Over the past three months, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to live and work in Jakarta, Indonesia, thanks to Asfar’s International traineeship program.
Here I worked for the Sivana Foundation, a local education NGO dedicated to empowering disadvantaged children through innovative educational initiatives. I worked across a range of projects from researching international funding to co-writing strategy documents to social research on child sponsorship programmes. The placement has been really valuable, equipping me with a range of new skills that are highly relevant for pursuing a career in the non-profit sector and introducing me to new cultures, friends and places.
It’s also been such a novel experience to live in Jakarta – a busy city of well over ten million people – and adjust to everyday life in a megacity. Beyond my work with the Sivana Foundation, living in Indonesia has allowed me to explore the country’s diverse landscape and cultures and I’ve been able to travel to various islands, exploring volcanoes, beaches, cities and new wildlife.
It’s been a real privilege to have been so welcomed into the Sivana Foundation family and I’m really excited to see how this organisation continues to grow over the next few years.