​Name: Saskia Dumas

Exchange location: MAURITIUS

Program name: Know about Cancer

Internship duration: 7 weeks

A typical day on your internship:
Know about Cancer is an educational development project where by interns work with NGO’S regarding cancer treatment and awareness. The project consists of three sections. First section concerns the palative care aspect of cancer treatment. Interns visit numerous hospitals in Mauritius with the opportunity to talk with doctors and patients with cancer. They talk with the patients regarding their life style choices and how much they knew about cancer before being diagnosed. They also have to opportunity to see the various treatment centres in Mauritius. Mauritius is very behind when it comes to cancer treatment. The technology they have is very old and breaks down quite often. As Mauritius has a 13.5 % cancer diagnosis rate, every hospital has to cope with hundreds of people coming for cancer treatment every day, and cannot sustain the numbers. One of the aims of the project is to show the government that more money needs to be invested into cancer treatment.

The second section of the internship involves thorough researching and collaborative work with the World Health Organisation Statistics branch. Through this research interns will create a professional pamphlet to hand out to the public. Also interns will also create a National survey and go around to popular areas and conduct the survey with members of the public. The survey is used to create a national statistic database that is then presented to the local government in order to provide proof that there is a huge problem in Mauritius.

The final aspect of the program is to present in front of numerous schools and women’s centres in Mauritius. The aim of this is to create greater awareness of cancer and healthy living. It may seem like a daunting task however, everyone is so happy to see you there. They love volunteers!

This all may seem like a lot of work, and it is. However it is the most rewarding work one could do. You can see the impact it is having in the nation straight away.

Despite all this work, you have HEAPS of spare time too. Mauritius is a small country with a population of 1.3 million. You can drive from one end of the island to another in less than 2 hours. It is a beautiful country blessed with magical beaches surrounding the whole islands and breathtaking coral reefs! My spare time was spent visiting all these amazing beaches, snorkeling for hours at a time, hiking up volcanic mountains, sailing, parasailing, clubbing, shopping and much, much more.

I lived in a house with all the other interns throughout the 7 weeks. There were 10 of us. The interns came from various parts of the world; India, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Egypt. For the 7 weeks we cooked together, cleaned together and worked together. You all become extraordinarily close. It is your family. Everyone has been selected because they show real enthusiasm to make an impact.

Mauritius has almost 120 interns arrive for an AIESEC internship every year. December, January and February are the busiest months for AIESEC Mauritius. As Mauritius is a very small country, all the interns in each project tend meet up quite regularly. So you get to meet quite a lot of interns and become very close with them. They come from almost everywhere in the world. It is a great opportunity to create friendships and networks with people from all around the world.

How did you feel after finishing your internship?
Initially I was so sad. I had just left some of the closest friends I had ever made and I had had such an amazing time, I didn’t want to go home. However after re-adjusting to my normal routine, I think back on the whole experience and think WOW! I can’t believe I achieved so much and had the best experience of my life so far! You also learn a lot about yourself and your strengths and weaknesses, and you learn so many new skills. I keep in touch quite regularly with the other interns of my project. Next year I am planning to travel overseas to visit most of them.

Any words of advice for future exchange participants?
Go on the internship prepared to step out of your comfort zone and embrace the new culture you’re experiencing. It will be different to your life in Australia, however doesn’t mean it’s bad. You will get so much more out of the internship if you can embrace everything as an experience and try new things.

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​Name: Sophie Ritchie



Exchange location: Jinja, UGANDA



Program Name: Arise and Shine Uganda



Internship duration: 6 weeks



A typical day on your internship:

Arise and Shine Uganda is a young non-government organisation that promotes sustainable development through community education. I personally worked on projects that were directly related to Sexual Reproductive Health. More specifically, I started a birth control program in a rural village in Uganda, out of which many of our products were based. In addition to this, I did workshops with young women regarding sexual risk and behavioural change; all of which is related to the HIV/AIDS endemic present in much of Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa.



What did you enjoy most about your internship?

I enjoyed so many things about my internship. Firstly, I loved working directly with and for local inhabitants of the country I was placed in. With many development initiatives, I think it is essential that those who are being assisted afford a sense of empowerment and self- determination. For this reason, I was glad to have chosen a Ugandan NGO. Secondly, I loved working with young women; teaching them about issues that we so often (in the industrialised world) take for granted. The spirit, motivation and determination of the people we worked with were very inspiring. Also, Uganda is a beautiful country. Physically, culturally, socially; it’s a very easy place to spend some time.



How do you feel after finishing your internship?

Initially I was very confused. At the same time as feeling very enriched, and fulfilled to have lived the experience, it was very hard to leave my life there. It’s difficult to partake in such an intense and emotionally full-on experience, and then to return to ones’ normal, and comfortable life. It was definitely harder coming back than it was going. But after a few weeks of course I re-adjusted back into my life in Sydney and am now very happy.

Any words of advice for future exchange participants?

Just try everything (within reason of course)! Try to be as open-minded and as culturally sensitive as possible, even with regard to issues you feel very strongly about. This doesn’t mean you have to change your set of values or alter your moral compass, merely try to relate to someone else’s perspective, and understand how such differences in opinion are possible between two human beings. Relax, but be careful. Just try to enjoy all you can; the time will fly!