PASSOP Internship

It's been a week since our incredible program ended, and while everyone has left Cape Town to begin a new adventure, I'm still here awaiting the start of an internship that I will be doing over the next two months. I will be interning with an organization called PASSOP (People Against Suffering, Oppression, and Poverty), which is also the word in Afrikaans for 'danger.' PASSOP is an NGO here in Cape Town that works with the refugee population in South Africa, doing everything from advocacy work to food handouts. The organization was founded as tensions between Zimbabweans fleeing the increasingly repressive regime of Robert Mugabe and South African citizens increased. While I know very little about what I'll actually be doing during my internship, I do know that I will be working with the Gender and LGBT coordinator, an area that I do have a bit of background in.

I couldn't be more thrilled to be staying in Cape Town for this experience! As mentioned in many other posts, Cape Town offers so much for those staying here. I'm now living in an area called Newlands, a southern suburb of Cape Town in a guest suite of a wonderful family's home. Everyone keeps saying how unfortunate it is that I'm here during the winter, but the weather, other than the occasional rainfall, has been fantastic! While it has been an interesting transition from a group program to by myself, I don't mind exploring parts of the city on my own. So far, I'd recommend to anyone who has the time and ability to stay on and explore this beautiful city for as long as possible.