Working at YAI

Today was my first real day in the office. Last week, I was given the grand tour and was introduced to my new colleagues, but today was the first real day of work. I am working with Youth Action International (YAI), an NGO that works to support and empower conflict-affected women, children, and youth in postwar African countries. My good friend from college and internationally recognized child rights activist, Kimmie Weeks, founded YAI a few years ago and has tried to get me to come work with him for years. Thanks to the Fellowship, I finally have that opportunity.

More than simply working here, I am actually in charge. Kimmie is finishing up his Masters degree in the States and he has made me YAI’s Acting Director for the duration of my placement here. While I have experience running student organizations in college, I have never been in charge of an actual non-profit organization. I am excited and terrified at the same time; excited by the opportunity to really challenge myself and develop my leadership and management skills and terrified that I will somehow mess it all up. In some dark moments of paranoia, I have visions of myself really blundering in my every undertaking and basically capsizing the efforts of this NGO. Those visions usually pass quickly though, as I realize that while I’m certainly not the most experienced person for this job, thanks to the skills and personal development emphasized by the Fellowship, I am actually pretty well equipped to manage this responsibility.
The responsibility is the following: my project is to develop new partnerships and programs for YAI, which means networking and building relationships with many of the other NGOs in Monrovia. I'm particularly focusing on raising youth awareness of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) while also developing a series of workshops for youth groups on peace-building and conflict transformation. Plus I'm going to review and develop all current programs, streamline office efficiency, and conduct trainings for the local staff. So really not all that much to do for the next couple of months…