Week 2
During my second week in Cape Town, I was able to lay the groundwork for my first complex research assignment. At the LRC, there are two teams: land and education. I opted to work with education but will be collaborating with the land team here and there. My specific research assignment right now will be on gender-based discrimination in schools. I will identify policies in other countries in South Africa and other continents that we could possibly learn from and branch off of.
Also, I was able to plan some court appearances with an attorney in the education group. We spoke with some clients over the phone regarding upcoming court dates and communicated what we needed from them to be fully prepared. I was able to introduce myself and break down that barrier as most of the clients do not speak fluent English. I wanted to them feel safe with me so that they can trust me as they do their attorney that I will take care of their case.
In addition to this assignment, I sat in on a couple of meetings where we discussed ongoing projects that I will be assisting with during my time here. I was able to catch on to how these meetings are conducted and what is needed to be prepared. I met a couple more team members as this job is hybrid so people work from home and come in as they see fit.
This week happened to be the week that 4 people were leaving (2 attorneys and 2 interns). It was a pleasure working with them for the first two weeks and learning from them. We had an office lunch on Friday as a farewell which was very fun. It allowed me to interact with my co-workers in a different setting and also enjoy some good food in Cape Town.