Seasonal Internship Programs
Real Life Knowledge and Experience
We love working with young adults through our seasonal internship programs with the goal of imparting real-life knowledge and experience as you consider a future career path. The Internship Program is open in the fields of Social Work Intern and being expanded to Children education Intern, Midwifery Intern, Nursing Intern and general Medical Internship. Applications are open and welcome (APPLICATION)
Internships are an integral part of university education today. Students are required to complete a practical study semester as part of their degree in most universities. Relief Care Uganda is an organization that is well placed to provide internships to international and local students. We provide students an opportunity to practice what they are learning, put theory and key principles in real life situations, reflect upon the material they have learnt in class, and provide that opportunity to build professional relationships, which students can take into their future professional careers. For these reasons, internships are increasingly becoming a popular endeavor for college students across the globe.
We have been running internship on the theme “Social Work in a Developing Country Context” with different international Universities, but now open to other education disciplines
The internship programs are premised on three core principles:
- Internships that are deliberately designed and planned;
- Internships that are facilitated by qualified experts;
- Internships that earn students’ academic credit for successfully completing the internship.
Methods:
Internship mentors: Internship mentors based in the community or at the internship site are the students first point of contact while the students are at the internship site. They introduce students to the local community, guide students on ethics and help the students navigate local cultural issues. They answer students’ questions, and may act as interpreters as required. Internship mentors are of a minimum of high school, and are fluent in both English and Luganda, the major language in the internship site
Internship activities: Before starting the internship, the student formulates the internship activities and/or tasks that we expect of the student. Students are expected to contribute to day-to-day work at the organization. Students receive a schedule for the following week on Fridays. Generally, activities involve volunteering (teaching, office work, preparing teaching materials, innovations, triage clinics, outreach clinics, hospital rounds etc.) at the community schools and hospitals
Class activities: Class activities will take the form of facilitated group discussions, short lectures on key topics, carefully selected reading assignments, relevant videos, and weekly reflection papers.
Proposed weekly schedule:
We propose that students will be at their internship sites 3 days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Monday and Friday will be spent on group discussions, written assignments and reading. We will, on occasion, take students to site visits and tour activities during weekends. We propose that the total duration of the internship be fifteen weeks, which is equivalent to a semester
- Week One and Two: Orientation and preparation-Entebbe
- Week Two: Introduction to course e.g. Social Work or Medical Work in Uganda-
Internship site/Entebbe - Week Three to week Six: Education-Internship site/Entebbe
- Week Seven to week ten: Community/Hospital Health- Internship site/Entebbe
- Week eleven to week fourteen: Community Experience- Internship site/Entebbe
- Week fifteen: Final reflections: the intersectionality of education, health and agriculture,
reverse cultural shock, and preparations to return home-Entebbe
Proposed living conditions
Students will live in carefully selected homestays, with oversight by a homestay coordinator, in Entebbe Municipal Council. As the first seat of the colonial government, Entebbe Municipal Council has a rich history. Entebbe also has unrivaled green spaces (the Botanical Gardens, Entebbe Wild Life Education Center, and several sports facilities. Entebbe has a vibrant community life, with lakefronts and beaches providing excellent entertainment and relaxation. Homestay families will be carefully selected and given orientation on their roles and expectations. Students will also be oriented on homestay rules, norms and expectations. We will have back-up families or alternative living possibilities in the unlikely event that our student intern is unable to live in a particular family.