Sunday, May 1, 2011

Africa What?



          Am I really going to be in Africa on Monday? It sure doesn't feel like it. It feels like I flew down to Houston just to hang out in the airport. I don't think my brain has accepted it yet. But thats normal for me I guess. It won't hit me until I walk through the airport doors into the heat and humidity of Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. Until I'm sweating in a taxi crawling through traffic, wondering what my life is going to be like for the next four months. I hope that these next four months will be fulfilling, enlightening and educating. I already know that they will be filled with incredible people.
          I'm doing an internship in Dar for three months with an NGO (non-governmental organization) called Women Fund Tanzania (WFT). WFT is a non-profit, women's rights organization based in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. In a country where women lack visibility and their contributions to society are undervalued or unnoticed, this organization aims to increase women's rights and empowerment through the implementation of a functional funding mechanism for women's groups. My job will be to assist in the organization of a coffee co-op. I will also be assisting with an organic coffee project in Arusha and another project with the Masaai. It's a good thing I like coffee, but I am completely and utterly inexperienced in this area and am a little worried about how much help I will actually be to them. What I am hoping, though, is that my three months spent with WFT will give me the experience and knowledge I need to work with similar organizations in the future.
I hope to spend my life in the field of development, and even though women's rights are not what I had in mind they are an extremely important piece in the development puzzle.
Throughout my three month internship (plus a few weeks of tourist time) in Tanzania I will continue to update this blog for anyone interested in the life of a lowly intern in an African NGO. Hopefully this goes well. 


Click here for a map of where my trip will have taken me by tomorrow afternoon

1 comment:

  1. have a great flight Jesse. will be following you on your blog. Have a great experience!!

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