I am Leo Puyol, and I am studying business and law in France. My program was human rights in Africa as part of my mandatory overseas internship for my studies. I was dealing with Children’s Rights and Gender equality issues. The Children’s issues included child labour and child marriage problems. Regarding gender equality, the focus was on women’s rights to education, which may be hindered due to financial and other factors. As an outcome of my work, I would like to mention the children’s open interaction in discussions of their rights.

Working with the Art in Tanzania Human Rights team, including the team leaders and other interns, on the same topic. The group visited a mining location where we faced the reality of child labour. It was essential to see the problems in theory and practice. We discussed with many women in the area the importance of the children not working at the mines but going to school. 

Sometimes, we faced challenges because the children did not speak English at some schools, but the Art in Tanzania team leaders joined these sessions and translated between English and Swahili. Also, the African way of life was much different from that of France and Europe, so it was essential to accept it.

I am proposing that Art in Tanzania arrange for a practising lawyer to visit the human rights intern team on and off to discuss ways to get involved in everyday legal work.

For the potential new interns, I would advise working with Art in Tanzania; you can work and make a change. You need to be able to work as part of the team, and if so, it will be an excellent experience for you.