MICRO FINANCE PILOT STUDY & DEVELOPMENT

An intern, although also not being paid, is different from a Gap-year volunteer as they are expected to bring some knowledge and/or experience in the area they are working in. There are fewer internship posts available so competition for these is higher. Interns will be working at a more career focused strategic level and developing local capacity to work effectively and with meaning, as well as gaining valuable hands-on, practical experience during their placement. Interns are also expected to take on more responsibility and to create their own goals and seek activities to be involved in or lead. They will also have a mentor assigned to them to guide them during the internship.

Upon arrival, our team will assist our interns with getting started, meeting their partners if they are off campus, and advising them on next steps. Our interns, then have the exibility to create their own schedule with their partners, and together create a plan of action of goals to achieve whilst working together. For this reason, it is important that the word “partner” remain key throughout the experience. Our interns have a world of expertise to offer, however all goals should be created together with the in-country partner so the outcomes are sustainable even after the intern returns home. We do not expect our interns to take on a job position, but rather take on the role of advisor; offering advice, suggestions and assistance in creating strategies that will make long term impacts.

The focus of the Micro Finance Pilot and Development project will be to work in collaboration with our 6 Neighborhood Care Points (NCP’s), which operate in rural areas of Swaziland and cater to vulnerable and orphaned children. These NCP’s were set up by the All Out Africa Foundation, in and effort to keep children stay in school longer, do better in school and hopefully in uence their lives as adults. These NCP’s are community based facilities and include assistance from local volunteers in the form of cooking staff, teachers and assistance who often work towards our common goals with little to no incentive. The Micro Finance project offers these local volunteers a way to earn an income.