Blog: Four weeks working in Kenya
Adult Nursing student Saron shares how a month-long internship in Kenya has increased her understanding and appreciation for different cultures plus much more.
After finishing my BSc Adult Nursing, I spent 4 weeks in Kenya, Musanda thanks to Go Global with an NGO called Nasio Trust, a UK based charity where I completed an internship specifically on healthcare impact analysis.
As it was my final year at university, I made the conscious effort to make sure that I took every opportunity available to me and what better way to do that than going abroad whilst also advancing my professional and personal skills and benefiting my CV with a unique experience.
The internship was through Nasio Trust which focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty by addressing education, healthcare and sustainable livelihoods which meant I was doing impactful work which would make a difference to people’s lives within the area which would be very rewarding.
Why Kenya?
Seeing all the countries that I could go to complete an internship meant I had to do research on each country and seeing where I would realistically want to spend 4 weeks. Kenya stood out due to its widely appreciated wildlife, friendly people, unique culture and not to mention sunny weather which I knew I wanted to be involved in and experience.
Kenya did not disappoint, as soon as I arrived the team and people were extremely welcoming and embraced us into an authentic Kenyan experience and encouraged us to feel at home which I quickly did. The Nasio team were particularly helpful through making us interns feel like part of the team and encouraged us with our work and research. During the weekends we had various opportunities such as going to local markets and shops, visiting Kisumu city not far from where we were based, rainforest experiences and generally appreciating the wildlife and soaking in the great weather.
I also had fun learning the local language Swahili and common useful phrases used and interacting with Kenyan people and especially the children who are all very friendly and interested in our journey.
What Kenya has taught me
Kenya has taught me various things and has boosted my confidence to travel more and even travel independently. Visiting a new country meant my understanding and appreciation for different cultures has increased. Working with people from various backgrounds has made me appreciate our differences as well as similarities and developed my skills in working with different people.
Additionally, Kenya has taught me the importance of slow and simple living. In the Uk, everyday life is fast paced and focused on constant productivity, therefore coming to Kenya was a shock to the system when everyone wasn’t rushing around everywhere and in a hurry to get things done which I appreciated as it forced me to appreciate this approach and finding a balance of this when returning to the UK.
If you’re considering going abroad, I would recommend going. As mentioned before, it allowed me to develop various skills and experience a new culture, meet people from different countries and develop a new appreciation of the various difference’s countries hold.