New York, NY, October 7, 2022 – MCW Global held its 3rd edition of the Community Leaders in Africa Internship Program between June 1 and September 30, 2022. The program provides an internship opportunity to alumni of the Young Leaders Program to develop their community development skills and equips them to address communities’ pressing needs around the world. As part of the program, interns go through an intensive professional and leadership experience at any one of our affiliate organizations in Rwanda, Tanzania or Zambia. Through this immersive program, they gain practical, professional community development experience while identifying and working on a set of leadership skills and tools, increasing their self-awareness level, and working in a multicultural environment.

This year the internships were held through a hybrid setup, and interns spent two month working virtually and one month in the field. Anuli Anochirionye from the United Kingdom, and Sylvia Chemweno from Kenya were selected to intern with MCW’s affiliate organization in Africa, MC-Rwanda. Anuli and Sylvia joined MC-Rwanda as Curriculum Development Intern and Resource Mobilization Intern, respectively.

During her internship, Anuli conducted a community needs assessment in order to use it as a basis for creating the training curriculum. Assisted by MC-Rwanda team, she visited several entrepreneurship hubs, training centers and start-up incubators to better understand the training and development environment in Rwanda. Anuli started her internship virtually in July, spent the whole August in Kigali and then continued the virtual internship throughout September.

“My time during the internship was both a mentally and physically challenging experience that definitely gave me a chance to develop myself in different ways,” added Anuli.

Sylvia joined the MC-Rwanda team as a Resource Mobilization Intern. As part of her role, she supported the team in the development of an annual fundraising plan, identified funding opportunities among institutional donors and foundations (both local and international), and provided support in grant writing and conceptualizations of concept notes. In addition, Sylvia contributed to the existing grant database, through mapping and matching funding priorities with MC-Rwanda’s program. Sylvia started her internship virtually in June, spent the whole July in Kigali and then continued her virtual internship throughout August.

“The internship for me was not only to acquire professional skills but most importantly it helped me grow on a personal level and create meaningful networks. The entire experience provided me the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone, to learn new things that I would rather have been afraid to. It was an incredible time to learn so much about myself, resource mobilization and a different culture,” added Sylvia.

To enhance interns’ experience, we paired them up with mentors – who have previously interned with MCW Affiliates, and have undergone a similar process. Mentors went through a mentor training program that prepared them to serve as a guide for the interns’ personal and professional development, and support the creation of a personalized development tree. The interns were also supported by orientation sessions and development check-ins during the internship, facilitated by MCW Global team and MCW’s affiliate organizations.

During this cohort, MC-Zambia received support on resource mobilization and partnership management. This was MC-Zambia’s first opportunity to work with the Community Leaders in Africa Program. Sharon Matongo, an alumna and mentor of this program used her experience with MCW to provide guidance to MC-Zambia.

Community Leaders in Africa is an opportunity for young leaders within our alumni to augment their community development skills for greater impact. With a mix of professional and personal development opportunities, interns leave the program better equipped to effect meaningful change in their own communities using skills and lessons gained during their internships.

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