As a last year student of a Master's degree in humanitarian aid, I was looking for an internship which would allow me to go beyond my theoretical knowledge, and to acquire a first work experience…
Having explored a few options, I applied to the Josefa Foundation. The Foundation seemed perfect to me for my first leap into post-university life. It met my expectations but it also proposed something that was new and unexpected.
Indeed, the Josefa Foundation was leading its own "fight": improving the integration of refugees through housing and co-residence, and changing the way we look at our migrations, and it was following its own path to achieve these goals. In four months, I was not only able to put into practice my knowledge while realizing the complexity which migration represents, a topic at the forefront of public attention, but also the complexity of the related political and humanitarian decisions to meet the needs of refugees on Belgian and European soil, and the challenges of the success of an ethical and long-lasting integration within our societies.
But the main thing, according to me, was the acquisition of a greater personal and intellectual maturity and an open-mindedness. I questioned myself with regard to "our society", to the reception and integration policies that have been implemented, but also with regard to the image of asylum seekers and refugees that most of the traditional and social media are conveying. During my time at the Josefa Foundation, I migrated and my perspective changed, so that I went back to what is essential: the human being without distinction.
Fanny
