round two....

Second year of graduate school includes my practicum/internship/field component. Last year I independently volunteered at the refugee clinic providing legal services for refugees seeking resettlement, this year I will gain field experience for my secondary diploma in Psycho-social interventions in forced migration studies.

My diploma program (distinct from my MA in International Human Rights Law) is an intimate program of about 10 people and a very involved director, Dr. Nancy. It’s like a family that feeds off of and supports each others passions to work with and assist marginalized populations create and access community and social systems. This year this part of my Cairo family includes five other females: Americans, Egyptians, Europeans and Africans from all walks of life and Dr. Nancy, a psychologist who works and consults in emergency and conflict situations all over the world.

In such an intimate program Dr. Nancy got to know each one of us and our strengths, goals and weaknesses. In this way, we were able to dialogue and find individual field location that met all of the above needs. Recognizing my motivating and management skills, I will work directly, under the supervision of Dr. Nancy, in developing the Psycho-Social Training Institute (PSTIC) in Cairo. Dr. Nancy trained and graduated the first class of psycho-social workers this past May and in doing so grew the presence and need of psycho-social workers in Cairo. This year we will take on a new class of psychosocial workers, mostly refugee community leaders from Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia, In addition we continue to grow our networks in Cairo and with international organizations such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Office of Migration (IOM), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and the Red Cross, to name a few.

Unlike some of my colleagues who were placed in established agencies as caseworkers, my responsibilities, along with my two wonderful partners Eklilu, Eritrean and Ali, Somalian, these past few weeks was to get things going: find office space, make budgets for office furniture, find painters, help coordinate interviews of perspective students and participate in the interview process. Quite different from last year at the refugee clinic, with Dr. Nancy we have a budget! and I won’t have to consume a whole weekend painting the office with my own volunteer team!!

What I’m most excited for however, is Dr. Nancy’s open-mindedness. This means that after I expressed that I’m interested in disability law and rights she told me that she would find funding for me to start a program for persons’ with disabilities in the refugee community! A week later, I’m now sitting in a waiting room for an appointment with three of the top (and most politically powerful) doctors for refugees in Cairo and later this week I will meet with two other international organizations to start my program assessment!

Needless to say I’m excited! I am contracted to approximately 30hrs a week for the practicum; however lives in crises rarely adhere to time schedules. So, this semester I’ll balance these new opportunities with three classes: Human Rights in Africa, Human Rights in the European System and a Psycho-social “problems” course. And for a bit more fun on the side I have 1 8-year old violin student who will only stand during his lesson if I get him a soda before class, and three English students looking to improve their conversation skills- I get paid to talk! Life is moving along!