Intern Experience at SIHMA - Angelique
My internship program at the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa (SIHMA) was a fantastic experience. I am a Business Management student and I never imagined that a research internship would be a perfect match for my degree. My experience at SIHMA has taught me that there is cohesion between business and research. During my internship I learned how to conduct research that contributes to the in-depth reporting of migrant issues and refugee problems in specific countries. I also had to edit some content created by Scalabrini Center of Cape Town for the SIHMA website. In only two months I have learned valuable skills from this internship and would like to apply them in my career in the future.
October 7, 2019, I started my internship at SIHMA, which is a research institute established in Cape Town, South Africa in 2014. Fr. Filippo Ferraro, Missionary of St.Charles, is the Executive Director of SIHMA and Coordinator of all social projects of the Scalabrinian Congregation in Africa. He is also in charge of the Communication management of the Institute. He was my internship supervisor. I was also assisted by two wonderful ladies Maria Taglioli (external consultant) and Deborah Zen (SIHMA office assistant) who guided me a lot through my internship period. When I met the Director of SIHMA the first day, he first discussed the structure of the organization, its different objectives, introduced his team as well as the two other interns who were to start the internship the same day as me. I discovered that this organization helped me develop my confidence to work with people. Thanks to all the knowledge received I am much more aware of migration policy and regulation in Africa. During my internship, I was in charge of the following tasks:
- Write two articles for publication on the SIHMA website in the named “Migration Blog” section. The contents of this article came from two major reports made by the Scalabrini Center at Cape at 2019 which are the: Annual Report of the Scalabrini Center of Cape Town and A Journalist’s Guide Report Migration In South Africa. The goal in this article is to highlight and take keys words, the necessary information found in each of these reports, and finally write an article drawing the attention of the viewers to want to read in depth these two great reports and from another perspective, to promote the activities that the Center does.
- I was also asked to do in depth research on Migration in Nigeria, and while doing so familiarize myself with all the topics that were in the Atlas of Migration Checklist. The Atlas of Migration is a reference of work that guided my research and was organized by Maria Taglioli, SIHMA’s external consultant. The purpose of this research was to set up basic information on the problems of migration in African countries, and finally to make the task a little easier to other Interns in the future.
My internship period, though short, was enriching experience and helped to further strengthen my confidence and ability to work with people. I have also been able to gain more knowledge on the evolution of migration policy in Africa in particular and global migration in general as well as a clear understanding of regulations, and all the issues that concern migrants and refugees in Africa and the rest of the world. Through my internship I developed interpersonal skills, effective group communication and intellectual abilities all of which can help me to improve my future career. I am satisfied with this internship and I would like to recommend it to anyone who has the chance to experience it.
From Angelique Mbumb Massak
Categories:
Tags: