Dispatches from Abroad: Global Practice

“I grew up in Chicago, but my father lives in Mozambique, so it was important to me to find a field placement in Sub-Saharan Africa where I spent my summers with him. As a macro student, I value my internship in Rwanda working with the RPCA and its local NGO partner FXB (Association François-Xavier Bagnoud), analyzing the return on investment of its community-based interventions with the most vulnerable families. As a social worker, my bias is to fix things immediately, but I’ve come to understand the realities of international development—balancing the needs of multiple constituents, partners, priorities, rules, and regulations.”

“I was on the varsity soccer team as an undergraduate at Macalester College and love playing here on a co-ed pick-up team on the weekends in Kigali, where I live. I believe in the positive power of youth sports and can see myself leading a youth mentorship program one day.”

“I was invited to the wedding of a family friend and arrived thinking I was simply a guest. Instead, I was given an outfit and informed I was part of the wedding party! It ended up being lots of fun, but quite surprising. Living in a country in which you aren’t familiar with all the customs and you can’t depend on power, clean running water, or Wi-Fi 24/7, I’ve learned an important life lesson: go with the flow!”

“I chose a field assignment in Guatemala with CRS to improve my Spanish proficiency as well as my grant and proposal writing skills—expertise I need to achieve my career goals. Ninety-eight percent of my CRS colleagues are Guatemalan with only a couple of expats, so while our written work is predominantly in English, Spanish is the language spoken in the office. I’ve also had the chance to broaden my grant-writing experience by working on international grants that are distributed across multiple organizations in multiple countries. And last, but not least, my international field experience has strengthened my ability to connect across cultural boundaries, a really important skill since building rapport is critical for social workers.”

“I live in the city of Quetzaltenango, located in Guatemala’s western highlands amidst small, impoverished agricultural towns in which small farmers grow coffee, cabbage, corn, and avocados. My home is in a former Spanish Colonial hotel turned long-term Airbnb that I share with 10 other people and 15 dogs. Why so many animals? The owner, an Australian woman, takes in street dogs who enhance the security of our gated home.”

“Quetzaltenango is situated against a backdrop of volcanoes. On weekends, my housemates and I often hike the volcanoes, including in the neighboring town of Santa Maria.”

“Prior to enrolling in graduate school, I worked in different settings supporting refugees and individuals seeking humanitarian visas. I selected the macro track at BCSSW because I wanted to address the gaps in policies and services that I saw contributing to the victimization and vulnerability of individuals—through the development of policies that prevent downstream issues and integrated pathways that benefit migrants.

“At ICMC Europe, I am part of a seven-person team working on a variety of projects. My primary role is to inform the development of an integration pathway for Nigerian women who have experienced sex trafficking. Through the Right Way Project, I utilize literature and research best-practice models to influence a pilot integration program that will be tested in Italy. I also work on the European Resettlement Network’s Share Project, led by ICMC Europe, focused on building partnerships for refugee inclusion in communities across Europe.”

“Brussels is truly a multicultural city. It is one of the seats of the European Parliament and the headquarters of the European Union (EU). Living and working here is exciting. In February, I attended the Catholic Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings conference at the European Parliament building, pictured here. I live in an apartment at the Institute for Cultural Affairs with young adults from all over the European Union (EU) and other parts of the world, who have short-term internships in the city. Our dinner conversations are definitely interesting, with people offering diverse views on topics such as Brexit, the political situation in Turkey, and migration.”

“Brussels is lively! There is always something cultural going on, not to mention delicious Belgian chocolate and waffles to sample.”

“With a BA in social work and sociology and five years spent working clinically with families and children, I enrolled in BC’s MSW program to strengthen my clinical skills as well as my ability to effect change at the macro level. I also knew I wanted to concentrate in global social work with a focus on migration, so BC’s program was a perfect fit.

“At APIMA, I have the privilege of supporting the rollout of a regional pilot migrant program. I am gaining critical project management and implementation skills and a behind-the-scenes view of the process of securing funds to deliver services. Working in the regional office on a project that spans five countries means I work and conduct most meetings virtually using my mobile office: laptop, phone, Skype, and OneDrive!” 

“I was worried that I’d feel disconnected from my purpose since my day-to-day work is a few levels removed from the migrants actually utilizing APIMA services. But I’ve been able to use my clinical skills to inform macro program execution—exactly the experience I was looking for. I also have the chance to collaborate with community partners on project activities like the Resilient Roots trauma awareness workshop for returned migrants and youth in Senegal, which focuses on strengthening resilience at both the individual and community level. I value learning how therapy models have been integrated and how psychosocial support is an integral aspect in holistic migration programming.”

“I thrive on exercise and love to run. In fact, I ran the Dakar half marathon in April. It’s incredible to train looking out at the views like the peninsula of Dakar and the Mosque of the Divinity.”

“While at times it is hard to be away from family, I am really enjoying my time in Dakar. I am constantly learning—from the moment I wake up, on my way to and from work, at work, and during my personal and leisure time. I’ve learned to be truly present at every part of my day.”

“I work with a small group of Secretariat staff from India, Ireland, Spain, and Italy focused on social justice and ecology initiatives. My main responsibility is supporting the assistant network director in three areas: planning a celebration to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Secretariat, coordinating communications among Jesuit agencies across the globe, and developing the Secretariat’s media campaign—all skills relevant to my career goal of becoming a program director for at-risk youth initiatives.”

“Each day on my 15-minute walk to and from my office, I cross St. Peter’s Square. I marvel at the awe-inspiring architecture and am reminded that we are all created in God’s image to be creators of love and beauty and to make the world a better place for all.”

“I love to explore and am blessed to have the opportunity to travel each weekend, including to beautiful places like Venice.”

“My heart is in international politics and development. While I value my time in Rome, as a Latin-American native, I feel the call to go back to that region and help the best I can.”

“My international field placement is at the JRS international office, where I am working with the HR team to explicitly tackle the well-being of field staff, an important priority given the intense challenges and threats humanitarian workers face along with refugees. The team is shaping psychological first aid training for JRS staff in the geographic areas identified in a worldwide needs assessment completed before I arrived in Rome. It is rewarding to work at the headquarters of an international NGO and learn how policies and programs are created and carried out between there and regional, country, and project offices.”

“BCSSW is the only master’s program I applied to because of its global practice concentration. It offers the best preparation to work with the populations I am interested in supporting—immigrants, refugees, and displaced persons—and provides solid opportunities for internships overseas. In April, I participated in a three-week trip through South Africa, Malawi, and Zimbabwe in conjunction with the field staff well-being project I work on from the JRS office in Rome. Here I am in front of the center at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi where refugees participate in educational programs to learn English, computer, and agricultural skills.”

“I speak Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and Russian fluently, and I can fake Italian well enough to get by at the 10:30 a.m. office coffee breaks and navigate the city. My apartment is a 20-minute walk from the office in a young, hip area called Trastevere. There’s even a great gelato shop right in my building. I have to admit I stop there most days.”