
Today was the first day at our internships. I’m
interning at Molo Songololo which is a non-profit organization that focuses on
children’s rights with a particular emphasis on child sex trafficking. The
morning commute to my internship proved more challenging than the
transportation exercise that we did last week suggested. Morning traffic in
Cape Town is atrocious. Every minibus taxi that was going in the direction we
needed was full and passed right by us. I was so worried that I’d be late and
wouldn’t make it on time that I went back to the house and ordered an Uber. I
just couldn’t bear the thought of being late on the first day! Luckily, I made
it right on time! I’ll admit I felt like the new kid on the first day of school
when I walked in. The morning was off to a slow start and I spent the day
reading up on the literature regarding child pornography, child sex
trafficking, sexual abuse and assault and other related topics as well as
research that Molo has conducted independently. I also perused through some of
Molo’s own publications regarding their vision and accomplishments, legislation
they have worked to get passed through Parliament and old children’s
newsletters that used to be distributed in all of the schools during apartheid.
I was re-introduced to the staff and given an overview of what projects are on
the docket for Molo and I can honestly say that this office STAYS BUSY. They
are truly committed to their cause of being advocates for the children of South
Africa in every way: from arts campaigns, projects on HIV/AIDS awareness, Youth
Empowerment programs for young men and women, to passing legislation for an
Ombudsperson (a government position that would focus on ensuring children’s
rights are being upheld in the country) etc. At every step of the way for each
of their programs they are always making sure that they are collecting
information from a focus group of children to see how they can make the
programs better and to ensure that the programs that are being created are of
use to the population that we are trying to help. Everything is for the kids and
by the kids and I’ve never seen an organization operate so authentically on
their mission statement. As I begin to learn more about each of the projects,
they will allow me to choose which project I wish to be involved in. I look
forward to really diving into the work! One of my favorite moments from my
first day was how I was able to introduce blueberries to my co-workers as many
of them have not had them before. I asked them to recommend a fruit that I may
not have ever had and one of my colleagues suggested a grendela (which I later
found out is a passionfruit) and then offered to bring me one the next
day! It’s a small example, but already
we are teaching one another different things and offering new experiences. I’m
excited for the road ahead. J
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