Glocal Internship: TAG International Development
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Theme: Education and Youth Empowerment
Year: 2019
Jacqui was born in South Africa and moved to the United States at a young age. After completing her first degree, in International Relations, at Towson University in Maryland, she moved to Israel at the age of 22 and now resides in Jerusalem. For her GLOCAL internship, Jacqui worked with an organization called TAG International Development. Of the two programs TAG was running in Kenya, the Hoops for Kids project was her main focus. The project worked with youth through an after-school basketball program with an integrated life-skills curriculum. Jacqui’s main objective was to rewrite the program’s curriculum, to better fit in the Kenyan context. This meant spending time with and interviewing coaches and kids participating in the program. In addition to this work, towards end of the internship, TAG decided to begin researching the possibility of setting up a girls’ soccer program. Jacqui then began researching different ways that the current projects could support the new project, together with extensive research on pre-existing programs running in Nairobi, to see which ones might be available to form a partnership with TAG. Among all of the invaluable information that Jacqui has gained from GLOCAL, one of the most important things that she has been exposed to are the other people in her field who care as much about changing the world for the better as she does.
Impacting lives a dribble at a time | Jacqui Austen
This picture was taken in the slum of Korogocho, just off of one of Nairobi’s main highways. During their sessions with their coaches, the kids not only learn new skills and improve their basketball skills, but they are also continuously reminded how these connect with the life skills they are focusing on that month. This photo was taken during a short break from the action, while we stood to discuss how what they had learned that day in basketball connected with the life skill in question. This photo makes me think of empowerment because these kids choose to be here when they could be doing other, less demanding, activities. They are active players in their own growth and development; for me, that is a critical piece of empowerment.