Interning at HOPE: What kind of work do international NGOs do in Japan?

I am Miki and I have been an intern at HOPE since August of last year. I was mainly in charge of management and accounting tasks, as well as supporting overseas operations. Since the new fiscal year at HOPE starts in October, I experienced the busy period at the turn of the fiscal year and had the opportunity to get involved in many different aspects of HOPE’s operations, making this internship more fulfilling than I had imagined.

Real insights learned from my role

It was very valuable to me to learn about the flow of funds for NGOs through practical experience, such as writing summaries of grant applications for overseas projects, assisting in the drafting of documents such as business plans and reports, and going through and scrutinizing more than 100 receipts issued locally and abroad that were for funds allocated to overseas projects. Through my role, I got to see how the work in Japan supports the work at the project sites overseas.

By participating in meetings every Tuesday, I was also able to learn about the details of the work on the ground. Last year was the culmination of HOPE's three-year plan to improve its organizational capabilities, and as part of this effort, I participated in five monthly workshops attended by all of the staff in Japan. I was impressed by the staff members seriously discussing the mission, vision, and values.

My future beyond this internship

Every country, including Japan, has its own domestic problems. I felt that foreign aid plays a role in creating new hope for local communities that are in desperate need. HOPE supports such local communities. To address their problems, it is important that the organizations that provide aid have a deep understanding of the culture of such local communities and that these communities themselves understand the need for change. I also understood that the local communities’ central role in moving forward will lead to continuous development and become the pillar that changes their future.

Through the internship, I was able to learn a lot from the attitude and work ethic of the friendly yet professional staff, which is a great asset for me. I also strongly felt that increasing the number of people interested in this field is the key to improving the lives of neglected communities and the NGOs that support it. As one of them, I would like to continue to be involved in my own way in the future.

My name is Chie, and I was an intern at HOPE International Development Agency (hereafter referred to as HOPE) for about half a year since last September.

The reason I wanted to intern at HOPE was because I was always interested in international NGOs and I wanted to find out what kind of work they actually do and think about whether working at an NGO would suit me in the future. I was also interested in the Western-style charity dinners that HOPE organizes every year.

During my internship, I mainly worked on PR tasks such as creating social media posts and translating and preparing for events. I was also involved in organizational foundation strengthening meetings, an externally sponsored program, and a Nagoya charity dinner.

During my internship, I was able to take on a wide range of tasks and realize that international aid is not just about working at project sites. Furthermore, I learned that PR work does not directly lead to international aid, but in order to provide aid, we need to generate funds, and PR is one of the ways to gain supporters. I also learned that for HOPE to be effective, it is important that all staff are facing the same direction, and I was able to understand the importance of the organization's mission, vision, and values.

I am not sure if I will be able to work for an NGO in the future, but I would like to make use of what I have learned at HOPE and volunteer my time for such organizations in the future.

Thank you very much for giving me this valuable experience. I am happy to have met everyone at HOPE and become a part of the HOPE family.