Food Grade Storage Buckets

The beginning and the start of the internship

"Watch your thoughts. - They are the beginning of your deeds"

That is a saying in China, which my inspiration for doing that I will make my first question about the motives for this internship:

What has brought me to this internship in the field and in the country to attend? Why I applied just in the non-governmental organization ICROSS in Kenya and what expectations I had in relation to the internship?

I am 21 years old and a student since fall 2005 "Policy and Law" in Münster. My study, in particular my last internship, which I completed in summer 2006 in the state parliament in Dusseldorf, aroused in me a special interest in international relations, development policy and foreign cultures. Furthermore, I was the global importance of numerous international and global problems and challenges facing our world is aware. The central relevance of this issue within the international policy motivated me to put up with me Stäke these areas apart. As a result, I was engaged in the subsequent period of profound summarized with development, international and foreign policy issues and soon after my decision to attend as an intern in this field.

I sat I am grappling with questions of which goals I pursue this internship and to what extent the internship attend to it. Since I wanted primarily serve an internship in development policy and international relations, was immediately clear to me that this internship be taken abroad in order to gain in-depth and realistic insight into the structures, cultures and everyday lives. Through contacts and a little help I found the non-governmental organization ICROSS (International Community for the Relief of Suffering and Starvation), with one of their headquarters in Kenya. After visiting the ICROSS's website and some research on the organization was soon discovered that an internship there, under that organization, would meet my expectations.

whether and if so, what positive things through the internship could be ultimately achieved and in what direction they would be going, so at this point was still unclear ...

started after successful contacts and application to ICROSS my internship in Kenya on 15.08.2007 and should include a period of eight weeks.

After a long flight, I arrived at the airport on the evening of Nairobi and presented promptly determine immediately that in this country so a lot different than I'm used to from Germany ...
still at the airport I met for the first time the "Kenyan chaos," because the airport of Nairobi is very small and manageable, but there is there a lively jumble of what presented itself for a person like me who loves the structure and programming, even as the first challenge.

Clear structures, I soon understood, are, in some places in Kenya "shortage" ... should be

After I had taken three very nice ICROSS members from the team feel welcome, we went to the "base", which together run the site on which all the threads of which coordinates everything.

We arrived in time spot in the rush hour, so that the streets were crowded accordingly. The driving style of most people However, I was the first time since my arrival, really shocked and wondered how it was possible that so few accidents happen. But while I admired the man tremendously - I would not trust me now in Kenya to drive ...

addition, we were in this way not only into the rush hour traffic, but directly to a police check. The road was narrow with a stop sign and nail strips, so that the policeman was waving out of the car easier. The two policemen were both heavily armed and left an intimidating impression. After they had discussed a couple of minutes with our driver who could show the papers and nothing unusual had found, we could go further.
Abbie, another intern from ICROSS, coming from London, was very upset and angry. She told me that the police "search" is often only small things to the people can remove the money and she told me that one can be arrested if you are wearing no seat belt while driving. Then I was shocked the second time slightly, although this practice was told I directly, not by the majority of police officers is applied. ensure the most police officers are friendly and helpful and sincere efforts for "law and order"

This trip gave me still right at the beginning of my internship shows that huge differences exist in some areas between my country and Kenya. However, it is precisely these differences that made this internship by the start of an interesting and instructive, and I was excited from that moment on, I was able to experience new and interesting to learn during my internship, as well.

because I wanted this internship to explore a new world and above all resolve to get deeper and above all realistic insight into a new and foreign culture and the presence of misconceptions about foreign cultures. I wanted to learn the true life of the African people and its diversity of cultures and to know and appreciate.

also I hoped, not only within my behavior and my acceptance in respect of the cultures to change, but also bring about my own personal experience in being able to. I wanted to find out more about what is really important to me and my other future where my personal limits and what are my strengths and weaknesses. Maybe it was even possible to discover any new aspects of myself? Moreover, it was for me also of great importance to acquire during the internship academic knowledge and information, interviews and impressions about the programs and to collect ICROSS projects in order to apply these newly acquired skills and know-how in the future successfully.

With all these high expectations certainly ICROSS, the country and no less of myself, I was now in the "base" to. The "base" is one of the headquarters of ICROSS in Kenya, where you will find the guest house where I lived from then on, except when I visited one of the projects.

I was there from all team members ICROSS very cordial and very warm welcome, so I felt immediately comfortable. People in Kenya are generally extremely friendly, open-hearted and outgoing. When shopping, the bus driver, or simply only encounters on the road to get immediately to the people to talk and feels almost always welcome. like

It was easy the country and the people from the start and close to the heart!

felt I also welcome in the "Base" and ICROSS team.
My first impressions of the "base" were positive by the warmth of its people, the comfortable rooms and the landscaped garden shaped by the buildings around, including a small chapel.

Yet here were directly Already start with everyday things clear differences between my country and Kenya visible and that this in particular with regard to safety measures. The "Base" is guarded by a security guard and about six dogs around the clock and has a high fence with a strong security system. Poverty in Kenya is so huge that these measures are necessary to ensure security against attacks. From such circumstances, the existence and extent of excessive poverty in Kenya and you can not see our eyes to the reality and the closing of this poverty resulting consequences!

with the absolute poverty should I in the course of my internship yet often are confronted, but to me this should also be given the chance, to live under very different circumstances and often worst exercise of differentiated perspectives and to understand as possible ...