Meet the Interns
Meet the interns, our dedicated team bringing new ideas to Baobuyu!
Joy
Remote, Sept-Dec 2024
Joy is pursuing a Master’s in Public Health at the University of Bridgeport, CT. Based in Dallas, TX, and originally from Nigeria, she is passionate about public health and disaster control/recovery. Joy is dedicated to making a lasting impact in her community through her work, focusing on creating meaningful change in public health. During her time with Baobuyu, Joy will be working to create HIV lesson plans, infographics, and flyers to be used in our community projects and outreach initiatives. She will also be working hand-in-hand with other interns on our Reusable Pad campaign and compiling public health resources to bring more awareness in the community.
In her free time, Joy enjoys listening to gospel music, watching anime, reading, and experimenting with recipes from different cultures. She believes that to truly understand a culture, you must first appreciate its food.
Annie
In-Person, Aug-Dec 2024
Meet Annie! She came to Baobuyu from Boston, Massachusetts, where she is studying public health and international affairs at Northeastern University. At Baobuyu Annie will intern with a focus on female empowerment and education. She has previously traveled to Ghana, the Middle East, and the Balkans where she became interested in learning about different health systems and local perceptions of health.
Annie is passionate about women’s empowerment, public health education, and human services. She enjoys traveling and learning about new cultures through immersive experiences. She eventually hopes to get her masters in public health and social work.
Laura
In-Person, Aug-Oct 2024
Laura comes from Finland, where she is currently finishing her studies in business. She previously earned a master’s degree in education. Laura is a curious and adventurous soul who rarely stays still. She spent her childhood living in Shanghai, China, and the past spring in Hong Kong, which has given her a strong understanding of the culture and language. In her free time, Laura enjoys seeing friends, painting, traveling, relaxing in the sauna, and participating in sports, with ice swimming being her favorite.
Laura joined Babuyu in August for two months, bringing extensive experience working with children of all ages in camps and school settings. At Baobuyu, she can combine both of her fields of study, working on administrative and grant tasks while also visiting classrooms. She looks forward to encountering a new culture, meeting new people, and gaining lifelong lessons. In the future, Laura hopes to work in global education and to create positive change in the world.
Grace
In-Person, May-July 2024
Grace came to Baobuyu from New York, USA, while studying history and music at Vanderbilt University. Before coming to Zambia, she spent a semester studying abroad in Prague, where she fell in love with meeting new people, experiencing a different culture, and learning its recent history. Grace is passionate about education, international development, and community development.
Grace joined the team in May 2024 for a two-month Sustainable Development internship. She brought years of experience mentoring others--as a music tutor, as a peer advisor in college, and as a preschool camp counselor. Grace enjoyed learning all about how Baobuyu is run on a day-to-day basis, planning and teaching lessons for the community center programs, and helping with fundraising. In her free time, she loved exploring Livingstone, visiting Victoria Falls, and seeing elephants!
Brett
Remote, May-Aug 2024
Brett is from San Francisco, California, and is studying international relations at Franklin University Switzerland. She loves to travel and immerse herself in different cultures and new experiences. Brett has spent time as the director of youth activities at her local community center and has much experience working with young children and designing curricula and activities for elementary-age students. She's passionate about sexual health and female empowerment, and loved creating meaningful lesson plans for the Girl Power group at Baobuyu.
Samuel
Remote, Apr-Aug 2024
Samuel is from Yaounde, Cameroon, in Central Africa and joined our team remotely in April 2024 for 3 months. He obtained a High National Diploma in Biological and Biochemical Analysis from a professional school in Cameroon and is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health in epidemiology from Brigham Young University, Idaho, as an online student. Samuel is a native French speaker and has a strong passion for science.
He likes helping others and has experience working with people of all ages. Helping others become better is his fate. He has volunteered for several organizations like Launching Leaders and Interweave Solutions helping others to learn self-reliance and personal development principles. In one of his volunteer services in Kinshasa, DRC he learned Lingala and interacted with several people across Africa. During his time with Baobuyu, Samuel produced excellent public health materials for our clubs, parents, and community members!
Azrah
Remote, Feb-June 2024
Meet Azrah! She's from Marietta, Georgia, USA, and joined the team remotely in February 2023. After completing her bachelor’s degree in international affairs, she took a gap year teaching English in a small town south of Lyon, France.
She completed her master’s degree in International Policy Management from Kennesaw State University and lives back and forth between the US and France. She has a passion for learning new cultures and languages and loves to travel and discover the hidden beauties of different countries. While at Baobuyu, she created lesson plans for our community programs and facilitated a pen pal program with a local primary school in Mwandi. In the future, Azrah hopes to work with various NGOs to provide everyone with an equal chance of a better future.
Elena
In-Person, Oct-Dec 2023
Meet Elena! She is from Rome, Italy, and joined Baobuyu in September 2023 for a three-month Female Empowerment internship. Elena graduated with a master’s degree in Global Studies from Lund University, Sweden. She is passionate about international cooperation and development, women’s and children’s rights, and the world of NGOs in general. She hopes to become a project manager for non-profits one day.
Elena loves traveling, meeting new people, and discovering different cultures. She had previously volunteered in Livingstone, and was eager to come back! Over the three months at Baobuyu, Elena taught at the pre-school, fundraised, engaged with the Girl Power Club, and even started new, exciting workshops and activities. She also co-authored Be the Change 2, a collection of stories about inspiring women, which we use in our female empowerment programs.
Mollie
Remote, Sept-Dec 2023
Mollie is from Seattle, Washington, USA, and obtained her bachelor’s degree in theatre and psychology from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She has a passion for collaborating with people and hopes to become a lawyer in the future so that she can continue to help and advocate for people in need.
Mollie worked with Baobuyu for 4 months from September to December 2023! During her internship, she created amazing presentations, educational materials, and lesson plans for the Girl Power group, pre-schoolers, and health club. One of her biggest accomplishments was co-writing Be the Change 2, an inspiring book of biographies that we use in our female empowerment programs.
One day, Mollie hopes she will be able to visit Baobuyu in person and meet all of the lovely staff and students here.
Ella
Remote, July-Oct 2023
Ella joined our team remotely in July 2023, and volunteered part-time for 6 months! At the time, she was a senior in high school in the mountains of North Carolina, USA. Ella loved playing tennis and going on walks in the woods with her dogs! Her favorite subjects in school are chemistry and biology and she has a passion for traveling and going on new adventures.
During her time with Baobuyu, Ella created presentations for our pre-schoolers on the native birds and animals in Zambia and other educational resources for our teachers and female empowerment groups.
Olivia
In-Person, Oct 2022-Jan 2023
Olivia joined our team on the ground in October 2022 from Charleston, South Carolina, USA. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in communication and advertising at Flagler College in Florida. Olivia worked with us for three months on our Women Empowerment and Communications Internship, in which her primary aim was to understand all the different aspects that are involved in running a non-profit organization.
Olivia enjoyed getting to know all the students and having the opportunity to work closely with the women’s sewing circle and Girl Power group in the afternoons. In her free time, she explored all that Livingstone has to offer, including Victoria Falls, the local markets and the variety of restaurants in town.
Katie
In-Person & Remote, May-July 2022, July-Dec 2021
Katie first joined our team in July 2021 for a six month hybrid internship (remote and on-the-ground)! Katie is from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and obtained her bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from Northeastern University. She brought nearly 7 years of experience mentoring, teaching, and working with people of all ages. Katie has a passion for working with people, learning about underrepresented populations, and experiencing different cultures.
During her time in 2021, Katie collaborated with other interns to create three books for the female empowerment programs, First Aid, Puberty, and Be the Change. She also led workshops for the teachers and other clubs.
We were so lucky to have Katie again for 2.5 months in May 2022! She collaborated with the teachers to create fun and sustainable lesson plans and worked with the female empowerment programs. In her free time, Katie loved to experience safaris, rafting, hiking, and all Africa has to offer.
Flash forward: Katie finished her bachelor's degree in May 2023, and came back to Baobuyu in August 2023 as the full-time Development and Operations Coordinator!
Dennis
In-Person, May-July 2022
Dennis joined us from Potomac, Maryland, USA for a two-month Writing and Communications internship. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in communications at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and has a passion for writing. He was been a member of various journalism clubs and organizations for seven years before coming to Baobuyu, and hopes to one day work as a freelance journalist experiencing different cultures throughout the globe.
Dennis worked closely with Tammy to develop an online presence through weekly newsletters and social media updates. While here, he also taught clubs, created and presented lessons and workshops, and helped facilitate the Reusable Pad Campaign. Dennis loved to travel around Zambia, hiking and experiencing wildlife during his stay—especially elephants.
Anais
Remote, Mar-Oct 2021
Anaïs joined the Baobuyu team as our first remote intern! At the time, she was taking a gap year before studying English and French at the University of Oxford. Looking to the future, she hopes to pursue a career in human rights, with a focus on female empowerment and access to education.
She worked with the Girl Power group from afar to organize an ‘Evening of Voice’ in the UK, a project that seeks to raise the girls’ voices, whilst sharing their stories, traditions, and hopes. She also co-authored various educational resources, such as First Aid and Puberty.
Flash forward: In May 2022, Anaïs joined us in Zambia for four weeks! She played a crucial role in initiating the Reusable Pad Campaign and assisting our female empowerment projects.
Shelby
In-Person & Remote, July 2021, Sept-Dec 2021
Shelby joined us from St. Louis, Missouri, USA, via a hybrid internship with both remote and on-the-ground experiences in July 2021 and again in September 2021! Shelby completed her master's degree in Public Administration at the University of Southern California and has a passion for working with people and experiencing different cultures. She especially enjoys learning about nonprofit management, organizational leadership, and education policy. Shelby hopes to have her own nonprofit someday.
After working with children and school administrators in China, Central America, and her hometown of St. Louis, Shelby was eager for the opportunity to come to Baobuyu. While here, she created and facilitated teacher workshops, as well as lessons and activities for our students and female empowerment programs. Shelby adored the safaris, rafting, and hiking trips and all Africa has to offer with her new friends at Baobuyu.
Megan
In-Person, June-July 2021
Megan was our first intern! She came to Baobuyu from Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, for two months in 2021. At the time, she was studying human development, with a dream of getting a master’s, a counseling license, and eventually running a sustainable farm with horticultural therapy, yoga, and educational programs. Megan spent two years in West Virginia studying horticulture before taking a break from school to travel, volunteer, and study yoga and sustainable agriculture. While traveling in the Himalayas and southern India, she acquired 500 hours of yoga teacher training. She has also volunteered on several sustainable farms and took a month-long course in Ecuador to further her knowledge.
At Baobuyu, Megan expanded our garden with organic strategies, composting, and adding more variety, and facilitated workshops for our female empowerment groups. She was especially excited about bringing yoga to the various girl groups, the wildlife, and going rafting on the Zambezi river during her stay!
Steph
In-Person & Project Coordinator, 2018
Steph first came to volunteer with Baobuyu in 2018, where she provided one-on-one help to students who needed extra attention. She soon captured all of our hearts with her endless patience and love for the children, and quickly became a huge part of our Baobuyu family!
At the end of 2018, Steph returned to Zambia for nine months to volunteer full-time with our school. She was involved with all aspects of Baobuyu, from overseeing our website and creative content to social media, finances, planning, and leading our Girl Power group. To say that we were happy to have her with us is an understatement!