Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, Bo-Kaap district in Cape Town. Photos courtesy of Katie King.

My internship has been fantastic so far. The office environment is great, and right off the bat my supervisor gave me a plan for what I’d be working on the whole summer, which was wonderful–I knew immediately that I’d get to do substantive work. I just completed a memo on school overcrowding and gave my presentation on it yesterday. Next I’ll be starting a memo on either gangs in schools or how to provide education to refugee children. I also had a chance to attend a parents’ training camp this past weekend which was run by Equal Education, the mother organization of the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC). The weekend was both inspiring and challenging–seeing how skilled and passionate the parents were about advocating for their children’s education was a reminder of the potential for change, but seeing how many people wanted to talk to us about what their rights were was an equally powerful reminder of how much need there is for us to make people aware of the law and what the EELC is doing.

Outside of work, I’ve had an amazing time familiarizing myself with Cape Town and South Africa so far. The proximity of stark inequalities is unavoidable (and has led to some good conversation), but I’ve also never been to a city which has such incredible natural beauty built into the middle of it…and the food is fantastic. I’ve been wanting to come to South Africa for so long that sometimes it’s hard to believe I’m finally here. I’m definitely working hard to make the most of it.

Katie is one of 22 HLS students working this summer in 14 countries under the auspices of the Chayes International Public Service Fellowship. Please visit our Chayes Fellowship page to learn more!