Cristian Greenwood, a recent graduate from Southampton University, talks about his background and how he came to be working with Project HOPE UK on a 6 month internship:
“Although I studied Applied Social Sciences at university, specialising in Anthropology, and want to pursue a career in International Development, my interest in the inequalities among different communities of the globe goes back to my childhood. I’m half Colombian, and it was on a family holiday to Colombia when I was eleven years old, that I became fully aware of the differences between the lives of people in developed countries and those in other parts of the world. On a visit to a prehistoric site in a remote mountain area, a group of young native children tried to sell us fossils, for which they spent all day digging on the mountainside in dangerous conditions. The contrast between their lives and mine was so great that the incident has stuck in my memory ever since, and from it came my inspiration to try and make a difference to the lives of people less fortunate than me.”
“After I left university in summer 2008, I applied to a number of UK-based charities for placements to get some experience in the sector. I joined Project HOPE in March 2009, and am working on a proposal to submit to various charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who would be interested in funding field research in to violence and sexual crimes committed against orphans and other vulnerable children (OOVCs) in Gauteng Province, South Africa. As well as gathering evidence on the extent of the problem, the research project will also define ways to try and mitigate the impact of these crimes on the children, working with organisations already established in the region.”
“I’m spending two days a week at Project HOPE, and the rest of my time is divided between working for a charity fundraiser and in a designer clothes shop, as well as learning to drive! After this placement, I would like to work for a charity to get some further work experience in the sector, whilst saving to go to South America. My next step will be to go and work there with disadvantaged indigenous communities who lack access to opportunities for education, housing and employment, as well as travelling the sub-continent and becoming fluent in Spanish.”
“After 3-4 years of work and travel, I plan to return to the UK to study for a Masters in International Development or Demographic Statistics, which I will then use in my career helping to improve the lives of people less fortunate than me, while at the same time maintaining my interest in human nature, people and cultures of the world.”
For more details of internships with Project HOPE UK, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment