Micael Joseph, Bachelor in Social Sciences with a specialization in Public Administration, 3rd year
Field Internship Country: Benin
Canadian NGO: Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI)
Local NGO: Women in Law Development in Africa (WiLDAF)
As I sit down to write this, six out of twelve weeks have already passed, and here I am halfway through my internship in Benin—more specifically, in Cotonou, a city buzzing with activity. It may not seem like much in chronological terms, but the preparations, the efforts I’ve put in, and what I’ve learned so far mean so much more than that.
This internship is part of a collaboration between the University of Ottawa and CECI (Center for International Studies and Cooperation) through their Volunteer Cooperation Program (PCV). This program enables students and professionals from diverse backgrounds to carry out assignments in various countries in Africa, South America, and elsewhere, including Benin, a country in West Africa. I thus had the opportunity to participate in this program and collaborate directly with the local NGO WiLDAF, a pan-African network working to promote and defend women’s rights in Africa.
As an administration and management officer, my role is to understand the realities and operations of the local NGO, assess the organization by analyzing its management, communication, reporting, and monitoring methods, and then propose innovative ideas and new tools. With this in mind, under the supervision of my point person, I developed a digital capacity-building plan for WiLDAF-Benin staff, structured around five hands-on workshops. The first focuses on SharePoint to centralize and secure the team’s document management. The second introduces Google Docs as a collaborative writing tool to reduce duplicate documents and streamline teamwork. The third workshop trains staff on Jibble for tracking work hours and attendance. The fourth introduces Kahoot to make internal training sessions more engaging through interactive quizzes. Finally, the fifth workshop introduces the team to Canva for producing professional visual communication materials, with the aim of standardizing WiLDAF’s brand image and reducing costs associated with external graphic design. Each of these workshops was designed with an overall objective, specific objectives, a hands-on activity, and expected outcomes—all with the support and collaboration of a dedicated team—to support and strengthen the field team’s capacity to carry out its mission.
Implementing this plan, however, was not without its challenges. Since part of the team works remotely while another part is deployed in the field, getting everyone together at the same time for the same workshop proved to be a real headache on several occasions. Explaining certain software programs also required more time and patience than expected, particularly for team members less familiar with digital tools, which taught me to adapt my pace and training methods to each person’s level.
Wanting to accomplish something special and have an extraordinary experience as part of my studies, I embarked on this new adventure in Benin. This internship gave me the opportunity to redefine myself, discover other aspects of who I am, and develop new skills—academically, professionally, and personally. Professionally and academically, I was able to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and realize that there is a distinction between the theories learned at university and how they are applied to real-world situations—especially on an international scale—which adds another dimension to my learning. I was able to explore the world of international development through local and international NGOs, as well as to experience a different culture. I believe I will grow in maturity after this experience because, throughout this internship, I was able to take on significant responsibilities, make choices and accept the consequences, adapt to situations that were completely unfamiliar to me before this internship, and also develop the ability to bring together various resources, meet new people, and build a new community in a city where I didn’t know anyone at first.
On a personal level, Benin represents more to me than just a host country chosen at random. Rather, it’s a way for me to connect with history and gain an understanding of what Afro-Caribbean descendants experienced during the era of slavery. Although I was far from my family and my community, in many ways I felt at home. As soon as I arrived on the ground, the place felt strangely familiar to me, which helped me a great deal in carrying out my assignment.
Visiting tourist and historical sites like the city of Ouidah and its famous “Gate of No Return”—a place steeped in history through which thousands of people were deported during the transatlantic slave trade—was a powerful and memorable moment during my stay in Benin; for me, it was a way to come full circle between my roots and this land that welcomed me so warmly.