Malikah is studying a BSc in Psychology at Goldsmith’s University in London. She joined the VACorps program in July 2020 and participated in a counseling/psychology internship at a local NGO that creates educational opportunities for underprivileged children.
“Interning at VACorps has been the best thing I have done all year. Speaking to their advisors made me believe interning with them would be the best thing; especially as all opportunities are in South Africa. I was drawn to SA because it has a unique culture and history which has shaped the country. As a psychology student, I liked the idea of working with people which is what interning in SA has been all about. The people are all welcoming and communicate openly. I have loved interning remotely as it is more accessible but also has allowed me to help a company that needed it and would not have gotten the help unless it was remote.
I learned a lot in my internship including how hard I can push myself. I realized I love doing research and that I am good at getting into great detail when doing it. Additionally, I have learned how working to help others is my true passion. Some specific highlights include meeting with my supervisor every week and working on creating a girls’ module tackling real-life issues to help young women and girls in the Crossroads township.
What I loved most about my host company is that they share the same main principles as me, including an appreciation for education. For me, education is the most important resource we have, and that I believe we should all have access to reap the benefits. They were also very accommodating, kind, and willing to give support at any time.
Now that my internship experience is over, I will really miss having important and interesting work to do every day. I will also miss the weekly cultural workshops that VACorps hosted.”
Meet our most recent VACorps program alumni:
Chris Doe, Massachussets, USA (2023)
Chris joined the VACorps program in January 2023 as part of his Gap year and participated in a human rights internship. I decided to come to Cape Town to do an internship because I […]
Nico Theunissen, New York, USA (2023)
Nico joined the VACorps Program in January 2023 as part of his Gap year and participated in an internship at a clean energy engineering company. “Living in New York City, coming to Cape Town […]
Derya Tunçaral, Istanbul, Turkey (2023)
Derya is a recent graduate of Istanbul Bilgi University where he earned his bachelor’s in International Relations. He joined the VACorps program in November 2022 and participated in a political science internship. “It was […]
Isabelle Ryan, Illinois, USA (2023)
Isabelle joined the VACorps Program in January 2023 as part of her Gap year and participated in a business internship. “Originally, I was nervous about coming to Cape Town. I had never been so […]
Alize Serez, Istanbul, Turkey, (2023)
Aliza has recently earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Istanbul Bilgi University. She joined the VACorps Program in September 2022 and participated in a Political Science Internship. “The reason I chose Cape […]
Carley Adams, Ontario, Canada, (2023)
Carley is a recent MSc graduate of the University of Edinburgh, specializing in Medical Anthropology. She joined the VACorps Program in January 2023 and participated in a public health internship. “Cape Town is such […]