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"Speaking with locals and living in a country is the best way to learn about the real lives of citizens, not just the stories in the mainstream media. I will be more critical of what I read as a result of this experience. I also feel even more grateful for my education, and I feel a stronger responsibility to assist others who do not have resources or access to opportunities in their communities."

Maria Skouras (New York University) volunteered in 2011 as a Peace Fellow for eHomemakers in Malaysia.

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The Fellowship Pr... > Blogging for Peace > 2006 > AP Interns Confro...

AP Interns Confront Harsh Realities, June 13, 2006

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AdvocacyNet
Intern Update, Volume 4#2, June 13, 2006
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The Advocacy Project's 18 summer interns are blogging on the AP website about their summer assignments. The interns are working with community-based partner organizations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Italy, Guatemala, Nigeria, Fiji, Palestinian Territories, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and India. Excerpts from their blogs follow. Read more on the 2006 internship program.

Highlights:

The Hypocrisy of Prostitution in Lagos

Jessica Sewall (Georgetown University) is working for women's rights in Nigeria with the Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON).

"At 3 a.m. in the red light district of Lagos, dozens of young Nigerian girls in scantily clad clothing solicit cars driving slowly through the dark streets...All the women are black, and all the men are white. The average age of the white men is approximately 40 to 50, a mix of American, British, and other miscellaneous European backgrounds, no doubt here in Lagos on business with wives and children back home."

Activism More Than a Job in Nepal

Stacey Spivey (Georgetown University) is working for lower caste Dalit with the Jagaran Media Center.

"My initial impression of dedication and passion from the meeting was confirmed the next morning as Suvash Darnal, JMC's executive director, explained to me the difficulties and danger of being a human rights activist in Nepal. 'As a human rights activist you can be killed at any moment. Killed. It's not a job. It's your life.'"

Kosovo Before and After the War

Barbra Bearden (American University) is working for women's rights in Kosovo with the Kosova Women's Network.

"It's hard to imagine that the little old man sitting drinking his coffee may have once carried a gun (an automatic none the less). From what I have heard though, during the occupation everyone had something to protect their homes."

Blaming Prostitution on Evil Spirits in Italy

Anya Gorovets (NYU) is working to prevent human trafficking with TAMPEP in Italy.

"Yesterday I met Pastor Patience from the Captain Jesus Power Ministry. She started by explaining that most Nigerian victims of trafficking are suffering from "water spirits."

Bonding Over Coffee in Bosnia

Yvette Barnes (Georgetown University) is working for women refugees and survivors in Bosnia with Bosfam.

"Coffee in BiH is the ubiquitous symbol of bonding; it's like tea in England or chia in Nepal. Between Bosnians, nothing gets said or done unless it is over a cup of coffee. Of course in one sitting you may have as much as two or three cups refilled consistently by the host."

Combining Marketing and Weaving Skills in Kuala Lumpur

Melissa Muscio (Tufts University) is working on women's development with ehomemakers in Malaysia.

"With a non-profit that is helping women to run a business, we encounter the problems of cash flow and marketing, mark-ups and profits. The women need to be taught not only the skills of basket-weaving, but basic business principles: once costs are covered, how much more must be added onto the market price for goods?"

Unable to Avoid Poverty in Delhi

Donna Laverdiere (Duke University) is working for street children with Butterflies in Delhi.

" I turned my head and looked out the side of the rickshaw at the sights I see every day as I speed around sitting in my privileged seat: babies wandering on sidewalks, dirty and naked; small children sleeping in twos and threes in the hot sun on the hard cement next to busy intersections; mothers with missing limbs walking up to me, motioning with their hands to indicate they need food for their children."

Behind the Scenes of Nepal's Dalit Politics

Nicole Cordeau (Georgetown University) is working for Nepal's Dalit (lowest caste) with the Jagaran Media Center.

"Still, as appears to be the norm in this maddening yet wonderful country, nobody paid any attention to the official program. Instead, the conference's real business was being conducted in furtive conversations outside of the convention hall. In these, the women were every bit as active as the men."

Getting Acquainted With Kabul

Alison Long (American University) is working for girl's education with the Oruj Learning Center in Afghanistan.

"After one week in Kabul, I can now tell the difference between: A gunshot and construction work. A RPG (rocket propelled grenade) and a speeding car that is missing certain crucial parts. Tanks and garbage trucks."

Facing the Reality of Trafficking in Nigeria

Laura Cardinal (Columbia University) is working for victims of human trafficking with the Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON).

"To be taken by someone you trust, to believe that you have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to pull yourself and your family out of the cycle of poverty, and then to be betrayed and sold into modern-day slavery is a nightmare so horrific that despite it being my entire reason for being in Nigeria, I still can not think about it." 

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