Student testimonial
Student Luckmore - MSc International Development Studies
''I did my internship at the GIZ refugee camp in Uganda.'' Luckmore did his internship at the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda.
I think my internship and thesis experiences in Africa were important in getting me my job at ActionAid.
Life in a refugee camp
“With over 50.000 refugees from about ten different countries, the Nakivale refugee camp was a very challenging place for somebody with interest in Disaster Studies! This is really how real it gets. The internship consisted of diverse tasks divided over the sectors of Community Services, Community Development and Livelihood. As part of the Community Services team, among other tasks I had to assist in documenting new arrivals and individual cases, and I carried out field assessments, based on which we decided how to allocate resources. Within the livelihood intervention, my biggest task consisted of presenting success stories of on-going businesses and livelihood initiatives in the settlement. Since I have a background in youth work, one of the tasks I chose to undertake was to revive the youth program. I was in charge of the youth center and youth center activities. That became my biggest job, and the one that I liked most and am very proud of. I set up a program which engages young refugees with issues such as sexual health, gender issues, violence, peace building, sport and culture.
Learning Experience
The experience was so good that I know now that I want to work with complex political emergencies all my life. I particularly liked doing the anthropological research on the issue, because it was very interesting and challenging to actually live with refugees daily for over five months. I think my internship and thesis experiences were important in getting me my job at ActionAid as Advisor, Youth and Governance in Liberia.”