I'll be working in Dar es Salaam, a city whose name means 'Abode of Peace' in Arabic. I've never lived in East Africa, but from time in the Peace Corps, I've lived in Botswana and Burkina Faso. I'm getting very excited to dust off my passport again, scribbling lists, online shopping for travel essentials and practicing my Swahili. So far I've got what I think will be a key phrase down: Hamjambo, Mabibi!, which (I believe) is a respectful way to greet a group of women. I'll keep practicing.
My internship is with the United Nations Population Fund, an arm of the UN that is doing really important work. Their mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. I would encourage you to take a minute to learn more about them by visiting their web site (hyperlink above).
My work specifically will be supporting the country office to work with the Ministry of Health on both mainland Tanzania and the (distinctly governed) island of Zanzibar to mainstream gender into government strategies.
I'm hoping there might be the possibility to conduct some research in my spare time, as I'm very interested in the national Family Life Education curriculum that was introduced nationally in all primary and secondary schools. It has been implemented for several years but yet to be evaluated and I'm hoping that might be something I'm able to tackle in my time there, and possibly in the future as a Policy Analysis Exercise (my capstone project).
This adventure still feels very far away, as I wrap up finals and have yet to even think about moving out of my apartment and getting physically ready for this move. Though the plane ticket has been purchased! I'm almost on my way!
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Thanks to all who are read this. If you have any questions for me or things that would be more interesting to read about, I'd appreciate feedback!