Photo credit: Frances Northeast
By Frances Northeast, MAGG
Sousdei!
I can’t believe that I am a month away from finishing my internship with WFP Cambodia. So much has happened in the last few months. After having drafted and submitted two high-level external government donor reports, I am now mainly focused on providing materials based on these reports for Government and donor meetings. I am also working on providing handover materials to the person taking over the donor portfolio for the next reporting period, which is due to start after my internship is over.
Outside of work, I was able to meet up with some fellow MAGG’s across the region! Over the winter holiday, I traveled to Ha Noi to meet up with Madelyn who graduated from the program last year and is working at UNDP after being bridged on from her internship (you can still read her blog posts!) It was great to meet her in person because I video-called her a while ago to ask about her experience once I knew I would be going to Southeast Asia. Learning from her was so helpful and such a full circle moment for me! If you’re thinking of doing a UN internship, I would definitely recommend reaching out to someone who did one in a similar region for advice and insight! I was also able to do a quick visit to Kuala Lumpur to see Lilla, a fellow MAGG from my cohort while she was there for vacation and we were able to explore the city together, which I never thought was something that would happen since the last time we saw each other was back in Waterloo. This internship and Master’s program has afforded me experiences and friendships I will carry with me wherever I go next!
While I had some eye-opening experiences outside the office, I also had one recently at work when I visited the field. Every school under WFP management is visited at least once per school year to ensure that the programme is functioning the way it should through a mechanism called process monitoring. To conduct process monitoring, we spoke to the school director, storekeeper, and cook to gather information about what is working, what isn’t, and to ensure that the guidelines around reporting, accuracy and transparency are being adhered to. We looked at equipment to ensure its functionality, checked where and how the food was being stored, and verified the administrative records. While I learned a lot about the monitoring process, what impacted me the most was watching the kids during their break. An hour and a half after the start of their school day, they have their first break where they are served their meal and given some free time to play before returning to their desks to continue learning.
The kids excitedly lined up to have their meals of winter melon/pork soup served with rice by their teachers and sometimes by their classmates. The kids could eat at their desks or in the schoolyard, and after everyone had been served, if there was any leftover food, they could take seconds. Once they had finished eating, they cleaned their dishes and went to play. The kids ranged from being in kindergarten to grade 6 and watching them at their break brought me back to my own memories of elementary school.
As we all are aware, the world is becoming a more polarizing place. We are seeing a rise in identity-based divisions within society. It feels to me like we are focusing so much on how we are different, and despite being an overused saying, in times of divisiveness, we need to remember what makes us human and what connects us. Seeing the kids play reminded me of this. While watching them play hopscotch, run around and use the swing set, I recognized a younger version of myself, halfway across the world, doing the exact same thing. I don’t know these kids, and they don’t know me, but there are some moments that are so commonly experienced that I can see myself when I look at them, and an innate connection to our common humanity is created.
I want to end by saying that in this period of intense social turmoil, we should reflect on the ties that bind us together, rather than the divisions that separate us. I know it’s cliché, but I think we need the reminder now more than ever that we as people are far more similar than we are different.
Au Kun for reading about my experiences,
Frances
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BSIA, its students, faculty, staff, or Board of Directors.