Internship Postcard Series #3

Brandt School Life
Lizzie leading the Grants Writing training.

MPP Student: Elizabeth Olguin

Where: Bălți, Moldova

Organization: The Friends of Moldova

Policy created by the government is only one arm of change available in a country. Non-governmental organizations and nonprofits also play a role in disseminating policy and the goals of said policy, especially at the local level, through local partners. In the aftermath of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, local partners here in Moldova were able to help the Moldovan government as well as other organizations distribute many types of aid, both monetary and material, to refugees and those affected by the pandemic.

I spent two years living in Moldova as a volunteer with the United States Peace Corps, and had always dreamed of going back to work in the country. The Friends of Moldova provided me that opportunity. This organization, founded by returned Peace Corps volunteers, emerged in the beginning of the pandemic and provides funding and assistance to small grants programs and aid to Ukrainian refugees in the northern city of Bălți.

Grant Writing training attendees.

As the organization’s first ever intern, I had a wide variety of tasks, from clarifying the organization’s grants policy to donor engagement, to creating a grant writing class and social media posts. One of the benefits of interning at a smaller organization is the level to which you can assist and delve into projects. This also gave me the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the daily operation of an NGO, as my goal after the completion of my master’s degree is to work for one.

The crowning achievement of my internship experience was the creation of a two-day grant writing training for local Moldovans. This was a project that the organization had wanted to accomplish for some time, bringing in local leaders who could share their knowledge with others who also have a passion for helping their communities. We hit our capacity limit within a week of the application going live, which shows just how much a course like this was wanted by the community. I created the format and content of the class, including a workbook, that is freely available on the organization’s website and translated into both Russian and Romanian, ensuring that others who couldn’t attend the training could still benefit.

Grant Writing training materials created by Lizzie.

This internship has helped me clarify my future goals, improve the skills I already had, and gain new ones. I’ve never had the opportunity to develop a class plan or materials like I did for the grant writing class, or go in depth into grant policy or social media before I completed my internship with The Friends of Moldova. I’m also grateful to have returned to a country that means so much to me and spend time with the friends I made as a volunteer.

About the Author

Elizabeth Olguin

Elizabeth Olguin is a Master’s in Public Policy student at the Willy Brandt School. She is a 2016 graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Prior to starting her master’s degree, Elizabeth was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Moldova, a staff assistant at the US Department of Health and Human Services, and a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Kazakhstan.

~ The views represented in this blog post do not necessarily represent those of the Brandt School. ~

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