Camille

Inter-Asia NGO Studies, Sungkonghoe University

I am Camille Tajon from the Philippines. In 2015, I went to South Korea to study at Sungkonghoe University in Seoul. Because my graduate degree is centered on Inter-Asia NGO Studies, I hoped to gain more experience in learning how NGOs work especially in Asia. My interest in this field started in 2013 when I became a youth volunteer in my home country. With my interests in NGO, youth, and volunteerism in mind, I found Asia Hope Camp Organization to be the perfect avenue to learn as well as share my knowledge and skills.

When I started my internship, the organization's upcoming summer camp was near. My first engagement was to join the said camp in Gochang. In that camp, I was able to meet middle to university students from Korea and also a teacher from Japan. For almost a week of living together, we enjoyed the refreshing weather, food, and slow-paced life in Gochang. Most of all, we had a wonderful time together as we volunteered in the farm, participated in games, cooked food, and played at the river and the mud flat. 

After the camp, my work at the office has officially started. From the start, my manager has been supportive in orienting and guiding me with my assigned duties. As an intern, the main task is to promote the work camp and form partnerships with other NGOs. I mainly communicate with a Philippine NGO which may possibly host Korean volunteers in future work camps. At the same time, I also wrote some proposals for the work and Kpop camp. Because we have an upcoming Kpop camp in November, I was also tasked to help promote the upcoming event. This was particularly fun for me because I love doing promotions and tapping organizations or companies which can help in such. I really felt happy when foreigners expressed their interest in joining the camps. Aside from these tasks, I also help in editing the English web pages of Kpop School and ACOPIA. I also enjoyed doing this because I like writing and web page editing.

Internship at ACOPIA also provides opportunities to learn more about Korea and meet different people. In particular, there are weekend camps wherein students participate in a whole day activity such as visiting a newspaper company, journalist photo exhibit, and a multicultural library. I assist and communicate with them in English, and learn a lot of interesting things from them as well. 

Because of what I learn through the office work and camps, and of the people I work with and meet in the process, although there are some challenges, I'm definitely looking for the future.