child abuse, and incest. Domestic violence and unfaithfulness are the most common things that I hear about. Although I have met many very strong and confident women here, there are so many more women in Guyana who don’t have the confidence and strength to stand up for themselves and get out of the situation. They fear that there is no other option. Many women depend on a man for financial reasons as well. Some men are very controlling and will not let their wife or girlfriend leave the house.

Not only do women face these challenges, but the women in my programme face so many more challenges as an entrepreneur in Guyana. From crime and theft to unenforced laws and untrustworthy staff, business owners have so many more challenges to deal with on a daily basis. Ideas can easily be stolen, businesses are frequently robbed, and staff members are not to be trusted. Almost every business has security guards and the cashier is located behind bars or glass to prevent theft. Our training facilitator recommended avoiding developing a pattern of going to the bank on a specific day and time to deposit money. Many of the women try to put measures in place to avoid theft from staff – measuring the level of juice, avoiding sharing too much information about the business and how things work, random checks, and more. The reasons for staff stealing from the business could be out of necessity if they are not being paid enough to provide for their family.

I enjoy learning more but it is difficult to deal with the harsh realities of life as well. As much as possible, I share my words of encouragement with the women in the programme to build their self-esteem and give them that little extra push that they need to succeed.

Never give up. Reach for the sky. Follow your dreams. Don’t ever let anyone put you down. Inspire others. Be confident in yourself. You are smart and capable and you can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it. Seize every opportunity. Treat your staff and customers like you would like to be treated. Support each other. Share ideas. Entrepreneurs will change the world and make a difference.

Dream Big. Start Small.

“When people are passionate and excited about what they are doing, they will move forward” – A mentor from the Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme.

 - Amanda Armstrong, IYIP Intern, Guyana 2011

YCI’s International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) Interns are funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Our IYIP interns spend 7-9 months working with YCI’s partner organizations in Latin American, South America and Africa. The application process to become an IYIP intern is highly competitive. Applications for our 2012 internship positions will open in early November.

For more IYIP blogs, check out our IYIP section.

My last blog for YCI was about my IYIP internship with ZANGOC (Zanzibar NGO Cluster for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control) was back in April and at that time I was just starting to figure things out in terms of my my role within ZANGOC and especially how ZANGOC operates. It feels like I have come a long way since then. One of my main job duties for ZANGOC was to create their new strategic plan and the end of June, I accomplished that task by completing the first draft of the plan. The past 2 weeks I have been meeting with a few members from the Executive Committee and we have been going through the plan literally page by page to incorporate ZANGOC’s suggestions and inputs into the plan to make it “ZANGOC’s” strategic plan and not “Lisa’s” strategic plan!

Another one of my main tasks has been visiting with the, now 45, member organizations that are under the ZANGOC umbrella. From my visits with the members I have been collecting basic information in order to create a database of NGO members as well as to analyse the strengths and weakness of each organization so that YCI and other donors can address the gaps in organizational capacity, for example, human resource and financial management, IT and website design, proposal writing and resource mobilization and monitoring and evaluation.

Of ZANGOC’s 45 member organizations, four are based in Pemba, which is the smaller island to the north east of Unguja, which together make up the Zanzibar Archipelago.

Map of Pemba highlighting the 3 towns of ZANGOC operation: Chake, Wete and Micheweni

At the beginning of my time here I was really keen on going to Pemba to visit with the members and facilitate a workshop but after looking into costs, the idea was put on the back burner for a little while. However, in late May I attended a workshop for ZACP (Zanzibar AIDS Control Program) and met a man who is from Pemba, works for ZACP in Chake (the main town in Pemba) and who is also on the ZANGOC Board of Trustees. After talking with him about ZANGOC and Pemba, he convinced me that I just must go! So I drafted a proposal and budget and submitted it to YCI. In June, it was approved as my first business trip!
On Friday July 15, I jetted off to Pemba with the ZANGOC Deputy Executive Secretary, and a box of supplies for the Pemba sub-office! After a short, and very beautiful flight over the Indian Ocean, we arrived at the Chake airport 30 minutes later.

Airplane shot of the Cost of Pemba

We arrived Friday late afternoon so I had just enough time to check into my hotel and go for a walk around town before the sun set. It was more like a stroll as Chake town is so small that if I walked at a normal pace I would have seen the whole town in about 20 minutes! Also, the shops close around 5:00pm so I wasn’t able to browse or do any market shopping. Topographically, Pemba is very different than Unguja. While Unguja is flat, Pemba is very hilly even with some small mountains in the background of Chake. It was a nice change though, I know Unguja is very green in terms of forestry but in Pemba you can definitely notice it a lot more. Especially when you drive up the windy roads you get an amazing view of the villages below surrounded by palm trees and just general beautiful nature, I feel like my pictures didn’t capture the essence of Pemba as much as I hoped.

Photo of Chake

On Saturday I woke up early and met my Pemba colleagues at the ZANGOC/WAMATA office in Chake. WAMATA is a regional NGO in Tanzania, and a ZANGOC member, that works to help those who struggle with HIV and AIDS in Tanzania. The topic of my workshop was project design and proposal writing and my participants consisted of 10 people, two people from each member organization in Pemba: WAMATA, NOAC (North Pemba Organization for AIDS Control), PEYVO (Pemba Youth Voice Organization) and YOEPA (Youth Organization on Education for the Prevention of AIDS), and the ZANGOC sub-office. The workshop ran for 3 hours and I feel as though it was well received, the participants were active in group discussion and, although all of the information might not have been new knowledge, I feel as though each participant walked away with useful information on project design and proposal writing.

Outside of the WAMATA Office, Chake, Pemba

Before I left for Pemba I met with Shaib, who is the YCI Volunteer Manager here in Unguja. Shaib is originally from Pemba and he still has a lot of family members there whom he gave me some contacts. On Saturday after my workshop I contacted Cholo, who is Shaib’s brother in law and who also is the manager of the hotel I stayed at. I was very grateful for his hospitality in showing me around Chake and taking me to meet Shaib’s mother and family then even inviting me to his own house to meet Shaib’s younger sister and their new 7 day old son.

All in all, my first business trip was a success but I wish I had a few extra days to relax on the pristine beaches and visit the city of Wete, which I am told is a must. Perhaps it will be a must that I go back in October before I leave to sit in on the Q2 meeting!

- Lisa D’Alimonte, IYIP Intern, Tanzania 2011

For more International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) blogs, check out our IYIP section.

Daraja Project Banner

Students at a Community Session

The events typically last for about 2 hours and consist of a dance competition (usually between kids from the crowd), a drama presentation, and then a question and answer section.   In addition to these activities Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) services are offer for free to anyone in the audience would like to be tested for HIV/AIDS.    I’d have to say that I most enjoy watching the kids dance; they get so excited as soon as the music starts and somehow manage to move their bodies in ways I can’t even imagine moving mine.  Once the selected few have had their chance to show off their best moves the audience votes for the best dancer and the lucky individual gets a prize.  To finish off the event two teams are picked from the crowd to participate in a tug-a-war contest, this usually leads to the crowd breaking into fits of laughter.

Tug-of-War

UMATI Drama Presentation

Aside for my exciting work with the Daraja project I’m going to have a very busy schedule for the next month.  I’ll be coordinating UMATI’s involvement with a community health fair which will take place over 5 days at the end of July.  UMATI’s role here will be to provide education on sexual and reproductive health to those in the community as well as hosting several drama skits scheduled throughout the fair.  The fair is in collaboration with several other NGO’s and health organizations throughout the island it has been a great opportunity for me to network and work alongside some brilliant minds doing inspiring public health work in Zanzibar.  July will also have me spending a lot of time writing proposals.  Two major grant applications are due at the end of the month and I will be submitting them on UMATI’s behalf in hopes of acquiring funds to implement a SRH project for commercial sex workers (CSW) and hopefully, men who have sex with men (MSM).  Both of these populations are at extremely high risk of contracting HIV and other STI’s.  This funding would go a long way in increasing education and promoting safer sexual practices within these communities.

Life here in Zanzibar isn’t all work.  The month of June turned out to be quite a social month for me and Lisa (the IYIP intern working here with ZANGOC).   Between the annual Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), visitors, trips to Dar es Salaam, the YCI volunteers arriving, and birthday celebrations, there really hasn’t been much down time.  The highlight of my social calendar thus far has probably been a party that I attending for my co-worker, Halima’s, 2 young daughters.  Now, birthday celebrations are somewhat of a new Tanzanian custom to me.  In mainland Tanzania they weren’t typically celebrated (at least not from my experience) so I was rather intrigued by what the evening was going to entail.  Especially as there was about 2 weeks of planning and preparation involved.   Needless to say, the event was epic.  The 6 hour party hosted upwards of 100 people (in a relatively small space) and involved all kinds of dancing, food, presents and even several outfit changes for the birthday girls.  There was a gift giving ceremony where each guest approached the girls sitting on an elaborate pedestal to wish them happy birthday, take a bite of cake and then hand over their gift to be added to the rapidly growing pile of goodies.  Everyone had a fantastic time (I even danced, which does not happen often!) and the birthday girls were exhausted by the end of it all.  It was a truly amazing experience and I’m so thankful to be welcomed into such a wonderful community here in Zanzibar.

Me, Rawha (UMATI employee), and the Birthday Girls

Well, that’s all for now.  Kwa heri kwa sasa (goodbye for now)!

Sabrina

- Sabrina Mullan, IYIP intern, Tanzania 2011. You can read more about Sabrina’s experience in Tanzania on her personal blog: Sabrina in Tanzania.

For more International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) blogs, check out our IYIP section.

My IYIP placement has taken me to Morogoro, Tanzania, where I am an intern with Faraja Trust Fund. Faraja is a health based community organisation, that is expanding its reach into environmental issues. Due to this I have been researching environmental issues in Morogoro town and how they relate to health.  This has led me to WASH – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.

Prior to coming here I had never even heard of the acronym WASH before and now as I am diving deep into everything to do with WASH, I am learning so much more about health and how it is impacted by our environment. I have also learned how crucial it is that we address Water, Sanitation and Hygiene issues for both international development and the environment.  The UNDP states that 1.2 billion people live without access to safe water and 2.6 billion without access to sanitation, and according to UNICEF every day 5000 children die from Diarrhoea related illness. These are preventable deaths that are related to water, sanitation, hygiene, which is directly related to our environment and how we take care of it.

So as my internship has taken shape, I am focusing on raising awareness on water, sanitation, hygiene and other related environmental issues like waste management and composting  in an informal settlement  of Morogoro, called Chamwino.

It only takes a walk through Chamwino to see the environmental health issues all around; piles of garbage, burning  garbage next to houses, pools of stagnant water (due to drains being blocked with garbage), poor or no toilet facilities, no place for hand washing … and the list goes on.

In this community I am going to be working with the Primary and Secondary schools to raise awareness and implement activities that will help to make positive behaviour changes around these issues.  I am a strong believer in the power of youth and education to create change, and I feel that by working in these schools it will also lead to changes in the overall community.  I hope that by making the WASH education fun and interactive it will lead students to share what they learn with those around them, their friends and their family. This will hopefully allow the information to trickle down and impact the wider communities’ awareness about WASH.

So far I have done a couple introductory WASH presentations at the primary schools in Chamwino, – I have written about them on my blog at The Sustainable Path  I am now in the process of planning for a more in-depth WASH program to implement at these schools.

I am excited about the path my internship has taken me on, it’s not what I expected! But it has allowed me to learn a lot about WASH, and become passionate about addressing these issues and really linking environment, health and international development together.

Uluguru Mountains: My view on the way to work each day!

The many students at Chamwino Primary School, during my first WASH presentation

Me teaching about the importance of boiling water before you drink it to the Primary school students at Chamwino

- Jamie Van Egmond, IYIP intern, Tanzania 2011

As the Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme Officer at Youth Challenge Guyana, I have been coordinating a networking initiative for female entrepreneurs over the past two months. The objective of the program is to train and support 50 female entrepreneurs, empower them to become leaders in their communities, and foster an entrepreneurial environment in Guyana. We hope to create a network of female entrepreneurs who will work together to improve their lives, empower others, and make a difference in the community.

Attendees at the Women's Entrepreneurship Programme initial training workshop

Guyana is one of the four non-Spanish speaking South American countries; however it is distinctly Caribbean with a mix of many different ethnic backgrounds. It is a country with only 765,000 people and like many of the Caribbean countries Guyana experiences significant brain drain causing the population to shrink by approximately 0.5% each year. High unemployment rates are one of the main problems in Guyana, especially among youth. Women face numerous challenges as well including lack of education and skills, low self-esteem, domestic violence, and a sense of powerlessness that often prevent them from participating in economic activities which will enhance their livelihoods. I am very excited to be working with Youth Challenge Guyana to address this issue and provide a network to support and empower female entrepreneurs.

The programme officially launched three weeks ago on May 14th with an initial training workshop that covered an introduction to entrepreneurship and basic business management including strategic planning, record keeping, costing and pricing, and marketing and sales. We had a total of 50 participants with a wide range of businesses from salons, variety shops, and restaurants to fashion designers, recording studios, and event planners. The training was extremely successful and it was so exciting to hear the appreciation and satisfaction that the women expressed. The specific outcomes observed included increased levels of self-confidence and inter-personal skills, increased business knowledge and skills, and an established network of committed female entrepreneurs. We now have a Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme Committee which meets twice monthly to plan monthly workshops and networking events while developing the programme further.

Awarding certificates at the end of the initial training sessions

Last weekend there was a new women’s exposition in Guyana to promote women’s talents, skills, and entrepreneurship. We had 15 female entrepreneurs from the programme participating in the exposition where they promoted and sold their products and services. All participants had very creative and attractive displays with their own business cards, banners, flyers, packages and promotions that they had specifically prepared for the expo after the training. It was so exciting to see all of the women in action gaining exposure, obtaining new customers, gaining valuable experience interacting with customers, and managing their operations. In my opinion, the biggest improvement that I have seen over the past 3 weeks among all of the women is their increased self-confidence ☺

Two of the female entrepreneurs with the Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds, at the Women's Expo

Over the next 6 months our committee and I will be organizing monthly workshops and networking events while each member of the programme will receive additional support from a mentor and me. I also hope to work with other NGOs and the government to develop a strategy for entrepreneurship and employment in Guyana which is critical for development.

Overall, the past 2 months have been an incredible learning experience and I am so happy that I have this incredible opportunity to work with Youth Challenge International and Youth Challenge Guyana on such a phenomenal initiative. You can check out my blog at www.amandasaraha.blogspot.com for more updates on my life and work in Guyana. I can’t wait for another 6 ½ months!

- Amanda Armstrong, IYIP Intern, Guyana 2011

Amanda was recently featured on the Ivey Business School Website for her work in Guyana. 

For more International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) blogs, check out our IYIP section.