Erastus Njuki, AIESEC ULEAM, Incoming Exchange

Internship Report
30th January 2009

I N T E R N S H I P R E P O RT

EP Name:




Ndugire Erastus Njuki, erastusnjuki@gmail.com

EP ID:




SN-Te-KE-ST-2006-1005

EP Manager:



Ndugire Erastus Njuki, erastusnjuki@gmail.com

Sending Committee:


AIESEC STRATHMORE, KENYA

TN ID:




TN-Et-EC-LT-2005-1264

TN Manager:



Mantuano Pablo, pablo.mantuano@gmail.com

Organisation Name:


Broadway Language Academy

Supervisor Name:


Restituyo Milton, elda777@msn.com

Organisational Position of Supervisor: President

Receiving Committee:


AIESEC ULEAM, ECUADOR

Exchange Type:



Education Traineeship

Internship Match date:

2006-05-12

Internship Start date:

2006-06-05

Internship End date:

2007-12-20

Duration:



80 Weeks

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Erastus Njuki, AIESEC ULEAM, Incoming Exchange
Internship Report
30th January 2009

Introduction
This is a report of the AIESEC internship carried out in AIESEC ULEAM Local Committee by the
Studernt Nominee(SN), Erastus Njuki Ndugire.

The SN carried out the internship in Broadway Language Academy from 5th June 2006 to 9th
January 2008.

Activities
Preparation

The EP was matched on 12th May 2006 after application for the internship that consisted of
submitting a motivational letter. The job description according to the TN form were:

Job/Task Description 1
Elementary school and kindergarten teacher.

Job/Task Description 2
Science, math and social studies teacher.

Job/Task Description 3
The trainee to improve language development for the students.

Job/Task Description 4
This person must know how to teach numbers (math)

However, on arrival, the Job Description was changed. The EP was informed that he would be
working with a new branch of the Academy that was located in Portoviejo.

Immigration procedure

Through the Colombian Embassy in Nairobi, the EP was able to contact the Ecuadorian
Consulate in Westlands, Nairobi and process the visa 12VIII “Intercambio Cultural”.

The visa for one year was received on 18th May 2006.

Integration

Reception

The EP arrived in Guayaquil on 31st May and was received by a member of AIESEC Guayaquil
Local Committee at the airport, then travelled to Manta by bus. The EP arrived in Manta on the
afternoon of 1st of June 2006.

The intern was then led to the host family in Manta that was to facilitate his stay in Ecuador.
During the same week the intern was invited to the AIESEC Semofo.

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Internship Report
30th January 2009

Introduction to the company

During the first week the EP was introduced to the company and the TN and the EP signed the
internship contract. It was agreed that the internship was to start on the 5th June 2009 and that the
EP would relocate to Portoviejo for one week training.

Departure from Ecuador

The intern was given a warm sending off by the LC after the end of his stay in Japan on March
23rd in a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

AIESEC related activities

Excursions with the AIESEC members

During the traineeship there were several tours that were done with some members of LC
Manta and the other interns. The EP participated in a visit to Jipijapa for camping, Manta City tour and
visits to various beaches along “La ruta del sol” n Ecuador. The EP also travelled to the other LCs in
Loja, Cuenca, Quito and Guayaquil to interact with the members and interns there.

CEED

On arrival in Ecuador, the EP, who also acted as the CEED for Finance in the LC worked closely
with the Vice President in charge of Finance (VPF) especially in the coming up with the financial
policies of the LC.

The intern was also involved in the Local Committee Exchange team where he helped the Vice
President in Charge of Exchange (VPX) in planning and executing exchange functions. This continued
until his departure from Ecuador in March 2009.

Other AIESEC activities

The EP attended various conferences both local and national. In particular, during the organization
of the Leadership development Seminar (LDS) in 18th to 21st April 2007 held in Guayaquil, he was
invited to chair the Seminar.

Company related activities

Work

Preparation

On arrival to Manta, I was hosted by the Zambian-Mero family while the Director of Broadway
Language Academy was still unsure about whether I would be working in Portoviejo or in Manta.
During this time I had training in Manta and Portoviejo. Training composed of watching the videos that
the director had produced and sitting in his classes and taking notes. This happened for one week. On
the 5th of June I officially started giving classes in Portoviejo.

Work in Portoviejo

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Erastus Njuki, AIESEC ULEAM, Incoming Exchange
Internship Report
30th January 2009

The work in Portoviejo involved mainly giving classes and evaluating the students. Every two
months after delivering the relevant lessons in one level there was an evaluation that determined
whether the students progressed to the next level. These evaluations composed of a written test and
an Oral/Listening test. The written test was set by the EP and the Oral/Listening test which was called
“Face to Face” test was normally done in conjunction with the Director of the academy.

Work in Manta

In occasions where there was a deficit of teachers in Manta, or in occasions where the Director
saw it fit for the EP to teach in Manta, that was arranged, with the transport duly provided.

Academic Director

After one year, (in June 2007) the EP was given more responsibilities in the academy in the
capacity of “Academic Director”. These responsibilities included: Recruiting and Training new
instructors, Structuring the English Program Syllabus and Ensuring that the branch in Portoviejo ran
smoothly. With the increased responsibilities, there was an increased remuneration that was also to
help the EP purchase a ticket at the end of the traineeship.

End of the Internship

At the end of the internship, in December 2007, the EP continued working through to January
2008, where he tendered his resignation to the Director of the Academy.

Observations and Findings

AIESEC exchange service and delivery

Arrival

The EP was received well, evidenced by the airport pickup that was well organized and executed
and was followed by the EP traveling to Manta from Guayaquil on the day of arrival.

Immigration

On entering Ecuador, every foreigner is supposed to be registered with the immigrations

department. The EP was helped by a member of the Local Committee in Guayaquil because the
offices of immigration are located in Guayaquil and Quito.

However, there was a delay of 6 months at that immigration office. This prompted the EP to
contact the Consular Office in Kenya to find out why the process was taking so long. The consular
office in Nairobi directed the EP to contact a Kenyan who went through the registration process
before. The Kenyan who carried out the exercise in Quito then directed the EP to the office in Quito
that managed to register the EP after three months with a charge of $200 for delay in registration.

After the expiration of the visa, after one year, the same Quito office was used. This happened
without delay. The renewal charges were met by the EP.

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Erastus Njuki, AIESEC ULEAM, Incoming Exchange
Internship Report
30th January 2009

Traineeship

There was no meeting held between the EP, the EP Manager and the TN. The link between the
TN and AIESEC was hardly visible because rarely (twice during the whole internship) was there
communication between the TN and the EP Manager.

However, the communication between the EP and the EP Manager was good. This made sure that
the EP Manager was aware of what was going on with the traineeship.

Internship at the Company

The internship started on the Monday following the intern’s arrival. The intern was trained in the
first week.

The training methods used by the company was watch-and-learn, self-training, and on-the-job.

The company provided the basic materials needed for the internship. This included transport to
the other branches in where need arose. However, the intern was not provided with a personal
workspace or internet access as indicated in the TN form.

The TN Manager was always aware of the work and condition that the EP was experiencing
during the internship.

The EP carried out the work according to the TN Form. However, this changed when the EP
accepted the position of an Academic Director.

The EP was not allowed take off-days during public holidays. In these days, the students were
asked to come to school, although there was a low turnout. On some public holidays, there was
training with the Director of the Academy, mostly taking place in Manta.

Salary payment was usually delayed for some weeks and sometimes months, until an accounts
department was established that facilitated timely payment of salaries.

On occasions that the salary payment was late, the EP let the EP Manager know about the issue
but the EP himself dealt with the Director.

The EP was intimidated by the working environment, that saw at about 30 instructors join and
leave the academy within the span of one year. This made it difficult to maintain service provision to
the students. Many times the students stayed without teachers when the other teachers left.

There were three EPs from AIESEC who also left the academy within the first 6 months of their
traineeship.

It took long for many instructors to verse themselves with what is expected of them because of
poor training.

Recommendations
To AIESEC

Maintain the high quality of the reception that was made to the EP.

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Erastus Njuki, AIESEC ULEAM, Incoming Exchange
Internship Report
30th January 2009

Improve the communication between the TN Manager and the Company.

Maintain the participation of the members in the internship experience of the EP.

Install a system that ensures that there is timely payment to the EP during his internship.

Install a system that ensures that the TN honors the traineeship contract by giving timely
payments.

To Broadway Language Academy

Continue supporting AIESEC and its activities.

Maintain the high levels of expectations from the EPs and the workers that work for it.

Improve the communication between the academy and AIESEC.

Install a HR department in the company to ensure the recruitment and maintenance of the
instructors. This will reduce the employee turnover rate and help improve training and recruitment
of employees.

The HR department should then employ the instructors on contract and structures placed to
ensure that both parties honor the contracts.

The HR department should then also conduct institution-specific training.

The teaching material should be made available to the teachers and safeguarded in the respective
offices.

The instructors should be given off-days during Public Holidays. This is because there are usually
few if any students who turn up on such days making it impossible for normal classes to go on.

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Erastus Njuki, AIESEC ULEAM, Incoming Exchange
Internship Report
30th January 2009

Conclusion
The internship was a success.

On the side of the EP, he managed to reach his expectations: To experience living and working
environment in a foreign country and improve his Spanish language skills.

The challenges faced during the internship was faced in a positive light with the emphasis on
error detection and correction to make it better not only for this EP but for others who are to go
through similar internships.

Sincere gratitude goes to AIESEC ULEAM (Manta) and its members. Special mention of gratitude
to the Zambian-Mero family and to Valeria Rivandeneira Proaño (VPF 2006/7).

The EP also appreciates the support provided by Broadway Language Academy and especially to
the Director of the company, Mr. Milton Restituyo.

The EP hopes that this traineeship will motivate members in AIESEC Strathmore to participate in
Exchange.

Report by

Erastus Njuki Ndugire

Exchange Participant

From: AIESEC STRATHMORE, AIESEC in Kenya.

To: AIESEC ULEAM (MANTA), AIESEC in Ecuador.