Hilary's Practicum in Tanzania

 Hi Pals, Wow... I can not believe that I have been here a month already! It has gone by so fast and only a month left to go. The office staff here always say "the days are long but the weeks are short" and I definitely feel that. The days seem to last forever but then it's Sunday and my day off seems to be the shortest day of the week haha.  I have an exciting update on my work here! I finally have a solidified plan for a project that I will be working on with the social workers. With my background in sexual violence the team was super keen to have me do some training for the social workers and medical staff in a "train the trainer" type style. The goal being that I can support them in responding to disclosures and talking to kids about child sexual abuse (CSA), and they can continue on training staff and talking to kids. We ran through a bunch of different models of what I would be working on but this made the most sense. This way it is not just a one off conv...

Hi Pals, I have been at RVCV for just over 2 weeks now so I wanted to share what I have been up to! My schedule has been mostly figured out and I am getting into a groove. I spend my mornings in the preschool class teaching activities in English. I am so incredibly grateful for my sister and partner who are both elementary school teachers as all of my ideas have come from them! A few things we have done are: shape monsters, alphabet bingo, nature walks, patterned bracelets. The schooling system here is interesting because in primary they are taught in Swahili and in secondary they are taught in English. So at the village they encourage learning English so that the children can succeed when they move on to secondary school. In the afternoons I have been working on planning different activities for the youth. I planned two International Day of the Girl Child events, one for primary and one for secondary. Both went really well. The secondary's came up with a future they would like to ...

 Hi pals, I want to share something a little different today, and that is around the reflection that I did to decide whether or not to do this practicum.  First off, I want to say that I do not know the answer to my own question. I am only learning and expanding my knowledge of international social work everyday. As a white social worker I am constantly checking my privilege and power in the work I do. I know I will not always get it right, and when that happens I work to take accountability and change my actions. One of the ways that many social workers and agency have and continued to cause harm is through "white saviorism". This is the idea that white people need to rescue people in marginalized communities and is rooted in white supremacy. Unfortunately, lots of development work is rooted in the white savior complex. It happens when people and organizations come in, decide what needs to change, and do that without even consulting the communities. A common example of this ...

Hi Pals, Every Sunday I get a day off (yes only one day off a week and I am working a minimum of 10 hour days)! To say I am tired is an understatement. This past Sunday Susan (the other volunteer) and I went on a Safari. It exceeded every expectation that I had. We went to Ngorogoro Crater, which we found out is called that from when the Maasai people would bring the cows down and the bells they had on them would make the "ngoro ngoro" sound. It is still dry season here so most things were dust and brown. There were a few spots near swamps and marshes that were lush and beautiful. I would love to go back in rainy season because apparently the animals are everywhere you go. My favourites were the lion and the ocelot cat, but everything was amazing. I will let me photos speak for the rest of this post and they don't even do the trip justice.

Hi Pals, I made it to Rift Valley Children's Village! Last night I stayed at a lodge by the airport as it was too late to travel the 4 hours to the village. I had an amazing lamb curry for dinner and even tried a Kilimanjaro beer that was delicious. This morning I was picked up and we started our 4 hour journey to the village. Didas, the driver, was incredibly kind and taught me lots about the different areas that we drove through. We even saw zebra's and baboons! We finally made it to the village and I had all the emotions happening at once. The village is beautiful, surrounded by coffee plants and so close to the crater that sometimes elephants and rhinos will wander down. I met with the volunteer coordinator and got settled into my room. When I first got to my room, I have to admit, I cried a bit. Probably a mix of being exhausted and overwhelmed, while the reality of being away from home for two months set in. I had a quick 30 minute nap (didn't want to sleep too long),...

 Hi pals!  I'm currently sitting in the Amsterdam Airport waiting from my breakfast and my next flight to Tanzania. Most of you are probably sleeping as it's the middle of the night back home. But I figured I would take the time to share a little more about how my practicum came to be and share some of the realities of leaving for two months. My specialization is in Community and International Development (ICD), as such, an international practicum is an option, or so I thought when apply. Unfortunately, the global trauma of COVID hit, right as I was about to begin school. My dreams about an international practicum, went out the window. The world shut down and all my schooling and first practicum were online. So when Aamir (one of my favorite professors and the head of the ICD program) came to our class in early 2022 saying the school may have a partnership with the Tanzanian Children's Fund (TCF) I was instantly intrigued.  The process of confirming the practicum took tim...

 Hi Everyone, As many of you know I am completing my final year in the Master's of Social Work (MSW) Program at UCalgary with a specialization in International and Community Development (ICD). For my final practicum I will be spending two months at the Rift Valley Children's Village in Tanzania. I wanted to create a blog so that I could share my journey with all those who want to follow along! There being a 9 hour time difference and limited access to the internet I figured this was the best way to keep everyone updated. I will try to post weekly and include photos of my experiences. Feel free to ask questions and I will try to answer when I can. Thanks for joining me on this adventure! -H