We're ending the first week of our intern follow up blog with ACIC's third intern - Madhurika (Maddi) Kalathoor! In Ghana, Maddi has been working with with the Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre (NORSAAC). To view Maddi's original blog and read a little bit more on the organizations, click here.
Here is what Maddi wanted to tell us: I have completed 6 weeks of my internship in Ghana as a HR Specialist and I love it! The staff at NORSAAC are very friendly and open to my suggestions. So far, I updated the HR Manual, write a proposal and develop job descriptions. Currently, I am working on appraisals and organizing the NGO to improve the efficiency. I enjoy the open atmosphere and flexibility of the organization. As an intern, I expected more guidance from an HR person with experience. However, I am pushed to take more initiative and develop creative solutions. I am also surprised that there are nine hour workdays demanding more from me. I think the rest of the internship will continue to be rewarding and challenging. My expectations of Ghana were very different from reality. In March 2012, I travelled to South Africa and assumed Ghana will also be similar to South Africa. I was surprised to learn about the lack of malls and MNCs in Tamale. Ghanaian culture is very different from South Africa. South African cuisine has more Western influence than Ghanaian foods. Ghanaians are also very friendly people making integrating very easy. Although I learned a lot about the influence of Islam in northern Ghana, it was still a shock to witness it. Punctuality is expected but not always followed. It was hard to adjust to the leisure time at first but now I am used to it. Finally, the cost of living was a major surprise to me. I expected the cost of living to be cheaper but it has been similar to Canada, except for food. Overall, I find IYIP has been very rewarding and am very proud and blessed to be part of this program.
Thanks Maddi, we're lucky to have you! Take care, and see you soon!
This initiative was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) | Ce projet a été entrepris grâce à l’aide financière du Gouvernement du Canada par l’entremise d’Affaires étrangères, Commerce et Développement Canada (MAECD).
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