Growing up, Tasha Noronha travelled the world with her family and saw some things that she didn’t understand: homeless children her own age in India, for example, and young acrobats performing for money on Thailand’s beaches.
“It really confused and upset me because I, too, was a child, except I was there to indulge in their country while they tried to impress me for some spare change,” she says. “It all just didn't sit well with me, and as I grew older I knew that I needed to understand the nuanced reasons behind what I saw as well as possible solutions to the issues at hand.”
“It all just didn't sit well with me, and as I grew older I knew that I needed to understand the nuanced reasons behind what I saw as well as possible solutions to the issues at hand," says Noronha.
Now a fifth-year student in U of T Scarborough’s Specialist (Co-op) Program in International Development Studies, Noronha recently completed a 10-month co-op placement in Uganda as part of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Scholarship. She worked as a Donor Representative for Children of Hope Uganda, a grassroots NGO which was created in the aftermath of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency that lasted more than 20 years in Northern Uganda. Its mission is to provide meaningful educational and professional opportunities to victims of war, and her responsibilities ranged from compiling reports and writing grant proposals to planning community outreach programs.
Noronha also had the chance to undertake projects of her own in collaboration with staff and local organizations, including organizing a three-day trauma-healing workshop for 60 individuals, securing full university scholarships for three young women and conducting a reproductive health workshop for students at the Barlonyo Technical and Vocational Institute students – the school run by Children of Hope Uganda. “It was a truly incredible opportunity to put development theory and my professional skills to practice,” she says.
She was fortunate to be present for the school’s graduation day, and says witnessing the students’ pride was an unforgettable and moving experience. “Days abroad can be difficult. You miss home, and you lose confidence in your abilities sometimes, but the graduation really helped me remember the beauty in the type of work I was doing and restored my sense of purpose in my placement.”
The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) is managed through a unique partnership of Universities Canada, the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) and Canadian universities. This program is made possible with financial support from the Government of Canada, provincial governments and the private sector.