Gaining Experience by Making a Difference

An age old conundrum for any young person is how to get experience when experience is required in order to get experience. The challenge of experience is even greater for young people who want to go into international fields. Opportunities are few and are often expensive. The model of the IHF has many strengths, such as working through collaborative, long-lasting partnerships and supporting the implementation of solutions to community’s self-stated needs. I think another strength of the IHF is that it provides young people with the chance to gain experience in international development while contributing to real change. In many organizations that do international development work, proficiency in a second language and experience living abroad are required even for entry level positions.

Through the IHF, students and volunteers work together in campus chapters and with partners in developing communities to implement projects that have tangible benefits. They are able to gain skills in project planning and management, cross-cultural communication and teamwork. They are able to do this with the support from their chapter members, their partners, and the IHF Central Officers who are always available to provide guidance and training. They also work together to fund raise through local and national efforts to make it possible for many to work in the field with partners. No matter what IHF members move on to after their undergraduate education, they will be able to use the skills they have gained.

The work of the IHF is not all about the chance to gain experience- it is also about working with partners to improve the lives of others. IHF members have worked to bring smokeless cook stoves to villagers in India, provide scholarships for students in Guatemala and increase access to health care in Costa Rica. The benefits that community members receive from these projects are also long lasting and will make a real difference in people’s lives. IHFers do receive experience from the work they do with the IHF, but what really drives them to take the time out of their busy schedules is because they truly want to work with partners to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 16th, 2008 at 2:59 pm and is filed under The IHF, volunteers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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