My name is Emeka Kingsley Chigbogu and I studied International Relations and European-Asian Studies at Tallinn University of Technology. I did my Internship last year at Think Africa for 9 months and I wanted to share my internship journey, what I learned during my time and the impact of this learning on my career and studies.
I got to know about Think Africa through the then Ambassador of South Africa to Finland and Estonia, H.E, Ms Carmen J Smidt. Back then, I was the President of the Association of African Students in Estonia (AASE). The Ambassador advised me to check out the Think Africa website. When I later did it, I was elated by the laudable objectives, visions and values. This prompted me to attend the Think Africa Week 2019, along with some members of the AASE executive committee. We listened with rapt attention as speakers gave their presentations and the experience was awesome! It didn’t take us long to register as members of Think Africa.
The organization’s activities aligned with my passion for Africa and helped me find an African community in the diaspora. It served as my “home away from home”. My interaction with members of the organisation helped me find ways to contribute my quota towards building the Africa we aim to have. I equally encouraged some of the members from Estonia to join and to promote Think Africa on the Platform – Association of African students in Estonia during my tenure.
My internship with Think Africa together with my team, allowed me to study the integration experience of African migrants in Finland. The study sought to answer the key question – “How migrants of African descent fared in their bid to integrate into the Finnish societies”. To ensure proper participation, we involved participants from all the regions of Finland. I got to acquire great research skills ranging from formulating the research problem, objectives, to research methodologies. Despite the travel challenges posed by the Covid-19 restrictions, we were still able to send out survey questionnaires online to the targeted participants and got back the needed responses within the timeline. This act speaks volumes about the flexibility and adaptability of the organisation, even in challenging times which I greatly commend. Meanwhile, my engagement in some of their activities such as Hub sessions, Youth programs, and lectures that take place often, provided me more career training and insights. Such an opportunity to participate in different inhouse events spiced up my working time, and created a great learning ground for me.
The organisation enables African diaspora to settle in the country by providing them networking opportunities and helps them to be more productive while they stay in the country. This reinforced my belief for Africa, which is why I campaign for students who are having their internship or Erasmus in Finland, to register and be actively involved at Think Africa. This will help make their stay worthwhile and they will get to know other people, as well as take up other opportunities offered by the organisation.
My internship at Think Africa may be over, but I decided to continue to be an active member of the organisation to complement the efforts of the team towards building the Africa we all want. The supervisors were also very supportive and were always available to guide and ensure that everything was going smoothly. I will forever be indebted to them for their efforts towards making the internship period valuable. In return, I have taken a practical step by joining the Mentorship program to help others grow while having a rewarding experience with the whole community, and the organisation.
