Final Reflection

My time as a Comparative Law and Post Conflict Peacebuilding intern with the SAFE Program in Uganda has ended, and I am back at home now. I already miss Uganda and all of my friends and coworkers there, but I am sure both that I will never forget my experience and that I will go back to Uganda someday (hopefully sooner rather than later!).

Reflecting on the summer, I realize just how much I learned from this internship. The topics of my research ranged from transparency in oil legislation and governance, to supporting local institutions of customary law, to discovering outcomes for legal aid beneficiaries supported by the SAFE Program. I participated in trainings on conflict monitoring and reporting, conflict-sensitive journalism, and land management and administration.

Throughout my internship I received a lot of support from the SAFE Program staff. They designed my workplan for the internship which I used throughout the summer to guide my work. I received legal research assignments from the team and was able to use these assignments to generate writing for the incoming chief of party. Many team members from all departments were especially helpful in answering my questions and explaining different topics to me, helping me every step of the way on all of my projects. In particular, they answered many of my questions relating to customary law in Uganda and the institutional framework of petroleum governance, helping me to refine my legal research projects.

I learned so much from this internship. I am thankful to the SAFE Program for giving me the opportunity to work with them and learn from them about legal systems in Uganda, legal research and writing, and practical development work. School begins again next week, and I know that I will carry my experiences from this summer with me to give me a renewed perspective on law school and my career.