My Internship: by Fatima Fofanah
Published Mon, Sep 25, 2023
Written by Dana Kaltenberger
Before I tell you about my internship, allow me to introduce myself! My name is Fatima Fofanah and I came from Makeni. I am very proud to be a member of the first graduating class from EduNations’ Hope Academy Senior School in Rokassa with a focus on the “arts” curriculum (including literature, composition, history, and other liberal arts subjects rather than my school mates who focused on “science” or “commerce”).
This summer I had a month-long internship in the Psychosocial Coordinator’s Office of EduNations which was challenging, rewarding, and even a transformative experience for me.
While learning and developing some administrative skills required for tracking student progress, I also was challenged to learn, both through reading and by interacting with Fatu Koroma, EduNations’ Psychosocial Coordinator, whose love for the students is only matched by her professional skill.
I came to appreciate the need for the privacy and confidentiality in the Psychosocial Coordinator’s office. Privacy allows the students to tell Ms. Koroma things which they may not have told anyone else, especially difficult things. Since EduNations’ students respect Ms. Koroma, they know she can be trusted to act in their best interest, fighting for their rights.
Ms. Koroma has earned the respect of not just the students, but also the parents and community leaders as she travels regularly to all six villages and visits with so many. I accompanied Ms. Koroma on a trip to the village of Mayatta and saw her work to better understand the challenges of students and parents, and how helpful and wise she was in interacting with them.
Some of the material I was given to read was both interesting and challenging, like the books which are based on the Sexual Offenses Act of 2012. This law was enacted to help protect children in Sierra Leone and, by doing so, promote their right to education rather than leave school due to early marriage or parenting.
My internship helped me a lot and confirmed my interest in becoming a lawyer so I can advocate for the rights of children, particularly the less privileged. Thank you to everyone at EduNations, but especially to Ms. Koroma.