Michelle’s Hard Work Begins

So much has happened since I last checked in. I had the difficult task of choosing just one organisation to intern for and what action project I wanted to do. In my last post, I mentioned that I wanted to focus on international development, environment, and NGO & charity management. With the help of my mentor, Danny, I ultimately chose to do a strategic plan for Marama Alliance UK (MAUK).

MAUK is a non-profit driven by a single goal; to empower women to be agents of change. Its members are women from the Fijian community in the UK. Their long-term aim and vision are to give back to their Fijian communities through effective collaboration and capacity building.

I chose MAUK because I am very passionate about women’s empowerment and gender equality. I also study women studies at university and thought it would be an excellent opportunity to expand my knowledge and learning.  Furthermore, MAUK needs a strategic plan to drive and focus their work and help them develop new concepts or programs. By doing this plan, I am essentially assisting the women in supporting other women through their work.

So far, the strategic plan is going well! I have enjoyed using my creativity to develop strategies to help MAUK achieve its short-term goals and implement these strategies. The next stage of my work is formatting what I have written into its final design and ensuring that I have everything laid out clearly and written concisely.

However, I need to catch up on the guest speaker series that I have access to as part of my internship. I have been so busy with the action project that I did not realise how many new videos there are until I slow down and reflect! Before the end of my internship, I aim to watch the guest speaker videos that interest me the most, such as women in leadership, youth work, and climate change.

I better get back to it then! See you all next time for my final blog post and reflection on my internship experience!

Michelle