Internship Report
|
Institute: (XYZ)
|
Submitted by: ABC
Introduction
This reportentails the work and tasks that I was entrusted with during my internship at Adult Basic Education Society (ABES). ABES is a Non-Governmental, Non-Profit and Non-Sectarian organization that has been involved in enhancing the quality of education in Pakistan, through grassroots-centered initiatives in the realms of Adult Literacy and Primary Schooling since 1971. During my internship, I was appointed under supervision of the Program Coordinator - ABES, Mrs.Neelofer Asif. This report shall begin by specifying and explaining the profile of the organization and working of ABES over the years. The report shall then discuss the tasks and duties commenced and completed by me during this internship.I shall than go on to compare and contrast the practical side of the Development Sector with the academic teachings and theory studied during the course of the Development Studies Degree.
Profile of ABES
Adult Basic Education Society (ABES) was established in 1971. It has been registered with the Government under the Societies Registration Act 1860 and with the Central Board of Revenue, Islamabad as a non-profit organization. ABES, a non-sectarian organization, operating under supervision of an autonomous Board of Directors, is working for the education revivalism in the lives of adult girls and boys and for the well-being of the people in Pakistan without any discernment of race, religion, caste or creed.
As part of its all-inclusive approach towards attaining its quantitative as well as qualitative educational objectives, it has taken a “life cycle” methodology towards child development which does not disregard especially the empowerment of women through purposefulunderstanding and constructing the community as avigorous partner to the overall accomplishment of elementary education objectives. Hence, the aims and purposes of ABES, as articulated in its Constitution and designed for welfare of all the people in Pakistan, are:
a) To promote Adult Education in Pakistan through implementation of pilot projects for illiterates and neo-literates, in basic literacy and functional subjects including employable skills to facilitate the participants in their ability to perform as useful and self-reliant citizen of Pakistan.
b) To promote socio-economic uplift of individuals under-privileged/excluded community groups with emphasis on advocacy, health and hygiene, livelihood, protection and disaster risk reduction.
c) To develop innovative methods, teaching materials and literature for adult education, formal and non-formal primary education incorporating aspects of quality education with a rights basic approach.
d) All programs would be designed and implemented within the ambit of cross cutting principles of values, accountability, impartiality, gender, children, environment, sustainability, parents and community participation.
e) To train, upgrade knowledge and skills of trainers, supervisors, senior management and persons engaged in leadership of adult and primary education and community development activities.
f) To carry out research in all significant thematic areas of organization comprising of adult, formaland non-formal education and to evaluate projects for further improvement and effectiveness.
ABES-Teacher Empowerment Centre (ABES-TEC) was instituted in 1993 in Rawalpindi, working for the elevation of quality education in government and community schools. It is about the education awareness and the need for refining the standard of teachers by providing quality in formal and non-formal primary education in Pakistan. It has immense experience in project planning, field implementation, monitoring, capacity building, and materials development related to Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and adult literacy. This foundation is presently working in the cities of Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Lahore, Sargodha and Rawalpindi. Presently this institution has been on the move with the two key educational projects for the nation. One is the ‘Non formal Education for Girls’ in the district of Gujranwala and second is the ‘Multi Grade Teaching Training’ in the Rawalpindi division.
This organization has been operational in Pakistan for a reasonably long time and it has certainly made an efficacious and prevalent stand in the society for growing the education awareness in such districts where the education percentage was considerably low and minimum.
Major Activities/Tasks Undertaken:
My internship initiatedon the 6th of January, 2014 and terminated on the 3rd of March, 2014. During my 8 weeks as an internee at ABES, I was given insight to the functioning of ABES and its various projects all over Pakistan. This was inclusive of the orientation of ABES’s chief activities and the duties I will be entrusted with during the internship. The orientation helped me become more familiar with the vast experience ABES had in the field of development including; awareness workshops on education, capacity building, monitoring, social mobility and community building, project planning and field implementation.
My enthusiasm to be able to work in the field and to understand the functionality of projects in the field was fulfilled while working with ABES. This was because in the early weeks I was educated on how workshops are hosted in order to build the capacity of local groups and fellow activists. I was able to understand how workshops are designed, venues are chosen, dates planned, recruitment of participants, designation of facilitators and also how the logistics are organized and the workshop is run. This helped in understanding of how workshops require a lot of hard work, require good facilitators and training.
After gaining considerable understanding of how workshops are organized, planned and equipped for in advance, I was able to visit Muzaffarabad which is the capital of Azad Kashmir and is exquisitelypositioned on the banks of Neelum and Jehlum rivers.To be able to work and gain experience in such a breath taking environment was a fulfilling experience and made the internship even more joyful. I, with my team, was tasked to indulge in interaction with the communities ofunion council Danna Kachili, District Muzaffarabad, especially women, to sensitize them on enrolling Out of School children to schools.We were separated into various groups with various tasks. My group had the responsibility of attracting and gathering participants for the three day workshop our team was organizing on creating awareness of education, especially among the women/mothers, so they were encouraged to enroll their children into schools. We were tasked to visit various homes in the area to promote our workshop and encourage them to participate in it. This was a very interesting experience as it required a lot of interaction with different kind of people and families who were willing to be a part of the workshop and also those who did not show interest.
The topics on each day of the workshop were different yet interrelated. The first day of the workshop, the topic was of an extensive type and there was general discussion over how education is important for all. We were able to interact with the women at a personal and anindividual level due the informal layout of the workshop as it made the women feel more comfortable in communicating. The topic of the second day was Gender and Education; the women were encouraged to bring their children along with them and we sat around with the participants and were able to discuss the reasons and issues due to which their children were not enrolled in schools. The turnover of the second day was better than the first since it gave us insight to the various major issues they were facing, such as cultural hindrances, unemployment issues and poverty.The third day of the workshop was about asking about problems and providing solutions to them. We shared our plan with them to work with the government to provide the children with various school provisions such as books, stationery and lunch arrangements as this will take the burden of these expenses off their shoulders leaving behind just the tuition fee. The participants were also advised that to be able to overcome cultural hindrances, families should enroll their daughters into schools, hence, empowering them and providing them with the confidence to compete with various kinds of cultural problems they were facing. At the end of the workshop, the participants were also asked to fill in questionnaires in order to assess the attitude change amongst them about enrolling their children into schools.
The second major task that I was entrusted with was to devise school specific plans with the School Management Committees to chart out Alternative Learning Options for such children. This task involved capacity building and the role of community’s education management. We visited the F-7 KachiAbaadi, Islamabad, and interviewed specifically the women to understand their perspective on what they thought over the issue of enrolling out of school children. They were also provided with visual presentations that helped them enhance their understanding of the importance of education.
As an intern at ABES, I also got the opportunity to attend a very informing conference Sahilheld at Dreamland Hotel on the issue of Child Protection. It discussed on various beneficial aspects that helped understand how the environments of schools can be made friendlier with reference to several features of child protection.
During this internship, I was also able to enhance my technical skills as I was able to learn how the Planning Tool was used for the management of various Projects. In addition to this, I was able to learn how the organization planned its various activities in advance on Microsoft Excel.
Critical Reflections:
Working with ABES, I was provided with the experience that I was targeting for.Studying Social Sciences and majoring in Development Studies,I was very enthusiastic to work in the field in order to gain exposure which gives me the knowledge and an understanding that will help me combine my formal education with real work expertise; and ABES enabled me to make that happen. During my internship, I was able to effortlessly relate theoretical perspectives in the field such as the concept of community mobilization, capacity building and spreading awareness; I practically saw in what manner people at the community level are mobilized by development practitioners. I was able to participate in the process and also participate and interact with these people and also learn from them. The workshop and the topics discussed in the workshop enlightened me and helped me connect what we learned in the courses of Women Empowerment, Development Project: Planning and Implementation and Community Development.
As I worked with my team in the field, it helped me realize that when one is able to connect their formal academic education with real work experience, it gives a sense of completion to one’s education. This is because it helps to connect what one learns in theory and then uses it as a guide in the field. This was the most important improvement and accomplishment for me which I gained during this internship.
Learning Outcomes
My internship at ABES helped me build my confidence and self-esteem at the professional level. It helped me learn how various challenges can be countered and how due to these challenges I was able to grow career wise. I was finally able to understand how theory is converted to practical implementation and how success stories are able to emerge from this procedure.
Over the years of my undergraduate education, I learned how various projects in the development sector are planned, organized and prepared for implementation. While working with ABES, I was able to be a part of the practical implementation of one of its projects. The experience in Muzaffarabad was a great learning turn for me and the experience of working with such qualified specialists will for sure help me more as I will actually become a part of the field and the practical world. This internship also informed me about workplace ethics along with meeting aims and objectives under a certain time limit. Hence, my internship experience helped me broaden my understanding of professional work environment.
Conclusion
Internships provide us with the opportunity to broaden our understanding of our fields and its functioning in the practical world. This report explains my internship experience and the details of the tasks that I undertook during the time period of my internship at ABES. Working with an organization with such vast experience also provided me with the experience of working in the field and understanding what it takes to be a true professional. Development Studies as a subject was always intriguing and by applying its theoretical perspectives in the field during this internship, my vigor and enthusiasm to work in the field has worked in my favor and has provided me the ability to groom myself according to the prerequisites of my field and also polish my skills to be able to perform well and have a successful future.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
