An Unlikely Match

By Alina Esprit

I joined Create Caribbean this summer not even knowing what it exactly was. I always thought it was just a group of nerds doing a ton of work who never sleep. I had no interest in this Internship programme whatsoever. I guess you can say that it is really funny how much the tables have turned. I became one of these ‘nerds’ during my second year at the Dominica State College and I can safely say that it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.

I used to think that I have no place there or that I would not fit in seeing that the interns have already established a bond and grew together to some extent. I was afraid that I could not blend in or be a part of such an important group of individuals. Every one of them has some special ability or talent which contributes to this group and I am yet to figure out my niche. I told myself that I had nothing to contribute. So what could I possibly help with? But I had to learn to put aside all of these thoughts and make the move that would contribute to my future in a major way.

Being a new intern has taught me a lot of things but the most important to me was that challenges are a good thing. Make a way instead of an excuse. Also I learned to think it ALL the way through. Think before you act and stand by what you believe.

Hurricane Maria affected every one of us in some way or the other. Some more deeply than others but everybody felt it. As a student, I was deeply concerned about my academics and how long it would take before Dominica State College reopened. I came to realize that although it was an important thought, it wasn’t necessary at the time. My main focus should have been ensuring that my psychosocial state was okay. Luckily, school opened one month later and with the help of psychosocial sessions we were able to get back on track with our academic lives.

In terms of our latest Create Caribbean project, we are looking at how we can recreate certain communities so that there is planetary responsibility, sustainable living and community accountability. We chose Mahaut as our first community. Gael and I have collaborated on the topic, ‘Agriculture, food and water security’ and have begun looking at possible characters for our human interest story. We have already started doing interviews to help with our research.

 

 

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