Internship Excursion!

         My internship has mostly consisted of editing grant reports and composing reports on events that GWED-G (Gulu Women's Economic Development and Globalization) has previously participated in the past. But one morning last week I got the chance to take a break from all that. I jumped into a GWED-G Toyota Landcruiser along with Ms. Pamela Angwech, executive director of GWED-G, and Sandra, a member of the GWED-G staff. GWED-G was hosting a three-day training session for various organizations associated with UYONET (Uganda Youth Network) at the Mwokka Hotel (less than a ten minute drive away). The three of us walked in and set up shop; we made sure registration was going smoothly and everyone was accounted for, plugged in our laptops, and refined all details concerning presentations and group activities.    

        And in a matter of thirty minutes, the training session was underway. A total of three lectures, one of which was GWED-G’s very own Pam Angwech, presented crucial non-profit information on organizational and financial management, along with policy implementation and funding. People were constantly asking questions and looking for networking opportunities to strengthen their organizations. That day, Hotel Mwokka was a hub of idea exchange and growth.      

       The participants in the session weren’t the only ones who gained new knowledge and insights within the non-profit world—I did too. Learning and seeing the impacts that all these amazing local organizations are making within their communities is inspiring. From my own observation and experience, these local and more community-based organizations make a bigger, more lasting impact than any international NGO. This is partially due to international NGOs not understanding the people they are serving needs and hopes for their community, much less their culture.

       Talking with people at this training session further made me think critically about the type of organization I would want to work and associate with in the future. It is important for me to support and be apart of sustainable institutions that directly caters to the communities needs-- not one that imposes their ideas and leaves a community in worse shape than what they found it in.           

       Thank you GWED-G for the opportunities and experiences that you give me everyday!