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I participated in a six-week summer
internship program
in Douala, Cameroon, as a part of my graduate school studies.
I was assigned to a non-profit
organization to conduct a qualitative research analysis of
the situation of street children who are a big part of Douala's
urban culture.
Focusing specifically on the effectiveness
of centers and shelters that aim to provide these children
with basic needs and training, my goal was to conduct interviews
with the administration of these centers, with some street
children, as well as with adults who were former street children.
I wanted to understand why so many
children remain in the streets despite the availability of
these resources: are these centers efficient, are there enough
centers, what are some of the challenges they face, what is
the government doing about the street children phenomenon?
Despite the limited time of the
internship and various setbacks, I was able to accumulate vast
amounts of information and to discover my interest in the situation
of children in the developing world. |
