Technical Analyst at JNRC
Description of what you learned from the experience:
I have gained endless skills from this internship. A big thing I learned in organizations is how important it is to be able to switch gears. In my internship, I had structure, but I also knew that sometimes I would have to switch gears on a whim. This is the overall mindset that the center had. It was evident they believed that if people would be willing to do what it takes and work together, then we would be able to help the masses, and provide greater good.
Background on the firm:
The Joel Nafuma Refugee Center (JNRC) is located in Rome, Italy. It is a day center for refugees coming from all over the world. The majority of the refugees come from Mali and Afghanistan. The center provides many services to its guests including talk therapy, literacy workshops, and computer classes. They also have language classes where guests can learn languages like French, Italian, and English. As well as the classes, the center serves breakfast, distributes basic items like razors and toothbrushes, and has a room for spiritual needs. The center started to really come about during the 1980s. The previous decade brought many refugees to the Rome area due to its unregulated open door policy. Due to the mass influx of refugees during this time, Reverend Joel Nafuma, a Ugandan priest, was invited to take up and formalize St Paul’s Within the Wall’s church to create a center for the refugees. Every year the center reaches more and more people and continues to help and provide service to those who are have fled their country in hopes of a better and safer life.
Review of your role:
I partook in many activities during this internship period. Every day I did back end website work in the morning and then held computer classes in the afternoon. Website work consisted of adding content to the website, making edits to previous content and making the website more dynamic and aesthetically pleasing. Previously to me getting to the JNRC, there was a lot of broken links and out of date information. During my time at the center, I fixed all the functional problems and added more multimedia to make the website more interesting and appealing. In the computer classes, I provided assistance with typing where I taught the guests proper finger placement and how to navigate the keyboard. I created many hands on modules for the refugees to learn and practice using the computer and different programs.