COMPANIONSHIP OF WORKS ORGANIZATION (COWA

Lasting Impressions

I got a good impression of energy in Kenya. I liked the experience, and I must say it shows

that I learned from my course in Oxford. It further shows me that with more proactivity, I

can do what I want to do within any organisation.

What practical advice would you give to future interns?

They should pick an internship in a company that gives them responsibility to take on

impactful tasks

Victor Hugo Carranza Singleton, Oriel College, Third Year Undergraduate, BA English and French, Remote working

Work Projects

My internship with CoWA was focused on

Communications and Charity Fundraising.

Whilst my fellow intern focused more on

fundraising, I aimed to develop the

communications strategy and provide

content for CoWAs stakeholders whilst

growing their audience. I did this through writing a newsletter and blog posts as well as

through posting on their social media. I have set up a weekly timetable which lays out when

each post is due to be released with enough content for the coming months.

I also helped to develop success stories to promote CoWA's work to stakeholders and to

potential recruits. These success stories are vital in continuing to grow the organisation as

they demonstrate the great work which is carried out by CoWA which can in turn help to

secure funding and inspire more young people to join and gain skills.

CoWA’s work with over 30,000 young people in Kenya means that there is plenty of material to draw from. I was also able to contribute a spreadsheet filled with information about

other NGO's working in Kenya and listed their area of work, their fundraising and

communications strategies. I hope this will help CoWA to see what other NGO's and social

enterprises are doing so that they can learn from them and emulate their success.

Finally, I contributed to CoWA’s ongoing communications strategy by laying out some recommendations with regards to the blog posts and success stories. Despite working

remotely, I received a lot of support from CoWA as we communicated daily. This helped me

to get a better sense of the work they carry out and it meant I could still access key

resources such as reports and photographs to build the communication material.

Daily Life

I was able to complete my internship remotely from Paris. I tried to get into a good routine

by working to Kenyan hours. Whilst this meant waking up slightly earlier, it was useful as I

was able to be in contact with the staff from CoWA if they needed me. Whilst I worked

alone for much of the internship, I also made an effort to work in work cafes and with

friends who were also completing remote internships. Working with other people made the

experience more dynamic and less alienating.

Every week I had a work plan which had certain deadlines and so I was able to work towards

these and complete the work that CoWA expected from me. Completing the internship

remotely from Paris meant that there was plenty to do outside of work. I was able to visit

museums and other cultural sites as well as trying to immerse myself in French culture. I

was able to continue to practice my French and feel the benefits of international work.

Lasting Impressions

Overall, I am glad I completed the

internship. I felt very welcomed by the

CoWA team and I was able to learn a few

words of Swahili. Whilst I would have

preferred to have gone to Kenya, I was still

able to gain skills and knowledge from the

experience. For example, through the communications work I had to become very familiar

with the programmes that CoWA conducts so that I was able to relay this effectively to their

audience. As a result, I gained great insights into how their programmes were run.

I was also able to improve my own skills in copy editing, article writing, and social media

posting. I started the internship with the idea of wanting to work in the field of international

development and this experience has affirmed that ambition. I hope to be able to visit

Kenya in the future!

What practical advice would you give to future interns?

I would advise future interns to be proactive in their work and to be organised. This is

especially important if the internship is carried out remotely where it is harder to motivate

yourself. I would also advise for future interns not to be afraid in asking questions about

what they find interesting and want to learn more about. This internship provides a great

opportunity to learn about many different types of projects, from micro-finance

programmes to helping young people improve their CV writing skills. It is therefore a great

opportunity to learn about how local NGOs work!

MPhil Student, Mphil in Development Studies, Remote Working

Work Projects

I was given a host of projects to work on with CoWA, from marketing and communications

to financial strategization. Specifically, I created a grant database with different foundations

and funding opportunities and drafted five grant proposals and a crowdfunding campaign.

Additionally, alongside my supervisor and fellow intern, I conducted a current external

communication plan and created individual communication strategies and management of

current social media platforms to boost engagement. My supervisor and I worked closely on

CoWA's strategy for future project designs and communication of CoWA's project successes

to garner further support for the NGO. My days were often busy across these projects, on

calls with my supervisor, and in all-hands meetings with the organization.

Daily Life

Even though the internship was remote, the

organization did a good job of giving us structure,

with frequent communication from our

supervisor. In this way, I worked from 8am to 4pm/5pm with a daily call from my supervisor and

weekly all-hands meeting with the entire

leadership of the organization. This meant the

majority of the internship was spent independently working on my projects. The

combination of a structured work day, through communication from the organization