August 6, 2007
Summer internship in Mali teaches a rising senior about children´s
rights - and the benefits of slowing down
By Claire Gould
At first, it was difficult for Frannie Noble ´08
to learn to slow down - to spend time sitting in
a courtyard making small talk with passersby
and having tea with the 15 members of her
host Malian family - while she interned for a
children´s rights organization in the country
this past summer.
"It bothered me at first to be living with a
Malian family that would sit outside the front
door for the majority of the day," she said. "I
wanted to go to town, meet up with friends
and explore."
Soon, though, Noble came to appreciate the
slower pace of life in Mali, and learned that
just by making small talk in a courtyard she
could improve her spoken Bambara and
French, learn about social interactions and
simply observe the Malian way of life.
A rising senior from Cohasset, Massachusetts,
Noble wanted a nontraditional study abroad
experience. After attending the School for
International Training (SIT), she landed a
summer internship with the Coalition des
ONGs Africains en Faveur des Enfants
(CONAFE), a children´s rights organization in
Bamako, Mali.
A student in the Toor s Center for
International Studies and the Liberal Arts
(CISLA) certificate program, Noble had
studied the United Nation´s Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the implementation of
the ratified recommendations regarding the
civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights of children. Interning with CONAFE
and working with the organizations president,
Dr. Moussa Sissoko, enabled her to examine
the convention´s effect in a real-life setting.
"I was able to see local level implementation,
the importance of national and international
coalition building, and how a single country´s
commitment to children´s rights is part of a
larger whole," she said.
During her internship, Noble interviewed
Malian CONAFE members and researched
Malian education, child labor, child trafficking
and children´s right to participation. She later
compiled a report on these issues, their history
and the policies adopted by the government,
as well as new projects that might be
successful in Mali. This report, written in
French, will stay on file in Mali and her
recommendations and research may be
distributed to other non-governmental
organizations.
While in Mali, Noble even found time to
volunteer twice a week at the state orphanage
in Bamako. Volunteering, she said, reminded
her of the real children behind the laws and
policies. "I play and laugh with kids who have
no concept yet of children´s rights. At that
stage it´s not about equal access to education
and the right to freedom of religion - they care
that someone wants to play with them, pick
them up and give them one-on-one attention,"
she said. "Although my interest in children´s
rights remains strong, I know now that it is the
children and not the policies that mean the
most to me."
After graduation, Noble hopes to further
pursue her interests in international issues
concerning children and families with
graduate studies in social work and law.