My name is Ryan Clark, and I am a University of Chicago student who is interning at Sudu for this summer. Last summer, I interned in the development department of All Chicago, a Chicago non-profit that combats homelessness and helps other Chicago non-profits to do so with the assistance of the federal government. While Sudu is also a non-profit, in many ways it is significantly different from my previous job, and the challenge of negotiating this new context appeals to me. Sudu has fewer employees, and Sudu cannot rely on regular funding from the Sierra Leonean government. While funding is more difficult, Sudu also has great opportunity for growth that I am excited to participate in. The smaller workforce may also enable me to cultivate a broader array of skills.

My work at Sudu will partly be dedicated toward fundraising efforts. Toward this end, I have been working with Sudu’s new grant writer, Sharon Dekker, and I will be facilitating fundraising from sources other than foundations. I will also be supporting Sudu’s staff with monitoring and evaluation (M&E). M&E allows Sudu to demonstrate its successes in our annual report and have adequate records to be able to secure grants. I will study how Sudu’s M&E practices could be improved and ensure that our internal record-keeping is clear and organized.

While the context of Sierra Leone is new for me, Sudu is addressing the urgent need of finding homes for orphans, and so I am inspired to assist Sudu with its important work.