Yi Cao — Seattle
Washington, USA
2017

“I will start by saying that Cape Town is the most beautiful city that I have ever visited. Waking up and immediately seeing the blue sky and a towering mountain is still not something I could get used to, despite the fact that I have been here for nearly two months. I am leaving this beautiful city in exactly one week and the separation anxiety is real.

“For the past two months, I have been working at a human rights organization that monitors the South African parliament meetings. Going in and out of the parliament building has quickly become the work routine, and it feels amazing, for a few reasons. First; I feel like I am contributing my minor effort to help the government transparency to the public through the meeting reports my co-worker and write. Second; being able to attend these meetings gives me a sense of belonging and a sense of inclusiveness from the country, in general. Third; These meetings I attended gave me an insight into the South African parliament structure and its legislative process. It is of great importance for me to learn about how the government in other countries work, so to get a different perspective on government and how it can better serve the general public.

“Thank you, Cape Town. You will be missed!”

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Meet past participants:

Pallavi Bhargava, Maryland, USA (2023)

Pallavi joined the VACorps Program as part of her Gap Year and participated in a human rights internship.  “The last 2.5 months in Cape Town have been some of the best of my life! […]

Mya Tosomeen, Queensland, Australia (2023)

Mya is studying towards a bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations and a Bachelor’s in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University. She joined the VACorps program in October 2022 and participated in […]

Janna Elhawary, California, USA (2022)

Janna (pictured on the left) is studying for a Double BA in Political Science, Public Affairs at UCLA. She joined to VACorps program in June 2022 and participated in a human rights internship.  “I […]

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