An intern's diary : Erin Huffer
My project assignment involves working with teenagers or, youth in a village in rural Tamil Nadu. My team and I will be assessing the effectiveness of UNICEF’s HIV/AIDS Peer Education Program. My first three weeks have been spent compiling a plan for our research project and preparing for our field visit. In between I have been exploring and adjusting to city life in Chennai. I am eagerly awaiting the field visit, but feel I am already learning much about the purpose of the UNICEF internship: to improve and contribute to the lives of children. So far I have had the experience of interacting with many young children (age 5 and under) during my time in Chennai. I moved into a girls hostel in a central part of the city and every morning have the pleasure of passing groups of kids in starched school uniforms and neatly combed hair making their way to school. As a foreigner I definitely stand out in the neighborhood and today will not be the only day that a group of children laugh when they see me, in a good way of course. I always say hello back and then they smile and run away with the exception of one bold spirit who runs back up to me and says loudly “HI!” then runs off giggling with their friends. On my way to the bus stop I always stop and have a fresh glass of watermelon juice something that is hard to resist everyday when I am in India because anything made “fresh” in my home country is either rare or high in price. At the juice stand where I usually stop there is a boy working there who looks to be about 12 or 13. He never really says much and just bustles around the shop cleaning up dishes. Its easy to pass him off as just another adult because he is working just as hard, but when speaking to him directly he displays the same shyness in saying hello or stating his age that I used to find in kids of the same age I interacted with as a teacher 6 years ago. As an outsider it is hard for me to understand a situation in which a 12 year old works fulltime, but I do know there are no simple answers or solutions to ending child labor which is why the work of UNICEF is so important. The other children I interact with frequently are babies in restaurants, at the bus stop, walking with their mothers on the street. I have a terrible habit and can’t resist pinching the cheek of every baby I see. Usually they like it and smile but sometimes they are a little annoyed. Like the boy in the restaurant some of the babies are not as well off as the others… because they live on the street etc. Regardless of where they are from though, they are irresistible, full of energy and just seeing them smile has become a necessity for me to go about my day. I am happy to be interning with UNICEF this summer in hopes that I will be able to affect the lives of children on a larger scale as well as in daily interactions. Looking at facts and figures on child poverty, child labor etc in the world can be depressing and even a little hopeless. For now I just hope to make small changes through work on projects contributing to improving health conditions of children and of course from trying to get a smile or laugh out of every child I see.
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