This month, meet Sophia, an intern from the US who spent three months supporting programmes across KLS, from homework clubs and youth activities to elders transport and casework.
“One afternoon on the elders minibus, Maureen rolled the windows down on the first sunny day of the year. One of the elders screamed at her to crank the radio up and everyone started dancing and singing, including Maureen.”
“I graduated from the University of Vermont a semester early and found myself with a weird period of time. I’d saved some money, I knew I wanted to travel, and I figured that since I don’t speak any other languages, the UK, somewhere I’d never been, would be a good place to check out. I wanted to develop my experience while I was at it, so I looked into internship programmes, said I was interested in the nonprofit sector, and one thing led to another. I ended up here.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I got was something a lot wider than I’d imagined.
A typical week looked like helping prep for homework clubs and after-school activities, supporting transport for the elders programme, and picking up admin wherever it was needed. I kind of pick up wherever I’m needed. I came to understand pretty quickly that the behind-the-scenes stuff and the front-facing work aren’t really separate things. One couldn’t be what it is without the other.
But the work that surprised me most was casework. It’s probably been my favourite part, just because it was so new. The situations I was encountering were completely outside anything I’d dealt with before, and I wouldn’t have known how to handle them independently. What struck me was the atmosphere in that room, people coming in at different points, dealing with really heavy things, and somehow it still felt, weirdly, like a bunch of people just hanging out.
The homework clubs had a lot of energy. I’d meet with the team beforehand to figure out the shape of the afternoon, come up with activities, get the volunteers on the same page. The first hour was homework, the second was whatever was going on, games, cooking, outside programming. The kids are genuinely funny, and the humour is so different for each age group.
With the elders, I helped Maureen with the minibus runs and dropped into lunch clubs and art clubs when I could. They all love her so much. I hadn’t spent much time working with older people before coming here, and my first impression was just how social and talkative they were. You get a lot of good stories out of them, and some days on the bus, with the music up and everyone joining in, it really did feel like a party.
I’ve worked with nonprofits before, but I haven’t seen anything quite like the range KLS covers, and the way they stay individually engaged with everyone who comes through. People get the attention they deserve. It all feels very personal.
My last session with the youth club, chefs had come in to celebrate Eid. It ended in an impromptu dance party. Everyone up, music playing, Lauryn Hill on the speakers. It was my last time getting to work with them, and I think that moment will probably stick with me most.
I did work here that I was not expecting to have the opportunity to do. It’s definitely been full of diverse experiences.”