Student Intern Laura van Lieshout (left)
My name is Laura van Lieshout, a third year student of Disaster Risk Management in the Netherlands. For 5 months I was with PROCESS Bohol concerning my internship which is part of my study. Although I never thought about going to the Philippines, I never regretted this choice. I got in touch with PROCESS through the Filippijnen Groep Nederland (FGN), which is an organisation that facilitates between students in the Netherlands and organisations within the Philippines. When FGN gave a presentation at my university about PROCESS I decided immediately: this is what I want!
So now I am here on my last day at the organisation. What I really like about PROCESS is that the organisation works on bottom-up level and the community is central within all of their projects. Moreover, they have good partnerships with the several Local Government Units and other departments within the government. My time at PROCESS was full of learning experiences: visiting on-going projects, participating in meetings and the research that has been conducted on the earthquake of 2013 in Bohol. The assignment was set by the organisation, however I had a lot of freedom within the content and methods to be used. Although, I mostly worked independently, PROCESS was always guiding and willing to help with for example writing formal letters, facilitating in interviews and the opportunities to join several meetings outside the organisation. Not only was the time full of learning experiences, also the people within the organisation create a nice and trustful environment. This is also what I will miss the most! Thank you all for making this experience something to be treasured!