Intern Reflections by Sanaz Ghodsi
My name is Sanaz Ghodsi, and I worked as a Health + Wellness intern for ReEstablish Richmond for about a year. With my internship coming to an end, I wanted to reflect on my experiences and thoughts during this time. I’d heard of ReEstablish Richmond from one of my professors during my undergraduate studies, and I’d spoken to a former intern who was tabling for the organization at the Greek Food Festival, so I’d known a little about the organization and its work. I also met Helen Rai in my cohort for the Lewis Ginter Urban Gardening Program and heard her talk about ReEstablish Richmond in our class. I had just graduated from VCU with dual degrees in Religious Studies and Health Sciences with a certificate in community engagement, and I was looking to gain some experience in working with refugees, so I decided to apply for an intern position. I was extremely excited to hear that I was accepted, and thus, my year with ReEstablish Richmond began!
As a direct service intern, I got to work pretty closely with our clients. I built strong connections with a lot of the women in the Afghan Wellness Group, and I really enjoyed the activities. Working at Shalom Farms and planting in personal raised beds at Lewis Ginter was a great mindfulness exercise. A parenting class was especially helpful for mothers who were struggling under the pressures of raising children in a new country with different cultural and societal values as well. One of the parenting classes was discussing sex education. This can be controversial in Muslim culture, and the women asked a lot of questions and discussed the topic very thoroughly. The women also loved the yoga classes. In one session we didn’t have an interpreter, so I tried my best to communicate in Farsi with the women. I had also provided mild interpretation skills when we would go to Shalom Farms. Needless to say, I built strong relationships with many of the clients, and along with another intern, I was even invited to attend a birthday party for one of the women’s children. We wore traditional Afghan clothing that day, and it was very reminiscent of Iranian social gatherings in my family.
The women who participate in the Afghan Wellness Group suggest topics that they’re interested in, and that’s what the classes focus on. I think it’s important and rare for clients to have freedom in tailoring services to fit their needs. This is probably one of my favorite parts in working with ReEstablish Richmond. In my experience, the services are not only more catered to the needs and wants of the clients, but the clients are the priority of the organization. It makes me very proud to have worked for an agency that serves as an example for true humanitarian work: where clients are given a voice, services that actually promote self-sufficiency are the priority, and the work directly impacts the local community.
I will also say that if you are looking for a reputable non-profit to donate to and/or volunteer with, I strongly recommend ReEstablish Richmond! I would truly miss all the clients if I were just to leave, so I plan to stay involved by volunteering where and when I can. In addition to everything else, this internship has definitely helped me strengthen my Farsi skills! So with that, feylan khodafez! (Goodbye for now!)