Caritas Cyprus

CYPRUS

CARITAS CYPRUS

Catriona Niven,St Anne’s College,Second Year Undergraduate,BA European and Middle Eastern Languages,In-person Working

Work Projects

I really appreciated Caritas’ grassroots and holistic approach as an NGO. The work that I was doing felt valuable and important. I was given a lot of responsibility, which at first was intimidating, but I always felt supported by the rest of the team. As an intern, I feel I benefited from the horizontal workplace structure. The staff at Caritas were willing to answer my questions and give me a window into their working lives. Elizabeth, the executive manager, regularly checked in with me and the other interns (with iced coffee!) and was approachable and friendly.

The work was sometimes emotionally challenging, and certainly required a degree of resilience. I felt very supported by the staff camaraderie and the rich social life that came with it. The Caritas staff were all extremely welcoming and generous and often socialised together at the weekends. Caritas provided a lot of opportunity to be independent and proactive and to contribute projects beyond daily tasks. When I had ideas for improvement, I was encouraged to create original resources and their translations to fill the gaps. Given the pandemic restrictions, I feel very lucky to have been able to go abroad and complete this internship in person. The Careers Service and Caritas Cyprus were both so supportive and helpful in response to the logistical difficulties owing to COVID.

Daily Life

One of the things that made my time at Caritas so rich and rewarding was the unpredictability of each day. I could never anticipate the nature or the severity of the problems that I would be solving. The issues were broad and often required a high level of responsibility. Sometimes I was the first point of contact for an unaccompanied minor, other times I was helping an asylum seeker with the routine application for a medical card. I didn’t

just stay at the migrant centre either, as the frequent need for a translator sometimes took me to the local court or local hospital.

My day was split broadly between supporting the operations of Caritas Migrant Centre in the mornings and following up and doing data entry in the afternoons. One of the best things about my experience was being able to experience these two sides of an NGO. The mornings gave me an opportunity to engage directly with beneficiaries and participate in the grassroots function of Caritas, and in the afternoons, I was able to learn about the administrative side.

In my penultimate week I was able to take part in running testing for MiiCT, a Horizon 2020 project. Seeing how Caritas engages and collaborates with other organisations was really valuable. It was interesting to see how large international projects translate into contact with asylum seekers and international protection holders themselves. Language support was a significant part of my role. French speakers were in high demand and my Arabic was also very useful. I really enjoyed being able to use my language skills to practically benefit people.

Lasting Impressions

Overall, my experience as an intern with Caritas Cyprus was wonderful. I enjoyed the challenge and responsibility it provided. I was never bored and there was always something new to do or learn. It developed my interpersonal skills, cultural mediation ability and selfconfidence. I am (still!) interested in working for an NGO in the future, particularly with migrants and displaced people, so I feel like this internship provided a lot of opportunity to learn about the available roles.

Hildelith Leyser,HertfordCollege,Second Year Undergraduate,BA History, In-person Working

Work Projects

There were three projects that I was working on that were very different in nature. The first was a more classically defined project. It was about developing online resources for the beneficiaries in the form of online information sheets, PowerPoints, and videos in order to easily

gain access to information and advice and answer FAQs from anywhere on the Island without having to come and directly ask for our help. These resources could be widely shared across communities so that the knowledge became theirs and there was a more ecological model of aid rather than the charity humanitarian model which has recently proven to be so problematic.

The second project that I was involved in was similar in intention, it was an EU project to develop an online platform where migrants could find access to information but also directly apply for jobs, look for accommodation, language classes and so on. This platform was more ambitious in its aim and much more complex in its execution. I was involved in conducting surveys and live prototyping of the platform with migrants to see whether the platform was user-friendly and or catered to their specific needs.

The third specific part of the internship where I was able to take the most autonomy was in dealing with two specific psychiatric cases where I was working as an interpreter with psychologists and psychiatrists. I found this role particularly rewarding as I was able to take initiative and work on solutions myself. There was also an important element in terms of navigating between the psychologists and psychiatrists which was delicate and required analysis and judgement, I found this responsibility very engaging and gratifying.

Daily Life

I would arrive at the migrant centre at about 8:45 in the morning. We would set up the room making sure all the documents we needed were at hand and the laptops and printers were switched on. From 9:00-13:00 we had direct contact with beneficiaries looking for solutions and advice to give on whatever problems they were experiencing. This often entailed navigating the bureaucracy of their social welfare benefits and filling out government application forms.

The centre was also the first port of call for many asylum seekers that had just arrived in Cyprus, so we were there to explain the asylum-seeking procedure and help them understand how to proceed. Sometimes urgent problems arose which required providing immediate shelter accommodation to combat domestic violence or destitute homelessness, or there were frequent medical emergencies which required interpreters at ER to translate French to English and mediate and advocate for the beneficiaries who were often overlooked by the doctors.

In the afternoons, we logged all of these activities into spreadsheets allowing us to advocate for their issues further at the social welfare office or follow up on any issues or support that was needed. The afternoon was also the time to work on our projects. Outside of work we socialised a lot with the colleagues as it was a really close knit and amazing group of people who shared similar values and had a really nice atmosphere among them. We often took trips to the beautiful rural parts of Cyprus in the mountains and the forest, and also the coastline. We spent as much time as possible in nature, as the colleagues very generously showed us new and beautiful landscapes giving us a wonderful introduction into the island.

We also socialised with a group of international students and travellers a lot of whom were enrolled in Erasmus programmes. This was a really interesting cross section of people from Europe and beyond who had been brought to Cyprus for all different reasons, amongst this group of people were also some asylum seekers and it was really special to see how integrated and assimilated these asylum seekers were and how crucial they were to the community.

Lasting Impressions

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been able to do this internship. There was something really special about the organisation and the people working for it and it was so inspiring and interesting to be around them. My lasting impressions are of awe and hope that there are these sorts of people in the world. Although I often found it very challenging both emotionally and physically, I enjoyed it a lot. I think it has changed my career goals a lot because I got a clear insight into my individual skill set and the areas in which I can be more or less useful.

There was an opportunity to engage and practice in many different types of skills, as no day was the same and everyday was operated in a crisis management mode. It also helped me to understand how I respond in different situations and levels of stress. This was helpful to understand what kind of working environment I find most conducive to personal productivity and what stage of aid I would be most effective in. It was also interesting to be able to compare whether working in response to direct issues or working more proactively addressing issues was more suited to my skill set. I’m not sure on all of the answers yet but it was so helpful to draw out some of these more nuanced issues involved in careers that are more complex but just as crucial as the obvious questions like what sector you would like to work in.

What advice would you give to future interns?

My advice to future interns would be to be as proactive and vocal about what the areas of your internship are that you are most interested in and feel you could get the most out of. In this sense ask for extra opportunities and extra advice. Often the way these internships are structured is that there are many people in the organisation who could potentially act as mentors and help find you more insights into different areas or give you unexpected chances to see different parts of the profession and hone certain skills. These mentors want to help but it involves engaging them in your story so that you capture their imagination and they think of ways to help you naturally and organically. Whilst this might sound daunting all it really involves is not being shy with those who you might perceive to be higher ups in the organisation and being as open and detailed about your own interests as you can.

Final Year Undergraduate,BA JurisprudenceLaw with Law Studies in Europe,In-person Working

Work Projects

The internship centred around work at a migrant centre open from 9h-13h. Interns worked alongside full time staff to respond to requests for information on asylum procedures, assistance with social welfare applications, humanitarian support (food, clothing etc) and advice on other services available for asylum seekers in Cyprus. In the afternoon we entered updates into the centralised database and flagged issues for advocacy or follow up.

During the time in the office I worked on preparing informative materials for asylum seekers such as where to find online language resources and how to appeal a rejection from asylum service. All the interns completed ad hoc written translations from English to French. I also provided informal oral translation between English and French at hospital appointments and at various courts. Finally, I managed a CV clinic providing one on one sessions to create a CV and discuss the labour market in Cyprus.

Daily Life

The team at Caritas were incredibly welcoming so I settled in very quickly. In my first week our boss generously took the interns on an excursion to a 13th century UNESCO world heritage site outside of Nicosia. Over coffee she took the time to discuss the history of Cyprus up to the entry into the European Union in 2004 and how the restriction of access

between the North and the Republic since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic might affect relations.

Outside of work I was lucky to explore all parts of the island including the beaches, mountains, villages and cliffs at Capo Greco, Ayia Napa. I rented a room in the Old Town which meant I could walk to work in the mornings and easily go out in the evenings. With friends, housemates and colleagues I tried hot yoga, bouldering, African dance and visited many second-hand clothes shops.

Lasting Impressions

Working at Caritas Cyprus has been an incredible opportunity due to the generosity of the staff. I hope to carry the warmth I received as an intern to all my future work experiences. The generosity is reflected in the organisation's ambition to constantly improve and provide the best quality services.

Cyprus is a challenging environment to navigate as an asylum seeker, particularly when language creates a barrier. I feel privileged to have been given an insight into these challenges and the opportunity to assist in some small ways.

The nature of the internship at Caritas means interns can contribute directly to assisting beneficiaries and collaborate on the bigger projects of the organisation. Working in a team of diverse professional backgrounds has broadened my mindset when approaching challenges whether logistical, personal or structural. My career aspirations remain in the legal sector, but I would definitely like to work directly with NGOs in the future.