Majoring for two years in International Development and Economics confirmed my interest in inclusive development, a model that integrates local and marginalized voices in policymaking. Having learnt about the challenges faced by Indigenous and African peoples in being recognized as their own decision-makers, I became very motivated to intern at IMPACT, short for Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation.
IMPACT is a trust that strives to empower pastoralist and hunter-gatherer communities in Northern Kenya. Firstly, it helps Indigenous Peoples register community land so they can receive the benefits of environmental conservation as land-users and -owners. Moreover, IMPACT stimulates inter-community dialogue to promote peace while organizing Pan-African meetings and representing Indigenous voices at international conferences to ensure that policy adequately reflects their concerns. IMPACT also democratizes economic opportunities to IPs by training and donating equipment (like beehives) to women groups and creating in 2021 the Rasilimali Savings and Credit Co-Operative open to pastoralist membership. Finally, IMPACT conducts research to enhance IPs’ visibility in academia, by documenting regional resource-based conflicts for example.
This internship presented an opportunity for me to learn from and contribute to IMPACT’s work, especially relating to environmental conservation and Rasilimali.
On the one hand, I supported the implementation of inclusive conservation. By writing a research paper on that topic, I prepared myself to attend the two-day preparatory meeting for the African Protected Areas Congress regrouping East African CBOs to draft the Nairobi Declaration. There, I translated into French the discussions and reports for two delegates from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I then participated in the five-day Camel Caravan walk (and helped setting up tents) to promote sustainable and peaceful co-existence along the Ewaso Ng’iro River. By talking with different stakeholders (i.e. community-, government-, and donor-representatives), I explored new perspectives on the issues of water insecurity and resource-based conflict. Hence, this internship improved my advocacy skills for inclusive development by teaching me practical methods to implement it.
On the other hand, I was responsible to develop Rasilimali. The staff and I started by meeting with the SACCO members to draft the five-year strategic plan. Besides actively participating in the discussions, I wrote meeting reports and formulated the business plan’s final version in collaboration with Everlyne (marketing officer) and Eric (Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-Operative Ltd representative). Everlyne and I then designed loan product ideas to be presented to the Board of Directors. We also benchmarked our practices against Equinox Staff SACCO’s to learn from their services and financial management tools. In addition to my involvement in Rasilimali’s management, I assisted Everlyne in marketing by creating a website using Wordpress (to be published soon). By working on Rasilimali, I understood better how to leverage finance to further inclusive development.
Undertaking those duties was challenging. At first, holding regular zoom-meetings with IMPACT was complicated given the time difference and employees’ busy schedules. I overcame this through dedication and perseverance, which was noticed by IMPACT as they invited me to stay in Kenya for five weeks. Once arrived, language barriers with some community members became the next challenge. While learning some Swahili was helpful, I decided to enroll in a Swahili class next semester to improve my communication skills for my future travels to East Africa.
Meeting new people is by far the most rewarding part of this internship. Learning from unique perspectives while interacting with Maasai, Kikuyu, Turkana, Samburu, and Luo people from Kenya, gave me the opportunity to connect with their livelihoods and cultures. During the Camel Caravan, I learned to dance on Maasai and Samburu music, and after this, to prepare Kenyan chapati and stew.
Although this internship will not count for credit, it was a great leaning experience, and I want to thank the RBC Future Launch program for the RBC Internship Award. This reduced the internship’s opportunity cost and provided me with an alternative source of income to pay for my university fees to replace the income I would have received from a part-time summer job.
In sum, this internship has been a truly successful, eye-opening, and memorable experience. While acquiring valuable skills linked to qualitative research, content development, and finance, this internship transformed my perspective on my studies by teaching me a way of living and thinking that cannot be learnt in a classroom. I would like to thank IMPACT, the Arts Internship Office, and the RBC Future Launch Program for making this experience possible. Looking forwards, I will use this internship to achieve my career goals in inclusive development. IMPACT also offered me a manager position within Rasilimali, which I am undecided to take yet as my studies remain the priority.
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