Christa Osumi
International Experience in Tarapoto, Peru
June 2015- August 2015
I interned for Foundation Runa, the non-profit sector of Runa, a guayusa tea beverage company, as an Agricultural Cooperative Intern for 8 weeks in the San Martin region, the high jungle plateau. We were a team of 5 interns who all had different individual projects while working on a group project as well.
This was my first international work experience and, as such, I was immediately captivated by every aspect of the opportunity. Us interns lived in a community of about 6 families in the jungle, dealing with tarantulas and bats and very type of bug, using an outhouse and retrieving coconuts from the trees in our backyard area, and I absolutely loved it.
I worked with local coffee and cocoa farmers through an agricultural cooperative to address what they considered important to help them improve their livelihoods. We undertook a project to train farmers and their families how to raise guinea pigs in the humid jungle to provide a more economical protein source to increase food security. This led me to travel to many isolated communities and other towns to research guinea pig production and to hold series of workshops to implement these animal systems. It was a really awesome experience to see how I was able to put into practice many things I had learned in my classes and also to see how some things that I thought were “easy” solutions were not appropriate for the culture or the situation. It really allowed me to take a step back and think things through rather than just seeing something or someone as a project on my list.
Our group project lead us to work with government health agencies, the health sector and community members to tackle the issue of anemia in our region through a Public Investment Proposal that the community asked us to write. Having no prior experience in proposal writing, I am so grateful I was able to have the opportunity to work on one. It was also really eye-opening to learn more about this and the individual projects of fellow interns to better understand the breadth of approaches and needs taken to improve community development.
From riding in moto-taxis (part motorcycle with a little cart attached to the back to transport you) when going into the “city”, eating giant ants and attending indigenous ceremonies, it all felt so new to me. This experience pushed me in ways I had never experienced. I was almost forced to gain a better command of the language in order to communicate with community members and stakeholders and to run these workshops. I was exposed to so much of the not-so-glamorous part of working internationally— getting your bags stolen, cancelled meetings, because of road flooding, lack of internet access. The tasks and goals at hand coupled with the daily ins and outs shaped me in so many ways that I don’t know I would have otherwise been able to experience without a work opportunity like this. I had to learn how to live outside my comfort zone and to try to understand other people's perspectives. I had to learn to deal with adversity and plans falling through. I loved working with the people there and learning their perspective and seeing their needs instead of just reading about it in a research paper.
This opportunity helped me realize that my vision of being an active contributor to improvements in the developing world was possible if I am willing to put in the hard work behind it. It gave me a confirmation of why I chose this career path and really put into perspective for me all that I was learning inside the classroom during the school year. There truly is no other way one could understand the reality and importance of development work until you are in the field, working hands-on. It is an incredible, life-changing experience