Group Engage: Community Development Internships with FSD JINJA UGANDA

I traveled to Uganda for the first time in 2018 and was able to have a fulfilling and productive experience with FSD. Before departure, I appreciated how the site team reached out to chat with me about any questions and concerns I had and made sure to answer them as fully as possible. While I was with my host organization in-country, I knew that while I was with them in a nearby community, the site team was available to contact at any point. Because of the leadership and structure at FSD Jinja, and its partnerships with various organizations in the community, I was able to work with a team of students to promote sustainability and live in the culture of the country. I would highly recommend this internship to anyone who is looking for a unique, sometimes uncomfortable, but highly rewarding experience.

I immensely enjoyed working in education with children and adolescents who were very clearly eager to learn. I was privileged enough to enjoy a beautiful bond with them and felt very much respected and trusted by the school and the surrounding community. I helped to promote good academic habits and develop education curricula. I think of my time at St Stephens School every single day with warm memories. I also developed personal skills by learning the process of writing a grant and collaborating with community members to pursue objectives THEY deemed to be necessary. Learning the process of how to properly engage the community and determine their needs based on their perspective is invaluable and a skill set i will surely be using time and again.

The experience of being able to come to this country and work with the people there was something that I never expected to have the impact on me that it did. I went there not knowing really what to expect and was blown away with how friendly everyone was and how welcome I felt. This experience was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I will carry the memories and experience that I received in everything that I do from this point forward. If someone is looking for an experience that will give you an opportunity that is not normally offered into experience something that you’ve not experienced before than this is the opportunity that you’re looking for. I have made lifelong friends and worked with people that I would not have had the opportunity to. I strongly recommend this program to anyone that wants to help make a difference and make new friends and family.

I loved my summer abroad working with FSD. The unique program model is perfectly suited for sustainable development. The site team, made up of locals, is incredibly knowledgeable on the topics they teach and care so much about the sustainability of the projects. Agency of the partner organizations is key and projects are directly developed with the local communities they serve. I cannot even begin to express how much I learned during my internship. I would 100% recommend this program for anyone that is seeking to have a rewarding experience in a way that respects local communities. Often times, programs such as these focus exclusively on the volunteer and work that is done is counter-productive to actual development. However, I found that this is absolutely not the case for FSD.