Today is my last day with Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA) before I start the next phase of my placement with Habitat for Humanity Great Britain (HFHGB). Reflecting on the last six months as a Programme Associate at JOA, it has been such a valuable experience, and I am so grateful to the JOA team, who have been so lovely and supportive!
The opportunities I've had exposure to have taught me so much, not only how a donor organisation operates, but they have also strengthened my knowledge of both the international development and humanitarian sectors. My time at JOA coincided with a significant part of their International Development Grants (IDG) process, and having the ability to participate in the full arc of project assessments, from full proposals through to monitoring visits, has provided an invaluable experience. I participated in three monitoring visits, two focused on financial inclusion and one on conservation livelihoods, each highlighting very different challenges a project can face.
JOA also responds to multiple humanitarian crises, providing vital funding to both chronic and sudden-onset emergencies. I assisted with research and context analysis for ongoing emergencies including the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the widespread famine in Sudan, and Cyclones Fytia and Gezani, which struck Madagascar's eastern coast earlier this year. Working across these responses broadened my understanding of the scale and complexity of humanitarian need.
Beyond the day-to-day work, here are some of my key highlights. One was attending the JOA/Durrell Conservation Livelihoods Conference in Cambridge, where I had the chance to hear from a wide range of organisations sharing best practices on balancing ecological conservation and sustainable income for people. I also attended JOA's Youth Driving Change event - hearing from speakers representing UNICEF, Restless Development, and members of the Jersey Youth Assembly was a reminder of just how much momentum there is among young people pushing for meaningful change.
