Said, Masters Political Science, United Nations Association of Canada, Kenya, UN-Habitat
Aside from my work with my supervisor discussing global homelessness, I found another assignment within U.N Habitat. It is a recycling project within Matharare, Kenya and it aims to raise funds to contact North American universities. The goal is to ask them to provide assistance and collaborate with us to establish a recycling program.
For this project, I worked primarily with other students. We divided into teams, each having a separate goal. My team worked on creating a list of clubs at North American universities that were either recycling or African orientated. My focus was less on my own work but working within a group. This involved planning and collaboration not just within my own team but also with the other teams in order to meet our goal through weekly meetings.
Being abroad, there was a little miscommunication at first regarding tasks. Everyone was in different time zones, so communicating on time was difficult. However, I overcame these obstacles by remaining in contact with my team through group conversations. For me, this experience has emphasized the importance of teamwork regarding people in similar positions as me.
To reach our goals, it was important to meet deadlines. I always kept this in mind when working on my assignments. I found working in a team of fellow interns enjoyable as for most of my internship, I worked independently. Having others constantly giving me feedback allowed me to correct and improve at a faster pace. As well, it was nice to work with other students going through the same experience as me. Through this, I felt we could understand each other a bit more. As my internship approaches the end, I have been satisfied with this project and the work I have done.