Internship 2021
The word Winch has different meanings in different climes.
In English, it means "a machine that lifts heavy objects".
In Scottish, it means "Kissing with tongues".
And in Nigerian slang, it has the same meaning as "WITCH".
And being a Nigerian, I found it quite awkward identifying with the name, I would laugh a few times whenever I told my folks from Nigeria the name of my Placement organization, but as time went on I settled in. My first day at The Winch was also very awkward, first of all, as I sat at the reception on arrival, I remember seeing a bunch of kids running here and there downstairs, and I remember thinking to myself, "hmm, what is this place? Am I going to be teaching kids? I thought this was a Youth center. lol. And yes it is a Youth Center, but they also had a department called Play, that looked after after-school kids. That day I was supposed to be meeting with the Deputy Manager for a mini-office tour, but unfortunately, it turned out differently. Coincidentally, it was that time of the month for me, and knowing how excruciating my pains can get, I had taken my painkillers before leaving the house, plus I had some in my handbag. The tour was about to start when I broke down with pains. I was totally helpless, and could not move, causing some panic for my male Deputy Manager who happened to be new to such an encounter. I almost passed out, but thankfully I didn't. With the help of the Deputy Manager, I got a glass of water with which I took my meds, and was escorted to the train station going back home. Imagine leaving your supervisor with such an impression on the first day at work. Sigh!
Now, back to my internship!
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| @ The Winch |
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| Author at Brighton Youth Club, Brighton. |
During my internship I had firsthand experience of youth work by engaging in mentoring young people, visiting youth clubs across London (thanks to my Supervisor, Jim), going on trips with young people, etc; which exposed me to some societal ills like gang violence, knife crime in the Uk, and the roles played by social organizations to tackle such issues.
This was what inspired me to create a short documentary film titled “Take Me Back”, which was also part of my dissertation.
About the film:
Take Me Back is a media project that highlights some of the key social issues faced by young people in society, like gang violence, drug dealing, impacts of the pandemic on young people; and the indispensable role played by social organizations in supporting young people to become better in society, using my internship organization The Winch, as a case study.
And more interestingly, all the actors in the film are staff and young people from The Winch; people who have had lived experiences and understand what the story is about. It was the best collaboration I could ever ask for, and I’m very grateful for that.
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| Author with Staff of The Winch |
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| Author with Staff of The Winch on a games activity |
It was interesting because they (all the staff of the organization) worked with me from the scratch. They supported me as I wrote the script, did the filming, and even watched me do the editing right there in the office; requesting their feedbacks here and there about what to change and what not to. They were fully part of the film. It was not just my film, it was a film for the organization and I’m glad it turned out just how I wanted. On the day we screened the film in the office it was exciting to see their reactions as they watched themselves on screen. 😅 Their feedbacks like “Progress, this film is sick” was really filling. I also had a 2:1 in my dissertation! 😇
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| During the editing process |
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| During the editing process |
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| The staff of the Winch watching themselves on screen. |
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| Protagonist watching herself on screen |
Initially, it was a hassle to find an organization to have a placement. Many organizations were just trying to bounce back as a result of the pandemic and had little or no accommodation for internship seekers like myself.
I remember applying to tons and tons of top organizations like The BBC, Channel 4, Oxfam, to mention but a few, when I was seeking placement. I just wanted to identify with the best, which is okay, and I felt sick of rejections.
But once I narrowed down my application and focused on not-too-big organizations, I not only got accepted, I got accepted by an organization that offered what I was passionate about - social change. They may not be a world-class organization at the moment, but their vision/mission seems to share alignment with mine, and at the end of the day I felt quite happy that I came down from my high horse of “big organizations”.
Many students like myself, especially international students, were seeking to acquire that international work experience through an internship, but because of the disappointment and rejection by organizations they later had to resort to writing a 15,000 words dissertation project or creating a media project (many of my course mates did), which we had as part of our dissertation options.
My experience at The Winch turned out amazing as I was later retained as a staff of the organization, after my internship with them; thereby offering me the opportunity to build my skills and acquire relevant experience within the development space. And this is why I count my internship experience as invaluable, and one of the major highlights of my 2021!
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| The Winch Staff Team |
On the last day of my internship, the staff of The Winch surprised me with a banquet of flowers, chocolates & cakes, and a card that had many beautiful messages. See photos below.
I also wrote this article highlighting how The Winch does things differently.
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