Raea Lovett | NYU Silver | ACATHI | Barcelona, Spain
I have really enjoyed the work I have been doing with ACATHI thus far. During the last month I have worked on a number of initiatives and have really gotten to understand the organization well. On my second day I went to a local Catalan high school we partnered with to help provide educational lessons on trans inclusive feminism and the lives of LGBTQ refugees. That program was a part of a collaboration with a local agency as well as local government, and I have written reports about the outcomes from collected participant surveys as a part of my role, too.
I also have worked heavily on the welcome program mentioned in my previous blog. For the first few weeks, I sat in on the Spanish language welcome programs to understand what they should look like in English. Then, with another intern I helped redevelop the English program. Now, I have been leading our Welcome Program in English for about three weeks and it has been an amazing experience.
I have been able to work closely with ACATHI’s social workers as well who provide tailored support to asylum seekers connecting them with resources, helping them draft their applications, and providing counseling. For me this has been an incredible experience because I am majoring in social work. I have gotten to see how the theory I have been learning in the classroom applies in practical circumstances.
This week my focus is shifting to two Erasmus+ programs ACATHI is in collaboration with NGOs from across Europe on. One program is focused on expanding understandings of gender in intergenerational and intercultural ways and the other program focuses more on educating professionals about working with asylum seekers. For these international projects I have been working on a number of different task which has been a rewarding experience because I have gotten to meet activist and people in the nonprofit human rights space from across Europe.
Overall, my time so far with ACATHI has been extremely enriching and I cannot wait to see how it continues to grow over the coming months.