Saturday, March 5, 2011

leads for summer internships?

I am hoping to do an internship this summer in Africa, and am wondering if you have any leads or contacts you could recommend to me. Specifically:

WHO: Me, Petra Aldrich. For those of you who don't know me, I am a current Masters candidate at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Economic and Political Development department, specializing in Management. I have previous experience working in anti-human-trafficking in Thailand for one year for World Vision. I have interned this winter in Haiti with Explorers Sans Frontiers, a small Philladelphia-based NGO serving medical needs in Port-Au-Prince tent cities. I have further previous experience in NGO corporate and donor relations, volunteer management, and program management. A short version of my resume/CV is here: feel free to contact me for more information.

WHO ELSE: a mid-range to large international NGO like Oxfam, IRC, CARE, UN, Save the Children, or smaller but equally awesome ones I might not have heard of. I'd prefer organizations that directly serve the basic needs of impoverished communities.

WHAT: an internship, doing productive work in
a) program design, or monitoring and evaluation, or
b) any other aspects of development project implementation and management.

I'm more interested in programs addressing:
-refugee needs,
-gender issues,
-anti-human-trafficking,
-community health, and
-children,
and less interested in:
-medical clinics,
-agriculture,
-wildlife/environment,
-education,
-legal, and
-finance assistance programs.

WHEN: This summer, between late May and the end of August, but perhaps not the entirety of that time.

WHERE: somewhere in English- or French-speaking Africa, preferably these countries which have a theoretical higher tolerance for lesbians:
-Rwanda (a top choice)
-Madagascar (a top choice)
-South Africa (a top choice)
-Zimbabwe
-Zambia
-Kenya (but not Nairobi)
-Swaziland
-Seychelles
-Central African Republic
-Togo
-Burkina Faso
-Benin
-Gabon

Thanks for any leads or other help that you can offer in making my summer a productive one!

-Petra Aldrich