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Internships allow experience with U.N., aging issues

Aug. 12, 2005

NOTE: Photographs and audio are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Linda Bloom*

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Stephanie Oduro has always been fascinated by the
United Nations, but a recent internship with Global Action on Aging gave
her a more realistic picture of how the U.N. operates.

Oduro understands, for example, that change rarely happens quickly.
"I've learned that diplomacy is very slow and very tedious," she said.

A native of Ghana and resident of Jersey City, N.J., Oduro was finishing
a summer internship at Global Action on Aging in August, along with Ruo
Fu of Beijing, China, Priya Sharma of London, Ontario, and Cindy Chin, a
New Yorker and resident of Queens.

Global Action on Aging was founded in 1994 by Susanne Paul, former staff
with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Over the years,
the nonprofit organization has received support from various United
Methodist agencies, including the board's Women's Division, the Board of
Discipleship, and the Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Under Paul's guidance, Global Action on Aging - which "advocates by,
with and for older persons worldwide" - has progressed from a start-up
venture to a recognized nongovernmental partner for social justice
programs sponsored by the United Nations.

In the past year, the agency has doubled its office space at the United
Methodist-owned Church Center for the United Nations, allowing for an
expansion of interns and volunteers.

The diverse linguistic abilities of the interns is particularly
important as the Global Action on Aging Web site - www.globalaging.org -
attracts a growing number of readers from non-English speaking
countries.

Besides English, articles can be found in Arabic, Chinese, French,
Russian and Spanish. The top 20 areas represented by visitors to the
site each week include Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Taiwan,
Singapore, Hong Kong and the Russian Federation.

Among the summer interns, Fu speaks Mandarin; Oduro is fluent in French
and Twi, a language of the Ashanti region of Ghana; Sharma speaks an
Indian dialect; and Chin is conversant in Cantonese and some Mandarin.

Interns come to Global Action on Aging from various sources. Paul has
formed a relationship with a French graduate school, the Institute for
Political Studies in Aix-en-Provence, which sends two students as
nine-month interns each year. Russian students come through the Muskie
Scholars program.

Paul said she also uses a few "virtual interns" who research and post
articles from other locations.

A number of interns have learned about the agency through
www.idealist.org, a Web site that lists social justice-related job and
internship opportunities.

"If it weren't for that listing, I might not have found it," Sharma
said.

What drew her and the other interns to Global Action on Aging was both
the proximity to the United Nations and the promise of a good work
experience. "You could really see we'd be getting a lot of
responsibility, which is not common for internships," she explained.

The interns develop and update the agency's Web-based programs, which
deal with issues such as elder rights, health, pensions, rural aging and
older people caught in armed conflict. Using Web research and a variety
of U.N. and private sources, the interns post information in those
categories.

Sharma, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in health science and
philosophy at the University of Western Ontario, said she particularly
has enjoyed the Friday meetings with fellow interns, when they pool
their research and design the front page of the Web site.

Fu - who has been studying health care policy and management at the New
School in Manhattan and will stay on as an intern in the fall - has
appreciated the opportunity to work on health care issues and the
affiliation with the United Nations. "It's been a really great learning
experience for me," she said.

Although the problems facing the United Nations and the world are
frustrating, "you see so many people at the U.N. work so hard to make
this a better place," she noted.

Oduro believes the research work she has done during her internship on
pensions and Social Security will assist her as she pursues a degree in
international relations at the University of Pennsylvania.

Chin, a psychology major at the University of Rochester, wanted to
explore the world of nonprofits. She has seen how dedicated nonprofit
staffs can be to their work and enjoys the connection that Global Action
on Aging has to its members.

Paul credits her interns with building up the Web site over the past
five years, to the point where it draws a million hits a month. Interns
also may work on special projects, help with general office chores and
assist with Global Action on Aging events.

"Our interns are producing the materials here, day by day, that document
the situation of older persons," she said.

Potential interns must have a commitment to social justice, as well as
good writing, researching and Internet skills. Paul considers a sense of
commitment and a willingness to learn as important as any specialized
knowledge about issues of aging.

"Many of the foreign students think about the U.N. as a potential
employer," she said. She added that Global Action on Aging often
arranges lunches for interns with U.N. employees who share their
experiences and give helpful information.

Interns serve a minimum of three months. Although the internships are
unpaid, academic credit can sometimes be arranged and some interns are
able to raise financial support for living expenses from local community
members and institutions. Part-time internships also are available.

Information on internships can be found at www.globalaging.org, the
organization's Web site.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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