I am delighted to reflect on my three-month internship in Ghana, where I interned at the Child Research and Resource Centre in Accra (CCRECENT). Going into this experience, I could not have guessed what lay ahead. To my amazement, I obtained more lessons, self-growth, and intercultural awareness than I anticipated. This post is framed as a letter to my past self, using prompting questions to reflect on my positionality, experiences, and worldviews.
1. What was it like to be back home, and how did the experiences change you?
Despite being born in Ghana, not being back home since you were 12 meant you faced a new set of cultural differences, customs, and norms. One of the most significant changes you noticed was recognizing a shift in where you wanted to focus your career. Given that you worked at a research and resource centre, you were privileged to have the opportunity to go to local schools and speak with children about their home, school, and community lives. By sparking conversations with supervisors within your organization and parents of the children you interviewed, you learned about the shortcomings of school policies that affected children's ability to perform well and sometimes impaired their access to school. For example, education in Ghana is free, and some schools also have free meal programs. You were surprised to discover that exam fees per term, along with uniform costs, still burden families. Likewise, less than a Canadian dollar is allotted for each child as the meal budget. Due to the staggeringly low prices for school lunches, children often do not eat the meals and are pushed to bring a meal to school.
Additionally, when you were leaving, the school's principal asked you to donate notebooks and storybooks to the school when you returned home. She further explained the nation's problems with inadequate funding for schools. These experiences made you recognize the importance of policy. This made you think about the leadership required for various domains in a country to thrive and for policies to be upheld and overseen to function effectively; therefore, while your university degree is in International Education Studies, you realized that you wish to continue your education in fields that will grow your knowledge in public policy, global development, and educational leadership.
2. What did you learn about yourself?
Throughout your time, you made it your biggest priority to foster change and growth. From the pre-departure course you took, you made note of strengthening weaker career competencies and continuing the competencies you were strong in. With creativity and innovation, you gave yourself a seven, the lowest score. In providing evidence for your score, you stated that you create music and poetry, enjoy interior design, and allow your academic writing to reflect your unique writing style and personality. While on placement, you learned that your creativity and innovation were stronger than you thought. For example, when writing program proposals, you used your background knowledge to develop intricate and cross-cultural program plans and activities. You were applauded for your innovation and creative thinking when developing programs. You did not know you could do this. You left your placement feeling very proud and surprised.
You also noted technological ability as one of your career competencies and ranked yourself an eight. I feel that this could have been ranked lower, as you now feel more knowledgeable about your technological abilities. For instance, during your placement, you created and posted digital media content for the organization, created and used spreadsheets more than ever, and created templates for group collaboration.
You learned the importance of going outside of your comfort zone by taking on activities that required utilizing the career skills you wished to work on; they brought much more satisfaction than imagined, which taught you to believe in yourself.
3. What did you learn about the challenges of global justice and social equality?
In Ghana, there are many injustices that the citizens face due to corrupt government systems and ineffective governance of laws and regulations. Therefore, in a state of flawed leadership, people face hardened lives and struggle to make ends meet. Moreover, you observed how the nation's natural conditions and social elements contribute to the struggle. For example, many children came to you begging for money. They will cling to your clothes and not let you go. You wish citizens of the world could stop and ask themselves how we can better these humanitarian issues. You directly heard from those you met wishing they weren't Ghanaian because of the faith in the country that had left their hearts. You were equally shocked to learn that occupations such as teachers, cleaners, or bus drivers make around a dollar a day. And doctors make under sixty dollars a month. This showed you the severe social and global justice inequalities affecting millions worldwide. Moreover, it sheds light on the saddening truth that, despite there being enough money in the world to solve world hunger, homelessness, and poverty, the priorities of the high elites and financial stakeholders do not extend graciously to improve the economic state of countries in need. It also became clear that change has to start within the country. The internal actors in the county must actively and adamantly demand change. Through conversations with many people on these subject matters, you concluded that one way to resolve this is by electing leaders who will justly allocate funds to help the citizens and put the needs of the people before their self-interest.
Unfortunately, you learned that politics in Ghana are not taken seriously, and people will elect leaders for the sake of voting within their party, regardless of the candidate's history, promises, and worldviews. As much as you may want to point to outside factors to fix the problems, it is an even greater obligation for the people of Ghana to reject the old and unyielding ways.
4. Are you closer to being a global citizen?
One of the greatest advantages of this trip for you was your sense of connectedness to the global community. You listened to Ghanaians' perceptions of the Western world, and you connected to their ideas and informed their understanding just as much as they inspired yours. You valued having this contrast and duality of knowledge, and you knew then that you must visit more places. It is so rich—the feeling of coming from multiple places and adding value and experience to your experiences and ideologies. The willingness to learn, adapt, and consider new cultural and global systems is what you deem a global citizen.
This internship allowed you to connect with yourself and liberate your misconceptions about African societies. You saw tradition rooted in the customs of social interaction and ceremonies and noticed modernization in infrastructure and technology. Most importantly, you remembered that global-mindedness is the ability to ask questions, understand privilege and inequality, celebrate diversity, and conceptualize your being on this earth as part of a larger community.
5. Were your moral perspectives and personal beliefs solidified or changed?
You felt the spark of passion and inspiration in the work you completed, such as creating digital media and conducting a report on the triggers of delinquent behaviour in schoolchildren. People often merely speak about travelling the world and engaging with different groups of people, and there you are, doing it. This is the beginning of an evolving interest in this field of study. Going outside of your comfort level at times while doing field research showed you your capabilities, and it made clear the emphasis on doing what inspires you without hesitation.
Change can only take place through action, and so you must be the one to take charge and follow your vision for a better world. That is why you extended your partnership with your organization to work with them once you were in Canada. You learned how important it is to do the right thing, such as staying on to assist when help is needed, and your belief in equal access to education, child protection, and national development grew because of it.
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