“The main lesson I have learned in the last few weeks has been regarding the multifaceted nature of armed violence, the numerous issues one must address in order to make a difference.”
Darya, Criminology
Internship Country: South Sudan
Canadian NGO: Mines Action Canada
Local NGO: South Sudan Action Network on Small Arms (SSANSA)
The circumstances of my internship have not changed much over the last few weeks in terms of my growing relationship with my host NGO and my Canadian partner NGO. However, my communication with my host NGO as well as my knowledge regarding armed violence and landmine clearance has grown greatly over the past few weeks. I have been able to build on my knowledge week to week, keeping myself up to date on events that occurred in previous weeks.
Working remotely in Canada and not being in South Sudan has often made me feel as though I am unable to fully understand the advocacy my host NGO does, however working at a distance has also come with some advantages. I do Weekly Media Monitoring Reports for my host NGO, gathering news regarding the political, social, and economic state in South Sudan as well as incidences of violence, allowing me on a weekly basis to update myself on events that occurred the week before. I only involve the news headlines I find crucial for my host NGO to be aware of in these reports, however I also read all the other news headlines for each day of the week from my home or from my phone throughout the day. This has allowed me to make myself as informed as possible regarding the state of South Sudan, even if that means reading an article regarding an influential individuals failure to visit the state. I am also able to continue with my daily life while completing such tasks for my host NGO
I also met with my supervisor at my host NGO and was able to learn more in depth about the driving force behind their advocacy and how it is done. I was previously aware that their main goal is to advocate against armed violence, but I did not know all the angles at which they approach the issue. I learned that one of their main focuses is civilian disarmament, addressing where the guns are supplied from as well as why civilians have a demand for these weapons, what motivates civilians to acquire firearms to begin with and in what context they are used. Often these weapons are obtained by citizens because they feel unsafe in their own homes, in their own communities, or they want to get justice against those who have perpetrated crimes and armed violence against them. Addressing the supply of these weapons is also crucial to the SSANSA, figuring out where they are imported from and which borders they must cross to get into South Sudan.
I have been getting more assignments from my host NGO, tasks which are often research based, gathering information on a specific topic given to me by my supervisor then summarizing the key points from numerous sources of information into a short report. For my Canadian partner NGO, the tasks are also research based but are often centered around advocacy for a certain piece of legislation and why it is crucial to the issue of landmine clearance. On the day to day my workload has increased, as I have more communication now with my host NGO, I get more assignments which I try to do over the span of the week, working through them each day.
The main lesson I have learned in the last few weeks has been regarding the multifaceted nature of armed violence, the numerous issues one must address in order to make a difference. I have already learned a great deal from my internship, meeting one of my main goals when I started this internship which was to learn more regarding the issues of armed violence and landmine clearance. I look forward to continuing my internship and gaining even more knowledge regarding such issues.