EIL Intercultural Learning - internship

My internship experience in India - Part 1: "the internship work"

Anton — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:01:37 +0000

Ber is a Public Helath and Health Promotion Student in UCC, she tells us about her 12 weeks internship work in India:

As the weeks flew by in Jaipur, we got much more used to the run of things- especially in the workplace. From our experience so far - the most exciting work activities included the field visits and the health camps. After these we got to visit the organisations ‘Reproductive Health & Family Planning Centre’ (RHFPC). This small hospital covered a range of services from Emergency Contraceptives, HIV/AIDS and Counselling, to Maternal Health Care and Child Health Care.

My first impressions of the hospital were that it was a very clean and well-managed environment. This certainly contrasted with numerous reports from other bigger hospitals around Jaipur. A friend of ours got sick one weekend after being away travelling for a few days. She was pretty quick in moving from the original hospital they put her. Not only was it completely dirty, but also she reported sitting in her hospital bed one day-- when a monkey tried to get in her window!

Back in the FPAI office, Sarah and I spent a lot of time researching and brainstorming together. After being out in the field we felt we had better knowledge of the organisations projects, and that we could now come up with our own ideas. We worked on a proposal that targeted adolescents. We proposed a youth club was a good way in gathering young people together, as well as incorporating the learning of necessary life skills and other fun and games to make the learning process easier.

I learned a lot on the health needs of adolescents, and particular problems that are greeted with the Indian youth of today. Other work we carried out included the preparation of several project brochures, and the preparation of concept notes. Our concept notes included - ‘Attitudes and Behaviours of youth in Rajasthan towards Sexual & Reproductive Health’, and ‘Awareness of HIV/AIDs among youth in Rajasthan’.

Some of the issues we came across were new to our course of study, especially as we were dealing with the Indian context. There were a lot of issues we learned about during our internship that we hadn’t encounter previously in our study at University.

Examples include issues surrounding Illegal Abortions, Reproductive Child Health Rights, and Gender Equality. We gained a lot of knowledge especially on male attitudes towards women’s empowerment.

On the contrary, there were a lot of Public Health and Health Promotion areas that we had knowledge of, and consequently were able to apply these theories in practice. We got to experience working first hand with relevant topics such as HIV/Aids, STI/RTI’s, Nutrition of pregnant women, and Population Health issues.

From our whole India experience, I hoped to be able to use and apply my learning to aid future development in these areas upon returning to Ireland. Recently I was

a given the opportunity by EIL to attend a meeting organised by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA). This was regarding their youth-led project to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals, especially MDG 5 (To Improve Maternal Health). There was a particular focus on Target 5B – ‘Achieve, by 2015, universal access to Reproductive Health’.

This September, the United Nations summit is being called to review and accelerate progress towards the MDGs. As the Irish Government are participating in this,

ASK'S Keep Your Promise campaign wants to raise awareness among young Irish people about the importance of achieving this Millennium Development Goal, and make sure that Ireland recognises and supports the health needs of young people at this Summit.

As this issue related directly to my work experience with the FPA India, I was eager to attend the meeting in Dublin with the opportunity to bring as much of my Indian experience with me as possible. This was a great opportunity to discuss this important health issue with a lot of people from different youth organisations, all with various views and experiences in this field. We discussed issues involved in achieving universal access to reproductive health, why young people should be included in the Millennium Development Goals and why MDG 5 is the most off track of all the MDG’s etc.

I've learned a lot more of the Irish situation in comparison the Indian situation as a result of this Internship. Doing my internship in India certainly has its differences from doing one in Ireland. The Indian FPA have bigger issues to face when the Health they are trying to envision is coupled with broader components of development such as alleviation of poverty, stabilization of population and gender equality. This brought a much greater challenge to our work, but I found the difference of working in a Developing country to be more engaging and intriguing to work on.

I feel we could not have learned as much about a Developing country if we had just being working in Ireland and reading about the situation. Definitely as we were living and working in the Indian environment, we gained a greater experience on the Health issues and surrounding problems.

Overall I was very satisfied with my work placement experience. However challenging it may have been at times, in my opinion it was all worthwhile and rewarding in the end.

Ber Keating

Sara and Saraswati in the office of the Family Planning Association during the internship programme in Jaipur, India

Lena — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:21:06 +0000

Sara and Saraswati in the office of the Family Planning Association during the internship programme in Jaipur, India

Ber and Sarah, UCC students on their Public Health Internship in India

Anton — Thu, 27 May 2010 10:37:55 +0000

Ber and Sarah and the staff of the FPAI project - Jauipur - India

Ber and Sarah, Public Helath and Health Promotion Students in UCC tell us about their internship programme in India

Anton — Thu, 27 May 2010 08:57:39 +0000

5 weeks in and we can't believe over one third of our time here has gone already. It is nothing like we had expected. Any previous views we had of India have completely changed for the better. When we remember back to the EIL pre-departure workshop and the chat you gave on culture shock, we really did not realise how much of a cultural difference we were letting ourselves in for. Everything is so unbelievably different and challenging, but we wouldn't want it any other way. It took a little while to take it all in, but after just one week here the place definitely felt like home.

The volunteer house has such a fun and friendly atmosphere, and we're being well taken care of by all the local staff. We've even started yoga at 6am which is a lot of fun. We've done a little traveling at the weekends too which has been so great, but there are so many more places we want to see before we leave. There is always someone who wants to travel with you, so it great having the crowd in the house.

I must admit, the staring from some people took some getting used to. Every second person on the street shouts out 'hello, hello!'. Especially children. And then they get so happy and excited when you say hello back! It's the littliest of things throughout the day that make us so happy. We've had a lot of fun on the buses also. When we first saw the amount of people that packs into them I must say we were a little worried. The concept of running to jump onto the bus had us in stitches laughing the first day. But by now we know all the conductors and have regular chats with the locals on it (who don't have the best of English i'll add). The people over here are some of the nicest and friendliest people we've met in our entire life. We really don't want to leave!

Even though the internship is slightly different from the volunteer programme, we're not missing out on too much. We are working with the Family Planning Association of India (FPAI): “FPA India strengthens a voluntary and non-government commitment to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights including family planning. It supports the rights of individuals to reproductive choices, including legal and safe abortion; works towards reducing the spread and the impact of STIs /HIV/AIDS and increasing access to gender sensitive SRH information, education and services to all especially the young and marginalized and eliminating violence, discrimination, and abuse.”

Our work hours are slightly longer (9.30am-6pm), but everyone at the office is really looking after us. We're based mostly in the office at the moment, reading some literature, getting to know all about the projects and work that the FPAI carries out and trying to come up with our own views and suggestions about further projects to come. We've had a great introduction to the way things are run here, in the office environment and also the different pace at which things are done.

We've had some days out with the field workers in the slum areas also. Mostly observing their work and asking questions where possible. It is mostly women's meetings that we've attended, but with every meeting came a big welcome from all the children, families and neighbours! At the meetings they discuss health issues such as Safe Motherhood, Adolescent and Reproductive health, Family Planning, RTI/STI's, HIV/AIDS and Access to services. We attended a Health Camp one day also. This took place in a very marginalised area where access to services was extremely difficult. Here the FPAI provided a doctor to see the women and children, but also free medications were distributed out where needed. After the day at the camp, it really made us greatful to work with an organisation that carries out such valuable services.

Despite the initial worries about the summer heat in India, we've become well climatised by now. It turned out to be one of the hottest April's that Jaipur has seen with temperatures reaching about 44'C. The nights sometimes can be quite humid, but you just have to get over it with thoughts of a nice cold shower in the morning! The cuisine also is traditional Indian, but we haven’t had any major issues... except for the odd brief encounter with curry/rice for breakfast!

We've learned pretty quickly that to get the most out of India - you must just do as the Indians do. We've had a lot of fun so far doing this. It really helps when you're working with Indian people as it's like everyone is family, and everyone looks out for each other. (This really helps with bargaining with tuc-tuc drivers also!) With all the friends we've made here alone, we'd definitely recommend this experience so far.

Time to say Goodbye

Marius Kulmer — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:02:55 +0000

Time to say Goodbye

My time at the EIL office in Cork is nearly over. As I was hoping at the beginning the time at EIL teached me lots of things. I wish I could turn back time!

Four weeks of Intercultural Experience teached me what motivated and purposeful people can change. Their work make a difference! So I am proud and deeply grateful that I could be part of EIL. In my opinion the mission of EIL deserves to be supported. Because EIL offers you the chance to see behind the curtain and to make changes.

My last weeks were characterized by doing preliminary works for the different people of the office. Thence I get to know all the diverse scopes of duties. From individual programmes, where foreign students attend secondary school in Ireland, to group programmes, where American seniors do a round trip through Ireland and learn about irish history and culture. The rich diversity of programmes is just amazing.

I want to thank everybody for the kindness how I was welcomed into the EIL “family”. I enjoyed the stay very much and therefore I want to thank everybody.

Also I want to thank my host family. They gave me an understanding of Irish life, culture and people. I really appreciated the time with you.

Thanks for the experience!

Marius Kulmer

Intern at EIL Office in Cork

Marius Kulmer — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:54:26 +0000

Intern at EIL Office in Cork: Brendan Kelleher (Manager/ Individual Programmmes) and Marius Kulmer (Intern from Germany) working at the EIL Office in Cork.

Internship at EIL Office in Cork

Marius Kulmer — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:32:04 +0000

Impressions of Ireland

I have been in Ireland for one week now. More precisely I am doing an internship at the “EIL Intercultural Learning” office of Ireland situated in Cork City in the south of Ireland for four weeks. It is the first time for me being in Ireland and it is amazing. But how time flies!

I started work at the EIL office on last Monday. I was really nervous about what would await me. But I had never thought that the staff would be so friendly and warmhearted. I was introduced by Marian, my great adviser, to all members of the office. My working hours are 9.30am-1pm and 2pm-5pm, so I would have enough time to show a great deal of dedication. Most time I am working with the “Data Base” and the “Intranet”, software which is used to administrate information. It is my business to do small jobs for the different persons. My “fellows” are very open-minded, that is why I can ask for help or more work^^ or anything else at any time. All in all I enjoy my stay very much. I get first working experience, improve my English and learn to manage things on my own.

My host family lives in Carrigaline, a village 15km from Cork City Centre. I was very cordially received. They are really kind, warm and generous. Sometimes I feel like an au pair, because of the two incredible hyperactive, but nevertheless nice and lovely kids. My most impressing experience until now was the view of the seaside of Roches Point in the first evening. I was not expecting to see as many characteristics, I had heard of Ireland, at the same place: steep cliffs, rocks, rough sea and green hills.

The nature is awesome. The people are amazing. The weather is…unpredictable.

Marius Kulmer (German intern at EIL Office in Cork)

Intern at EIL Office in Cork

Marius Kulmer — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:49:56 +0000

Marian Kelly (Administrative Officer) and Marius Kulmer (Intern from Germany) working at the EIL Office in Cork.