Internship at Sadili Yields Great Professional Experience: Intern Success Stories 2

Meet Aurelia Mito and Hassan Noor, two of five interns who recently completed their internship at Sadili Oval Sports Academy. They share their experiences during the internship, and have a lot of positive things to say. Read on!

Aurelia Mito

“My name is Aurelia Kue Mito, a third year Social Work student at St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Work in collaboration with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. For three months I was an intern at Sadili Oval Sports Academy where l worked mainly under three programmes: the Court of Dreams, Empower my Life and Girl Power Clubs Africa.

My experience at Sadili was very insightful and a real eye-opener for me. It pushed me to use my skills best way I possibly could. I found Empower my Life programme particularly enjoyable because of the games that came with it. Addressing the kids during every life skills session was quite a challenge in the beginning because I lacked the confidence. However, after weeks of practice in the field, I improved and by the end of my internship I was able to talk to them with confidence.

Even though walking to Kibera almost daily was not an easy task due to its terrains, I got a lot of encouragement from my more experienced colleagues at Sadili and this made me have an even more positive attitude towards working with the underprivileged children in Kibera. I had a chance to talk to some kids who were willing to share about their families’ lives, their struggles and how they managed to overcome the many challenges they face living in the slums. I found some of the stories quite moving, but most importantly I was inspired by the positive attitude that the kids exhibited. The happiness in their eyes always made my days!

Getting real life experience as a social educator in such a good environment is something I do not take for granted. I am very grateful to Sadili for having given me the chance to work with them, and I am certain the skills I acquired will be useful in future.”

Hassan Noor

"I am is Hassan Noor Muhammed, a 3rd year student pursuing a Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Work at St. Elizabeth University of Social Work and Health sciences in collaboration with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. I recently completed my three-month internship as a Social Educator at Sadili Oval Sports Academy.

During my internship, I actively took part in two programmes: the Court of Dreams (WASH) and Ushindi Boys Clubs. I came to Sadili with the idea that all of our activities would be carried out in their offices located in Lang’ata. However, I was surprised when I learnt that most of my working hours would be spent in Kibera informal settlement, the area that Sadili’s programmes target. I had heard a lot of bad stories about Kibera, and the idea of working there was initially not easy to accept. However, after listening to other experienced staff talk about their positive experiences, I accepted the challenge.

Open sewers, dirt filled routes and the hilly terrain of the slum were initially a challenge; but these were things I quickly overcame. Within no time I felt very at home while walking in Kibera.  

One of the most valuable lessons I learnt, particularly in the Court of Dreams programme, was the fact that sports could be linked with life skills, and that children are more eager to learn when the two are put together.

I was also involved in data collection, data entry as well as interviewing children in a way that I could get all the information I needed from them. I am looking forward to putting into practice these skills in future when I'll be dealing with children.

Sadili gives interns an opportunity to expand their skills and also learn how to link sports and life skills as a tool when working with the community. I would advise any person ready to expand his/her skills and to gain experience to not hesitate to join this great organization."

Sadili is extremely proud of these interns for the progress they made during their internship. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.