OBV nurturing talent

Recently there has been a lot of talk about interns, particularly in regards to those multi-million pound companies who, instead of paying for a young person’s talent they can get them to work in some cases for six months full time without paying them a salary.

Small not -for- profit organisations such as OBV could not survive without interns or volunteers, but our policy is very clear. Yes we want individuals, be them undergraduates, graduates and others to come and assist OBV deliver our work, but equally important we want our volunteers particularly young men and women to excel.

The one big advantage you have with a small organisation is that interns and volunteers with the right attitude can develop fantastically and in a very short space of time.

Our present crop show all these signs and more.

Alan Ssempebwa, 21 has hit the ground running. He was a political student and Editor of his University Paper. Writing news related stories for OBV, highlights a clear passion for the subject, but he is also a keen tweeter and will use his knowledge to promote race equality on the Twittersphere.

Parmila Kumari is an International Relations Masters graduate, and already she has shown she can just about do anything. Travelling from Birmingham to contribute to our work shows her dedication to the cause. Yesterday she was interviewing the Mayor of Southwark for a project we are doing about young Black political leaders, after that she was building a spreadsheet for our film premiere attendees.

Arts graduate Sarah Hardie enjoyed her second day with OBV chasing celebrities and politicians to come to our public events. It may sound a bit glamorous, but Sarah quickly found out that getting past agents and politician’s assistance is a tall order. Interestingly being a keen writer herself she not only pointed out errors that I had made in my invite letters, but also set about making the articulation more relevant and vibrant.

18 year old Jane Odera is an A-Level student in Politics, Psychology and History at BSix Sixth Form College in Hackney. She’s also part of the SHM Foundation’s Political Academy, which aims to get young people from different backgrounds involved in politics.

She has started writing articles and, well with just a little guidance and encouragement her pieces are strong, thoughtful and above all have her own distinct voice.

Robert Austin, 21 a politics student and currently Chair of the SOAS Debate Society is using his skills and experience at organising events to play a pivotal role in organising OBV’s UK film premiere – Salute!

Oxbridge Mathematics Graduate Berny Torre has recently joined the team after returning from a recent trip to Nepal where he worked as a volunteer. More used to numbers and equations - he has demonstrated a natural flair for writing. He is currently writing an article about Aung San Suu Kyi and what we can learn from her inspirational example.

18 year old Fortune Achonna, our youngest intern, has relished at the opportunity to write and shown a tremendous amount of raw talent. He has written about complex issues such as institutional racism within the Criminal Justice System, and handled it with the confidence of someone much older in years.

Finally, Rhona Asmah, is a long term volunteer with OBV. After a few weeks break to complete her university exams, Rhona called up to ask when she could come in to help out. Not interested in ‘chilling’ over summer, Rhona wants to use her summer break to make the difference and it is great to have her back!

We encourage all of that and more at OBV, because it’s great for us and we hope equally useful for our volunteers.

Simon Woolley and Francine Fernandes