Going into the Human Rights program, my aim was to enhance my knowledge so that I can set myself up for a job in the humanitarian organizations, such as the United Nations and its affiliate organs, World Vision, and Care, to mention but a few, so when I was presented with an opportunity to do a practicum with Hope International Development Agency, it was an easy choice for me to make.
The reason this was an obvious choice for me was because of the kind of work the organization does of working with the disadvantaged members of society. The organization helps the society with basic needs such as land titling and registration. The organization has initiated projects aimed at helping indigenous communities secure legal titles to their ancestral lands. This involves working with local governments and legal experts to navigate the complex process of land registration and titling. They also helped with community mapping; on this one, the organization collaborates with local communities to create detailed maps of their territories. These maps are used to document traditional land use and occupancy, which can be crucial evidence in legal disputes over land ownership.
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
In terms of legal support and advocacy, Hope International provides legal assistance to communities facing land disputes. This includes offering legal representation, filing claims, and advocating for policy changes that protect indigenous land rights. The organization helps with sustainable agriculture programs; their aim is to support communities in making the most of their land. Hope International runs sustainable agriculture programs. These programs provide training in eco-friendly farming techniques, access to quality seeds and tools, and support in marketing agricultural products. As a way of also giving back to the community they help with education and awareness campaigns, the organization conducts educational campaigns to raise awareness about land rights among indigenous communities. These campaigns aim to inform community members about their legal rights and the processes available to secure those rights. These initiatives include legal support, training, and advocacy to ensure that women’s land rights are recognized and protected. These projects collectively aim to empower indigenous communities, secure their land rights, and promote sustainable development.
It is on this basis that I developed an interest in the organization. After the application process, I got in touch with one of the directors, who later introduced me to my current supervisor. I have a legal background, so on joining the organization, my supervisor said I should help with summarizing some case laws since HOPE International was implementing a development project in Guatemala and the Philippines and had commissioned a mid-term evaluation of the project and will be participating in a research project on the interaction between land rights and development of which the evaluation is part. The initial project was supposed to be for the two countries, but this was changed to Guatemala only.
So, my job was to help understand the legal aspects of the project, which have to do primarily with land tenure security, and to assess their influence on the results. It was an online practicum since I couldn’t move to Vancouver because of the costs associated with that, so we agreed that it would be online. How we had agreed to do this was that my supervisor would give me work to do, and then we would constantly have feedback sessions on the given task. We managed to do that in the first few weeks of the practicum, and then it came to a point where my supervisor was busy, such that I would send him several emails without any success. I had to engage our program coordinator, who then set up a meeting with my supervisor and myself, and we then ironed out all the sticking issues. We had also agreed that I would be attending some workshops as well as staff meetings, so on this one, it was not possible since I was supposed to attend meetings that resonated with the project I was doing in this case Guatemala, but for some reason, the meetings were never held. So, this made it difficult for me to attend meetings as well as workshops. This then left me with only the option of doing research as well as helping to translate some documents originally written in Spanish to English. Guatemala is a Spanish-speaking country.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
There was a time before that meeting with our program coordinator, I felt like I wasn’t benefiting from the practicum. Since I didn’t have, as we agreed, any work to do at times. I have also felt that I haven’t exactly achieved what I had hoped I would by doing the practicum. My other hope was to attend workshops and staff meetings; this I didn’t manage to do. What I managed to do was to develop a sophisticated understanding of human rights and social justice theories and practices, integrating insights from legal and academic perspectives.
Legal Perspectives
For me to understand the legal frameworks governing human rights I was supposed to work on in Guatemala, I had to study international human rights law, analyze treaties, conventions, and case law. I had to examine the national and local laws, policies, and judicial decisions in Guatemala, recognizing their impact on social justice and economic development.
Academic Perspectives
In trying to understand the intersections of power, identity, and social justice, I had to engage with critical theories, such as critical race theory, feminist theory, and postcolonial theory. I also analyzed scholarly research and literature on human rights and social justice, evaluating methodologies and arguments.
I can safely say I have learnt so much in terms of what happens within a not-for-profit organization but at the same time I still have much to learn, I am sure if I had been on the ground, things could have been different. The other thing that I also noticed is that within this organization I was the first student they had taken on for a practicum. I am sure that also has a bearing on some of the glitches we initially had. But overall, the meeting made things better since that time we had a good working relationship and even the feedback sessions were fruitful.
If I must do things differently, I would like to be on the ground. I am sure this presents more opportunities for me and no matter how busy people are, if you were on the ground, they would probably notice you, unlike when you are away or online. I have, however, learnt how to enhance my research skills as well as knowing some tools used to translate documents from any language. In conclusion, I can safely say I enjoyed my time with Hope International, as it gave me a glimpse of what it is to work for a Humanitarian Organization and the kind of work that goes on in that kind of environment. As a recommendation from the organization point of view, the organization must have someone less busy to help with the students with the practicum as well as have more work so that the student can learn as much as possible. If also possible, I would have loved to go on to the field and interact with the communities