Intern in Africa with Omprakash

Name: Intern in Africa with Omprakash
Brand: Omprakash
SKU: 255698
Rating: 5 (3 reviews)

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Location

Multiple Locations +17

Malawi
Zambia
Mozambique
Tanzania
Uganda
Kenya
Ethiopia
Ghana
Togo
Cameroon
Mauritania
Sierra Leone
Morocco
South Africa
Rwanda
Cape Verde
Senegal

Industry

Accounting Animal Science Arts Business Computer Science Dentistry Economics Engineering Environmental Studies Film Journalism Law Marketing Nursing Photography Psychology Public Health Public Policy Social Work Startups Wildlife Sciences +11

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Program Details

Timeframe

Year Round

Last Updated: Sep 29, 2023

Last Reviewed: Aug 24, 2018

Wish List

5 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Omprakash facilitates beneficial & educational relationships between social grassroots organizations and interns who wish to volunteer in Africa. As a volunteer, Omprakash will assist you in connecting directly with our network of 200+ vetted Partner organizations working in 50+ countries on a wide range of projects.

Our award-winning online training and mentorship program, Widening Circles EdGE (Education through Global Engagement), is designed to increase learning, critical reflection, and overall impact before, during, and after volunteers' international experiences. While you don't need to participate in the Widening Circles EdGE program to find a volunteer position through our network, we highly recommend volunteers participate to gain mentorship, training, support, and more throughout their volunteering or Gap Year journey.

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Scholarships

Omprakash Ethical Global Engagement Grants

Ethical Global Engagement Grants support travel, living, and EdGE tuition expenses for exceptional candidates. The expectation is that recipients join the Widening Circles EdGE learning community and then volunteer or intern (online or in-person) with an Omprakash Partner organization, typically for at least 3 months. These grants target different audiences and offer varying levels of support. All share the purpose of broadening access to learning opportunities within Omprakash programs and throughout the Omprakash network. The range of scholarships includes

EdGE Tuition Scholarship: EdGE Scholarships offer partial or full tuition reductions to Widening Circles EdGE participants.

EdGE Travel Grant: For those committed to volunteer for at least three months with an Omprakash partner, with grants ranging between $500 and $1,500.

Crowdfund Matching Grants: Crowdfund Matching Grants offer up to $1,500 in matching funds for EdGE students who are using the Omprakash Crowdfund platform.

Value

$500 - $1,500

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Program Reviews

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Omprakash is truly a one of a kind organization whose main goal is to first educate volunteers going abroad so that they will have not only a real authentic experience, but at the same time, learn about the ethics, proper awareness, and appropriate ways of helping those in need.

I highly recommend taking their EDGE program as it's truly educational (even for a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) and will help volunteer travelers have the right perspective, knowledge, and attitude that will help prepare them for their work or projects that they will go into.

Omprakash's fees are also very affordable, transparent, and really mostly goes towards their partners. They even provide scholarships to applicants that might need them.

I'm really thankful for Omprakash and for the wonderful and educational experience I've had with one of their partner organization. I wish many others will also have the same opportunity.

Omprakash employs some of the most amazing people. Throughout my entire experience in the EDgE program, I always had someone supporting me, guiding me, and encouraging me to look at the world in new ways. The online course content provided a range of topics from good intentions vs. unintended consequences, inequality vs. globalization, environmental justice, confronting our context, and praxis: reflection, dialogue, and action. Each week I was challenged to think deeply on each subject, and I finished the course feeling very knowledgeable about the world of international volunteerism. Through the Omprakash network of international partners, I decided to focus on education and social change and coordinated an internship in Uganda as an English teacher and outreach volunteer at an organization serving local street youth. While I was there, I truly felt immersed in a completely different world. Everyday I was learning new things about local tribes, cultural practices, the history of poverty in the area, and so much more. Even better, I could see how topics in the EDgE course related to inequality and education in the area. I ran into some very difficult, unpredictable situations while there. However, despite being on a completely different continent with an 8 hour time difference, the Omprakash team helped me every bit of the way. I felt like I always had someone to rely on who was knowledgeable and willing to go to any length to make sure that I was comfortable. Throughout my experience abroad, I was studying the perception of street youth in the area to write a paper on the topic for my EDgE capstone. Had I not done EDgE or volunteered through Omprakash, I don't think I would have had the knowledge or skills to create a thoughtful research paper like I did. My experience was been a wonderful opportunity for learning valuable skills and personal growth (and I know that I am not unique in that! EdGE rocks and my friends that went through the program with me have equally positive stories). I am very excited to volunteer abroad next summer and to see how my perspective of social change grows and shifts.

I first came across Omprakash in 2012 while preparing for what in hindsight, became my "gap year" between my bachelors and my masters. I was immediately impressed with Omprakash's plethora of organizations to work with around the world. I knew I wanted to go to Cameroon and work with youth and/or community development - the website was easy to navigate and I was able to find many options that fit my needs. I was awarded a travel grant and became part of the pilot-EdGE program.

For 6 months I worked for two different NGOs in Buea, Cameroon and ended up doing my EdGE capstone comparing the two grassroots organizations. This opportunity not only built my resume, gave my priceless experience on the ground but it also allowed me to make connections and find a paid job to continue my stay in Cameroon. While abroad, I felt immense support from all Omprakash members and both of my mentors. When I had problems or questions - they were right by my side.

Additionally, I visited other Omprakash affiliated organizations during my time in Cameroon which was really exciting to learn about other projects in the country. I highly recommend seeking and internship or study abroad opportunity with them. Their staff is knowledgeable, compassionate and reliable - they have a wide variety of partners around the world so you are bound to find a good match!

What would you improve about this program?

More training and now just for EdGE participants.

Questions & Answers

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

What is your favorite travel memory?

Many of my favorite memories of travel are actually those moments where the line between traveling and living in a place began to blur; the moments where you realize you’re beginning to form close relationships with people and the place, rather than just passing through anonymously.

If I had to choose one standout travel memory – not a favorite memory per se but a formative one – it would be arriving in Cambodia to volunteer abroad for the first time, during my gap year almost a decade ago. I remember the excitement and sense of adventure I felt at the time, as well as what I now realize to be the problematic ideas I had about my place in the community and the 'help' I thought I could give.

It is interesting to think back on that moment, in light of how quickly my preconceptions began to crumble in the following weeks, days and months, giving way to the more complicated and often uncomfortable, but ultimately much more fulfilling, journey I’m still on.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

As an Anthropology student, you’re encouraged to ask questions – that’s what I loved about it – but I often felt the itch to start putting it into action. However, when it came time to put what I learnt in the classroom into action, I was disappointed to find that most organizations wanted me to leave my questions at the door and just get it done, with little room for reflection or conversation.

By contrast, Omprakash is an organization that encourages continuous questioning – and therefore continuous learning and growth – not only in its students, but also amongst its many Partners, and within the admin team.

This has allowed me to begin to explore what happens when thoughtful action, radical questioning, and open dialogue come together. It has taught me to embrace complexity, rather than trying to sift through and try to distil it. It has encouraged me to keep asking more questions, even when I feel I’ve found the answer.

My work with Omprakash over the past few years has allowed me to grow personally, as well as professionally. Working at Omprakash is not just a job – it’s an all-encompassing project, that is as much a spiritual, intellectual, and communal endeavor as it is an occupation.

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What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

The best conversations I’ve had with return students are those in which they explain the transformative effects of their time abroad and the connections they’ve made with people. For some, an Omprakash Grant enabled them to travel abroad for the first time… Others are seasoned travelers, but our EdGE training and mentorship program opened their eyes to a whole new way of seeing, interacting, and being in the world.

It’s been amazing to see students I’ve personally mentored undergo this transformation during their time abroad, and equally inspiring to have volunteers from 5+ years ago (way before I had become a part of Omprakash!) get in touch just to say how life-changing their EdGE and volunteer experience was for them, and how it continues to influence them years later.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

Omprakash doesn’t really offer programs – rather than ‘placing’ students with organizations, we help students to connect with our Partner organizations directly, and work out mutually beneficial volunteer arrangements from there…

Our network of 180+ Partners is wonderfully diverse; each organization has its own unique makeup, vision, and social change mission, and I’m sure there is so much I could learn from each of from them! I have actually been lucky enough to have the chance to meet numerous Partners in South America, and speak to many more online.

I am excited to have the chance to meet dozens more of our Partners in Africa this Fall, as Omprakash will be hosting their fourth Partner Conference in collaboration with one of our Ghanaian Partners in Accra.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

What makes Omprakash unique is the depth of commitment each member of the team has to our fundamental mission of facilitating learning through relationships. Although we have a lot going on in the day to day, the team never neglects or sacrifices this vision.

I am most proud of my team members for their openness to different opinions, and willingness to embrace the complexity of issues in the volunteering industry and beyond. Rather than trying to avoid difficult issues or discussions, they lean in to complex debates, and endeavor every day to put theory into practice, while continuing to question our own position within this space.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

In purely financial terms, we are certainly not the most “successful” volunteer company (we are actually a non-profit, rather than a company), but I do believe that Omprakash is extremely “successful,” if we define success in terms of staying true to our mission.

I think what makes Omprakash successful in creating and sustaining meaningful partnerships and facilitating transformational learning opportunities is a commitment to continual learning, openness to adapt, and unwillingness to compromise the values that emerge from this process of continual reflection and respectful dialogue.

About Omprakash

Since 2005, Omprakash has been dedicated to building mutually beneficial & educational relationships between grassroots social impact organizations (our Partners) and volunteers, donors & classrooms around the world who can learn from & support their work. We help volunteers connect directly with our network of 200+ vetted Partners in 50+ countries...